Air Filtration question

[Jason Davis]

I am wanting to get a Air filtration unit, saw a model from Jet for 200 bucks. I am curious about getting a unit that I can go up town and get filters for, not a unit with filters you have to buy from the company. I understand that some of these units have pocket filters and I am okay with buying them but I am talking about the first filter dust passes thru.

Any suggestions? I am not set on Jet, just really concerned about spending big bucks on pre filters.

(I do have a direct drive squirrel cage fan from a home furnace but I don't know if its worth building my own considering its age.....)

Also, I don't use my shop outrageously, I am trying to help with the table saw running in the middle of winter and the shop is closed up. 24 by 30 garage, you cant see the other side with all the dust!

[Philip Rodriquez]

Can you tell us what your current dust collection capabilities are? The overhead filters should be your last line of defense.

First, improve your dust collection, at the tool. IMHO, the jump from a 1 HP unit to a 1.5 HP unit is a 100% improvement. Canister filters are the best way to go. A cyclone is even better.

Second, consider adding an overarm blade guard to your TS. Be sure to got one that has a dust collection point.

Lastly, get an air filtration unit.

[Peter Aeschliman]

Exactly right. It takes the air scrubber a while to recycle all of the air, so much of it will settle before it gets sucked through the filter. You have to get as much as of the dust at the source as possible.

One thing to mention about the air filtration units: If you put one in, take the time to build some ducting that connects to the exhaust side of the unit that terminates at least 10' from the intake side of the unit. The major design flaw of the air scrubbers is that the intake and exhaust are only 1 or 2 feet from each other... so the scrubber ends up recirculating the same air over and over. So when the manufacturers claim that you can refresh the air of a 15x15x8 room in x seconds, they're simply taking the CFM of the blower and the cubic feet of the room to do the math. They aren't measuring ACTUAL performance. In order to get performance like that, the intake and exhaust should be as far away from each other as possible.

Now if only I could get off my lazy butt and take my own advice and do that for my own air filter unit!!

[Roy Hess]

If you build your own air cleaner, this will save you a bit of money. You can build the opening to standard, or easily obtained filters. I get mine from an industrial supplier, including the bag filters at reasonable prices.

Your furnace fan may still have many years left - remember you will run it a lot less than when it was in your furnace. Here is a picture of mine. Nothing fancy, but it sure works well.

[Caleb Larru]

I am wanting to get a Air filtration unit, saw a model from Jet for 200 bucks. I am curious about getting a unit that I can go up town and get filters for, not a unit with filters you have to buy from the company. I understand that some of these units have pocket filters and I am okay with buying them but I am talking about the first filter dust passes thru.

Any suggestions? I am not set on Jet, just really concerned about spending big bucks on pre filters.

(I do have a direct drive squirrel cage fan from a home furnace but I don't know if its worth building my own considering its age.....)

Also, I don't use my shop outrageously, I am trying to help with the table saw running in the middle of winter and the shop is closed up. 24 by 30 garage, you cant see the other side with all the dust!

I purchased the Jet AFS-1000B Air Filtration System last year and it nearly caught on fire. Something they don't tell you about the Jet is that it does not work well with fluorescent lighting. What happens is the lighting sends a signal to the system and causes it (in my case) stop and start very rapidly. Mine overheated within a couple of hours of installation.

Jet's response to me was that they knew of the problem and the problem was not theirs but the fluorescent light makers. I asked them how many shops they knew of that didn't have fluorescent lighting but they wouldn't comment on that.

If you do end up buying one, spend the extra money for the JDS system. That is what I ended up doing and have been very pleased since. Great system, you can get filters almost anywhere, and it works with fluorescent lights.

[Jason Davis]

Thanks for all the input.
Flourescents affecting the jet sounds crazy, but I will avoid that jet altogether as I have super bright 8 foot flouresents all over the shop.

Looks like im going to attempt to build my own, and look at buying dust collection unit for the shop! THANKS!!

[Tom Welch]

I have the Jet AFB-1000B and in hangs between 2 flourense lights. I have no problem with it. Nor do I have any problems with the remote control. This is a quality solid built unit. I would buy it again in a heart beat.