Looking for a good all-purpose respirator to save me from the variety
of particulates, solvents and fumes I encounter as I repair and/or build things
around my house. (I am now ready to graduate from disposable dust masks
and respirators)

Key features include:
- General purpose protection against most solvents and particles
- Comfortable fit plus easy to put-on/take-off
- Affordable (including affordable replacement cartridges)

Any recommendations?
How critical is sizing and individual comfort here? (the local Home
Depot seems to stock only the cheapo disposable masks and I don't know
where to go to "try on" and compare different ones)

Should I buy a separate less bulky "woodworker's" respirator to protect me from
dust and a separate cartridge one to protect from fumes or am I just
fine with an all-purpose one?

Thanks

blueman wrote:

Looking for a good all-purpose respirator

3M half mask (3000 series?). In silicone rather than rubber if you want
to sweat less and pay a bit more. The filters are replaceable and
there's lots of them. They also do dust filters that clip over the fume
filters, which are handy if you are working in a dusty workshop but
need vapour protection too, without clogging an expensive filter too
soon.

Looking for a good all-purpose respirator

Good idea.
Yes, sizing is very important, and yes, HD is a bad place to buy a real
respirator. See if there's an industrial or safety or medical or
laboratory supply store near you that will let you try on a few models.
I found the 3m 7502 (7500 series, last digit refers to size) to fit
well and filter well, for about $20. I consider myself an
average-sized male, and the size Medium seals even over my gotee. Also
fits my wife's much narrower face just fine. To check for a good seal,
remove the filter cartridges, hold the mask gently against your face,
plug the holes with your thumbs, and try to breathe in. If you can't,
it seals well.
There are a wide variety of filter cartridges available for the 7500
series - the 2097 are rated for "nuisance-level" organic vapors and
particulates. I've used these cartridges for sanding, as well as with
a few various finishes and cleaning supplies, and with the mask on, I
can't smell anything at all of the solvent or dust. I don't think
you'd need the heavier-duty organic vapor cartridges unless you were in
extremely high-solvent-concentration areas for extended times, though
OSHA has ratings for all that.
Here is a link with the cheapest online source I could find for this
mask, and they also have various cartridges:
http://www.ottofrei.com/store/produc...1&cat=0&page=1
Hope this helps,
Andy

FWIW the NG came up with a website that had an excellent selection of brands
and types of masks at definitely better prices than Home Depot, etc. I
bought a whole selection to see which one I'd like best. The rubber mesh
coated looked better than it worked - very sweaty.

But the one I now commonly use looks weird but works. Yellow plastic with
mouthpiece, two tubes to behind the head and then two HEPA filter discs.
Still better particulate protection than the masks and LOTS easier to use if
you wear glasses or have a cold/allergies or if you're sweating. Quick and
easy to remove and can hang around your neck until you need it again (I
cover the mouthpiece with a cloth while not using). Doesn't matter if you're
wearing a helmet or faceshield or whatever kind of hat. Packard carries them
as well as Klingspor and others.

But if you want fumes as well then you've created a whole 'nuther monster.
From what I remember to eliminate fumes you have to pipe fresh air to your
enclosed headset. Kinda like a SCUBA diver.

TomNie

Should I buy a separate less bulky "woodworker's" respirator to protect me
from
dust and a separate cartridge one to protect from fumes or am I just
fine with an all-purpose one?

Thanks

Tom Nie wrote:
From what I remember to eliminate fumes you have to pipe fresh air to your
enclosed headset. Kinda like a SCUBA diver.

Just SCBA, not SCUBA. You're not underwater, so the pressure is only
at atmospheric pressure. This allows them to use a simpler regulator
design. OTOH, use SCBA kit under water and you'll die...

look up Lab Safety Supply
something on the order of a silicone half mask is good.
Survivair was the last brand I bought.
different cartriges for different work
organic vapors for paint solvents
welding mist and fume for most dusts
blueman wrote:
Looking for a good all-purpose respirator to save me from the variety
of particulates, solvents and fumes I encounter as I repair and/or build things
around my house. (I am now ready to graduate from disposable dust masks
and respirators)

Key features include:
- General purpose protection against most solvents and particles
- Comfortable fit plus easy to put-on/take-off
- Affordable (including affordable replacement cartridges)

Any recommendations?
How critical is sizing and individual comfort here? (the local Home
Depot seems to stock only the cheapo disposable masks and I don't know
where to go to "try on" and compare different ones)

Should I buy a separate less bulky "woodworker's" respirator to protect me from
dust and a separate cartridge one to protect from fumes or am I just
fine with an all-purpose one?

