DIY air filtration unit for <$200

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

Dan I know you tested your scrubber with wood, but have you used it with plastics. I do alot of Rowmark tags and a little acrylic and was wondering how it does with those products?

If I can't smell wood at all, it means it is really taking the noxious fumes out of the air. Plastic would be no different.

So in answer to Frank's question, you are saying you have not tested it with plastics?

I couldn't smell wood at all with my indoor filtration system I used to use before I moved, but there have been times when I could smell plastics.

[Dan Hintz]

I have not run it continuously for 1.5 hours with plastic like the plaque, but I have done short bursts... the only time I can smell it is when I lift the lid (make sure your entire exhaust is free from cracks, though it shouldn't matter in this case as the DC is after the filter).

[Randy Digby]

My scrubber is very similar to Dan's and I run a fair amount of plastic (over 1,000 labels a month) and my scrubber handles the odor without any problem. We vent outside and about once a week I'll go out and check the output for odor since we have close neighbors. I'll often engrave and vector cut a 12" x 24" sheet into 60 to 100 small labels with no exhaust odor at all.

In my case, the "tuning" part of building my scrubber was finding the correct thickness of charcoal. To little and the odor passes through and too much and the air flow is too restricted.

I like the simplicity of Dan's design vs. my box built of MDF, but both will work well with the right combinations of filter, charcoal, piping and air flow.

[Frank Defert]

Thanks Dan, and Randy thanks for your plastic info, just what I wanted to know.

Frank

[Leon Shreves]

Dan,

Great design. I saw on a more current and comical thread that you were thinking of upgrading to a 2 HP blower. Care to share your experiences on this? Would it be quieter if throttled back?

Regards,
Leon

[Dan Hintz]

Leon,

I'm awaiting a coupon in the mail before ordering... since I don't yet have the Stinger in house, it's no pressing matter. The coupon is only for $10, but as I'm in no immediate need for the item, $10 is $10.

I'm looking at the PSI DC2000B, and it's rated at 65dB... compared to the banshee-scaring HF red unit I'm using now, that's the equivalent of a mouse passing gas. $10 off coupon plus a $10 online code, I hope to get the unit for $320 shipped and add on a Wynn nano filter for another $150. The laser will still pull through the design laid out in this thread, including the HEPA inside of it, but I may gate this circuit down some to prevent too much pull. The other circuit will go to the Stinger, and I'll have to decide how I want to branch one of the circuits if I ever get around to adding on a good bandsaw.

[John Noell]

Thanks for advice, Dan. Where you buy HEPA for $23? Here in Lithuania price start from $90

At least you CAN get one there Viktor. Not here. That's $23 plus about $100 shipping plus 32% duty plus 12.5% VAT or about $180 total. I'd be happy with $90.

[Leon Shreves]

Dan,

I take it that the HF 2 horsepower dust collector shown here:
http://www.harborfreight.com/garage-...tor-97869.html

Isn't the one you were referring to. Do you have a link to the one your interested in?

Thanks in advance,
Leon

[Dan Hintz]

Leon,

This is the one I currently have from Barbarous Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-hp-mi...tor-94029.html


And this is what I'm ordering soon from Penn state and adding on a Wynn HEPA (looks like I screwed up the number a few posts back... I'll edit it now):
http://www.pennstateind.com/store/DC2000B.html

[Dan Hintz]

Interesting... I just saw this muffler:
http://www.pennstateind.com/store/SUP1000.html


I'll see how quiet this thing is first before ordering the muffler, but I wouldn't mind making it as quiet as possible...

[Leon Shreves]

Thanks for the info Dan. I noticed that they sell the 1.5 HP motor separately for under 300 bucks. It is as quiet as the 2 hp unit. That might be attractive too if the only use was to support the laser engraver.

Regards,
Leon

[Kasey Maxwell]

Dan, I have this blower http://bit.ly/cTEIaK will the filter you made work with it ? I don't know if it's to powerful or just right

Thanks

[Dan Hintz]

Ouch... $308+S/H for a 3/4 HP DC?

Anyway, you will probably be okay if you keep your run short, but I definitely wouldn't go any lower in power. The DC I'm running on now from HF is 1 HP... it pulls plenty of air through with decent suction capability on the vector table, but it won't suck a golf ball through a garden hose.

You really have nothing to lose by trying it out.

[Kasey Maxwell]

yea they have gone way up in price, I got mine for like $250.00, it works good, very powerful, I just don't want to blow the trash can apart !

[Ron Hartl]

Great job Dan! Much appreciated!