Woodshop Air cleaners

[Mike Goetzke]

I bought the Jet and saw some comments that they cleaned the air but only well after the time you left the shop....WRONG. I purchased a dust particle counter and it showed the affects of this type of air cleaner are almost immediate. Should be one in everyone's shop.

Mike

[Callan Campbell]

I bought the JDS unit like others, and will install it sometime this week. I was very lucky in that the previously mentioned FWW article came out BEFORE I bought my unit ,AND, my local Woodcraft has the JDS and JET mounted right next to each other, hanging from their ceiling. So, I was actually able to run them at any speed and check out what the review in FWW was talking about with fliter design and ease of removal for cleaning. All the details seem to match what FWW mentioned, esp the noise level of the units at a given speed.
In addition,I got to see the Delta unit in action at my local wood store. They went with the Delta since they had lots of filters left over in storage from when they used to be a Delta dealer. The Delta DOES have that interesting airflow gauge mounted on the outside of the case to indicate if the filter needs attention. But, the Delta is also really noisy at high speed, not bad if you're mounting it high and away from you, but probably way too noisy at a low level or basement shop type setting.
All in all, one of Fine Woodworkings more accurate reviews. All the units work, but you get to decide which details are important for you. I needed the quiet level of the JDS since my basement ceilings are so low, plus the slide-out of the prefilter works for where I'm mounting the air filter unit.

[Montgomery Scott]

While the amount of time the particles in the air will be decreased with the presence of an air filter, the point is that the air cleaner is not between you and the source of the dust. You are likely breathing the dust in on its way to the air cleaner.

While I own an AFS-1000B and I find it useful, I certainly won't stop using my respirator while performing any operation that creates dust.

[Joe Leigh]

I don't think anyone here is using it in place of dust collection, or advocating it's use as a dust collector. But to say there is no health benefit to a dust filtration system is just wrong.

[Michael MacDonald]

Here are some general rules based on Nagyszalanczy's "Workshop Dust Control" and some of my own experiences and thoughts....

great primer... I think I will look into one of these.

[Neil Brooks]

While the amount of time the particles in the air will be decreased with the presence of an air filter, the point is that the air cleaner is not between you and the source of the dust. You are likely breathing the dust in on its way to the air cleaner.

While I own an AFS-1000B and I find it useful, I certainly won't stop using my respirator while performing any operation that creates dust.

That's me, too.

Got a "souped-up" Harbor Freight 2HP (nominal) unit, a JDS air filtration unit, AND wear a 3M 7500 series respirator.

PITA factor is minor with all three.
Very low cost. Likely, some benefit.

That's how the math looks to me. YMMV

[Paul McGaha]

I have the Powermatic. I installed it last November. I'm really happy with it.

Per the FWW review of Shop Air Cleaners they found the Powermatic:

• Cleaned Air as fast as any they tested.
• Found it noiser than the others they tested.
• Had the most useful remote control.

FWW actually rated the JET the best in performance and pricing.

PHM