Who has a ceiling mounted shop air cleaner, and if you do, do you see any benefi

[rljatl]

Hmmm, Cheese just gave me an idea...a Harbor Freight moving dolly and some angle iron....and voila.

 

[grbmds]

When I purchased my Oneida cyclone the told me to stop using my ceiling mounted unit and instead use the floor sweep.  This way the fine dust is pulled away from my nose and mouth and to the floor.  That sounds logical to me.  So I run my filter system when I am done for the day on the timer for a few hours and I do notice the amount of dust that settles out on equipment is reduced.  For me both systems are a must have.

I do this when I want to make sure any remaining dust in the air is taken out quickly after I'm done with the task I'm working on. I have a drop with a hood near my lathe and I have opened that gate and let the Oneida cyclone run for a 5 - 10 minutes. The cyclone has a HEPA filter and pulls more air through it in a shorter period than the ceiling hung cleaner. So that is a great idea. I still feel that the ceiling hung unit helps and, since I already own it, I use it regularly just to make sure. I really don't have much dust all over my shop. Even with everything I do to collect dust, some still escapes. That's why I generally try to wear a mask while in the shop; at least while I'm working and making more dust.

 

[antss]

I've got a couple of them also.  And they work. I tend to use them near the end of my shop time and leave them running on a timer after leaving.

I agree with Oneida that collection at the source is best, but the rest is just a sales pitch.  And it's coming from someone who doesn't have that particular product to sell you !  : : :  : :

I also have face respirators that I use on occasion also, mostly with exotic woods.

 

[RussellS]

Have not read the articles posted.  But the ceiling mounted filters and all others too, rely on air movement to draw the dust through the filters.  The dust must be suspended and in the air for the dust extractors and filters to work.  And the dust must be suspended in the air for you to breathe it and harm you.  Piles of dust on the floor or tools does not harm you because you are not breathing that dust in and out of your lungs.  Of course if the dust is on the floor its easy to kick it up when walking and then it will get into the air and you will breathe it.  The ceiling mounted air filters stir up the dust that is settled on the floor and machines.  It creates a stream of air and that stirs up the dust.  Do you have fans running in your shop to stir up the air?  The ceiling mounted filter is a big fan with a filter on one side.  The dust does eventually go through the filters where it is removed.  But stirring up the dust also allows it to go through your lungs before it gets to the filter.  The previous responses about using the filter after they leave the shop is the best.  It will filter the air for the next time you get into the shop and breathe the air.  Opening the windows and doors and having a breeze blow through the shop would work if you do all your dust creating on one side and allow the stream of air to blow it out the other side.  Bringing in clean fresh air for you to breathe while creating the dust blown out the other side.  Doubt many people have this ideal situation.

 

[WastedP]

My only experience with a ceiling-mounted ambient air cleaner was in a solid surface shop I set up in a hospital.  I don't remember what brand it was, but it looked like all of the units that take a 12" x 24" filter.  I mounted it directly above the area where all routing and sanding was happening, about ten feet above the floor.  The first thing we did was replace the filter with one that looked like this, given to us by the hospital's plant maintenance director.  It was very effective in the space (roughly 5000 cubic feet).  Even with dust collection on the sanders, we were still swapping filters out every 90 days or so.  Pricey, but the hospital was paying for it.

 

[grbmds]

Guess I've never put a pile of dust on the floor or bench and watched to see if it eventually disappears with just the air cleaner on but I doubt it would. There just isn't enough air flow from a ceiling mounted air cleaner.

Does it move the dust already suspended in the air? It should because that is it's function - to move it into the air cleaner and catch the dust in the filters between the front and back of the cleaner.

Using the cyclone with one of the gates  open is a great idea and I'm sure it moves the dust in the air but it also moves it quickly into the collector. The air exiting the filter should be as clean as it is possible, assuming the collector has a HEPA filter.

If I do work where it appears that more dust has escaped from the tool itself than usual, I usually run the air cleaner and the dust collector with the gate open for about 5 - 10 minutes and try to take a break while I'm doing it either with my dust mask on or out of the shop.

The fact is that there is always some dust that escapes, but I don't want a lot of dust piled on the floor or benchtops. That dust will eventually be disturbed by me and then it does get back into the air.

I just firmly believe in using all possible means of collection with the best filters available and, because there is some that escapes, I also protect my lungs with a mask of some sort.

 

[josephgewing]

Every machine I use puts some dust into the air, especially my table saw.  I know this because I have a Dylos "dust meter" and can take a reading before and after I use a given machine.

Using my JDS shop air filter always reduces the dust significantly, again as measured by the dust meter.

Joe

 

[leakyroof]

Every machine I use puts some dust into the air, especially my table saw.  I know this because I have a Dylos "dust meter" and can take a reading before and after I use a given machine.

Using my JDS shop air filter always reduces the dust significantly, again as measured by the dust meter.

Joe

. Me too.... No matter how I 'think' my various dust collection methods are working, my Dylos meter gives me a baseline to keep track of things instead of a gut feeling.
My JDS air filtering unit does seem to really help and is not excessively noisy either.

 

[Klemm]

I'm going to mount it on a low table with casters and use it as a floor sweep.

That's exactly the route I took. I made a simple aluminum frame with casters for a Jet. Then I'll roll it into position in the area I'm working in and turn it on. The thought was that most of the escaping dust will settle towards the floor rather than becoming airborne at nose/eye level. That way the Jet at knee level pulls dust past my knees rather than past my face if it's mounted on the ceiling.

after reading the entire thread, especially the solution posted by [member=44099]Cheese[/member], allow me to point out that the best and most effective fine particle filtration systems seem to be downdraft closed system paint booths. I have never seen one that attempted to capture fine particles, aka overspray, at the top - FWIW
Hans

 

[mike_aa]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member]  Thanks for the pictures and explanation.  Turning it sideways is a smart space saving solution that I didn't think of!     
[doh]  [not worthy]

 

[Cheese]

I didn't think to mount mine vertical; vertical shouldn't have negative effects on fan/fan operation should it? 

I probably built that frame for the Jet about 5-6 years ago and have not had an issue running it in the vertical position. [big grin]

You'll probably tend to use it more often if it's in the vertical orientation because it's not in the way and you're not trying to step over it or walk around it. Now if I could only reduce the noise level... [crying] [crying]