Shop Air Filters

Brent Dowell

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Reno NV
Since there was Brian Altops thread on the using shop air filters, I thought I would ask if anyone had any they would recommend?

What to look out for as far as price, features? I haven't even really started looking at them, but the idea seems to have merit.

Thanks!
 
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Brent i have this Grizzly. Was $199 when i got mine and i bought it on price. It has three speeds a remote albeit not the greatest it activates when my lights come on but thats no problem. It has a timer for end of day shop cleaning.

The most amazing thing i experienced with this unit was while cutting walnut which gives off quiet a distintive smell, it filters the air to the extent that i did not smell it.

You need to size according to your shop and consider noise although mine i dont hear when i am wearing ear plugs.

Filters are the biggest issue. There is two stage filtering. Second is designed for the really fine stuff. The way i am using mine is unfair to comment on the filters. Note the manufacturers have all engineered buying boxes that are ever so slightly or completely different in size so you stuck with the original OEM for the filters. I have found a place locally that manufactures custom filters at a reasonable price and when i have hooked up my dust collector i will be more diligent with the second stage filter.

For the front end i now save a ton of cash and use a 3M filtrete material available in sheet form (folded in a plastic bag for around $16). I cut two pieces the neccessary size and lay them over each other.
Then i salvaged a filter frame from a 3M furnace filter set up that has been discontinued in Canada at least. ( probably was way too effective and cheap) and i cut the frame down to size reglued it together and now have a frame which folds open and i lay the filter material on the plastic grid and close the frame on it.

This allows me to really use the unit and dispose of the material more frequently than i would if i was paying for actual filters especially from Grizz with shipping etc.

You need to consider turn over of air and size accordingly and also consider the quality of the second stage filter.

I would like to find an after market or oem filter manufacturer for real quality second stage filters.

For me mine works great in the midst of not having my dust collector hooked up.
 
I have this Jet filter hanging near my lathe:

Jet Air Filter

I got it on sale a few years ago for a little over $200. I highly recommend some type of air filtration system. Store-bought units are nice, but something like Bart's can be just as effective. They collect a lot of stuff, but there's not way to catch everything in my shop. (Using an air hose to blow sanding dust off turned pieces, it's impossible to catch it all. Same with blowing the shavings and dust out of a hollow form.) Like most of the others. it uses a two-stage filter: A flat electrostatic filter (furnace filter) followed by a fabric bag filter inside the unit. The Jet will hold a standard 12" x 24" furnace filter. I use blue masking tape to seal the edges, which helps keep the bag filter inside cleaner. I've also stacked two furnace filters and taped both into place, although I don't know that it's any improvement over a single filter that gets changed more often. (And it might actually be a detriment, in the form of reduced air flow.)
 
Dad got the JDS-750 as it was winning all the bake-offs at the time. I don't have any current info but it kicks butt. Mine is just as attractive as Bart's but, I'll bet his works better. My shop made version uses a 1300 CFM gable fan and was designed for 3 filters. The gable fan is designed to run unrestricted and so I have reduced it to one filter on the intake side to allow good volume.

It still collects an good amount of stuff despite a cyclone and a customized bagger in the shop. My shop is not well sealed and I am in SoCal so much of what hits the filters may just be the usual stuff in the air out here. If I did it again (and probably will) I would use a squirrel fan like others have done.
 

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I'm in the Bart camp. I made mine too, but it's a floor model with a utility outlet on it. I use it in the shop and take it with me when i'm kicking up dust somewhere in the house (chest deep in rehabbing a 1916 hovel).
On mine, i put a cheapo blue filter in front of the pleated paper filter - it catches most of the big stuff, is washable, and saves the pleated filter from most of the dirt and abuse.
I've heard experts argue that these air cleaners don't really do anything but stir up the dirt in a shop. That doesn't explain how my filters fill up and a cloud disappears within a few minutes.
 
I went even lower tech for air filtration. I've just got a cheapo box fan with a pleated air filter attached with a bungee cord.

Not perfect, but haven't had the time or $$ to get something better. Though it is on the short list.

-Matt
 
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