I’m moving into a 1200 sq ft shop (heated, but no AC) and wondering how to keep my lungs safe. I always wear an N95 respirator, but it’s not enough (sore throat and black snot). I live in a cold climate, so keeping the doors open year-round is not an option. I work alone and TIG weld 99% of the time.
Would a fume extractor and occasionally opening the windows and doors be adequate? I may eventually get a PAPR, as it would be great for grinding. For now, extracting fumes directly at the source seems like the best option. What do you guys think?
I had / have a similar situation - heated garage, no AC (though I recently added a portable one), and in a cold climate. I went down the same path as you but instead of buying an expensive fume extractor, I did a DIY one and it has worked well for me so far.
I bought a Harbor Freight ventilator barrel fan, mounted it upside down on the ceiling (I have limited space and needed it to go over my welding curtain rail, also working around the bike pulleys). I used just some hardware supplies like perforated square tube, metal straps, and hanging rods. I also got some HVAC supplies for each end and ran the plug to a ceiling outlet I had installed previously with a remote control on/off switch for it (at the outlet):
With some more HVAC supplies (semi-flex tube, adapter to expand the end, and fashioned some handles out of metal straps), I extended the intake side to my welding table. I did later get a longer flex tube to better reach all sides of my dragon wagon:
For the other end, I found a metal window exhaust part online (though I probably would have just printed one if I had the 3d printer I have now). The window mount was only one sided so I put some insulating board on the back side and then a rectangle of aluminum sheet and taped it all up:
I then used a couple spring balancers and a detachable zero gravity balancer in the back to make it so I could position it where on the table that I needed it. I also used a gravity balancer for the exhaust end so it was easy to put up out of the way and pull down to put it in the window (note that the black straps I had originally didn’t hold it so I replaced them with some metal hangers I found online):
Here is it in action (that is just rolled up scrap paper, not what it may look like to some ):
I later added a grate to the bottom to keep me from grabbing the inside and getting stabbed by the screws.
I’m not sure what your budget is but altogether this probably cost me around $500 a couple years ago vs a couple / few thousand to buy a fume extractor outright. It did take a good amount of work to set up though.
That does look much more polished than mine. Mine is more of a redneck engineering method. I definitely wish I had a 3d printer at the time I made mine as that would have opened up more possibilities for me. I did find though that as the area you need to cover goes up (I have 2 dragon wagons bolted together), that the weight of whatever you are using for the arm does as well. That’s why I went with the semi-rigid duct pipe. I’m not sure where the balancing point is of the weight of solid tubes vs the area that needs covered is but yours has me thinking in the event I need to redo it for some reason.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with your version,I only posted mine to show a different option,I think tours looks spot on. At the end of the day all they need to do is remove fumes!
With mine, I found the rigid pipe works and supports itself nicely (well with some aids) but it’s a pain to adjust if you’re not working in one area. So I added a bit of flexi also, so I have the best of both worlds.
No worries at all as I didn’t take it that way. There are many ways to do it. I like what you did as well. I just wish I had my 3d printer at the time to give me more options instead of trying to make various pieces from the hardware store work - so many trips back and forth to figure it out .
I have a fume extractor and I wear a mask when welding. A PAPR is nice (i have one) but its so much easier to throw on a half mask and hood for quick welds, which is the majority of what I do.
A good PAPR is going to run 2500ish and a good fume extraction system is going to run roughly the same.
If I had to pick just one id pick fume extraction + half mask
I weld, grind and bend stuff in my garage. I have a double deck with about eighty running feet of railings to weld this summer. I use a Miller fume extractor that I bought at auction. I recycles the air through a charcoal filter and allows me to work through the winter in Canada. I bought a PAPR last year which is fantastic (I need low profile ear protectors to use it) but I find the Miller fume extractor indispensible.
I’ve tried both setups and I’ll take the PAPR every time. It’s way more comfortable than cramming a half-mask under a hood; it’s less gear to manage, you don’t get nearly as sweaty, and you aren’t fighting a filter to breathe.
Definitely get one with a flip-up lens; with the lens up, the visibility is good enough for most tasks. I also have a dedicated grinding hood that works with the same system for when I’m doing substantial grinding with no welding.
Once you have a constant stream of fresh air to the hood, it’s hard to go back, even without the other benefits.
Good on the recycling of air. The other set ups exhaust out of the building and environmental temperature air must enter the vacuum created. If it is really cold out (i.e. all of Canada!) in winter, then outside air will really add to the heating bill. Can you give some detail on the carbon filter you use: filter dimensions and or quantity and type of activated charcoal you are using. I live cold enough winters to make this worthwhile, though I still do most of my welding outside the shop, even in winter. I wouldn’t mind being inside for sure!
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