Thanks

I second the recommendation for Survivair. I think they are
manufactured by the same company that makes US Divers SCUBA equipmnet
(founded partially by Jacques Coustea).
The organic filters really work and you can gang mount filters too-
dust filter beofre organic filter, for example. The head straps adjust
easily. In spite of the recommendations not to grow a beard they seem
to work well with my furry face because they seal under the chin/jaw
area very well
Marc

wrote:
look up Lab Safety Supply
something on the order of a silicone half mask is good.
Survivair was the last brand I bought.
different cartriges for different work
organic vapors for paint solvents
welding mist and fume for most dusts
blueman wrote:


Key features include:
- General purpose protection against most solvents and particles
- Comfortable fit plus easy to put-on/take-off
- Affordable (including affordable replacement cartridges)

Any recommendations?
How critical is sizing and individual comfort here? (the local Home
Depot seems to stock only the cheapo disposable masks and I don't know
where to go to "try on" and compare different ones)

Should I buy a separate less bulky "woodworker's" respirator to protect me from
dust and a separate cartridge one to protect from fumes or am I just
fine with an all-purpose one?

Thanks

Bullard hood?

http://www.granitecitytool.com/showi...d%20Air%20Hood

We used them in industry for solvent protection. Has the added benefit
of keeping your nice and cool...

Pretty much no way to get exposed to anything as your air supply is
'piped' in.

Jason
blueman wrote:
Looking for a good all-purpose respirator to save me from the variety
of particulates, solvents and fumes I encounter as I repair and/or build things
around my house. (I am now ready to graduate from disposable dust masks
and respirators)

Key features include:
- General purpose protection against most solvents and particles
- Comfortable fit plus easy to put-on/take-off
- Affordable (including affordable replacement cartridges)

Any recommendations?
How critical is sizing and individual comfort here? (the local Home
Depot seems to stock only the cheapo disposable masks and I don't know
where to go to "try on" and compare different ones)

Should I buy a separate less bulky "woodworker's" respirator to protect me from
dust and a separate cartridge one to protect from fumes or am I just
fine with an all-purpose one?

Thanks

"blueman" wrote in message
...
Looking for a good all-purpose respirator to save me from the variety
of particulates, solvents and fumes I encounter as I repair and/or build
things
around my house. (I am now ready to graduate from disposable dust masks
and respirators)

Key features include:
- General purpose protection against most solvents and particles
- Comfortable fit plus easy to put-on/take-off
- Affordable (including affordable replacement cartridges)

Any recommendations?
How critical is sizing and individual comfort here? (the local Home
Depot seems to stock only the cheapo disposable masks and I don't know
where to go to "try on" and compare different ones)

Should I buy a separate less bulky "woodworker's" respirator to protect me
from
dust and a separate cartridge one to protect from fumes or am I just
fine with an all-purpose one?

Thanks

http://www.northsafety.com

They have a respiratory selection guide. Those disposable mask are not
respirators and are worthless.

blueman wrote:
Looking for a good all-purpose respirator to save me from the variety
of particulates, solvents and fumes I encounter as I repair and/or
build things
around my house. (I am now ready to graduate from disposable dust masks
and respirators)

Find an industrial safety equipment supplier in your area.

Lew

said:

Bullard hood?

http://www.granitecitytool.com/showi...d%20Air%20Hood

We used them in industry for solvent protection. Has the added benefit
of keeping your nice and cool...

Pretty much no way to get exposed to anything as your air supply is
'piped' in.

Not disputing the effectiveness of this hood, but I believe my
neighbors would wonder about the EPA Disaster Response Team styled
garb and freak out. (Too many viewings of "Outbreak" perhaps.)

They wonder what goes on over here anyways....

blueman wrote:
Looking for a good all-purpose respirator to save me from the variety
of particulates, solvents and fumes I encounter as I repair and/or
build things
around my house. (I am now ready to graduate from disposable dust
masks
and respirators)

A further thought.

3M-6800 is about as good as it gets unless you need to carry a bottle
on your back.

Lew

On Oct 17, 4:02 pm, blueman wrote:
Looking for a good all-purpose respirator to save me from the variety
of particulates, solvents and fumes I encounter as I repair and/or build things
around my house. (I am now ready to graduate from disposable dust masks
and respirators)

In the long run, the most economical solution is a fresh air supply...
The supply can either be from an oil-less compressor or a shop vac
exhaust... A garden hose makes a good air supply... It has plenty of
capacity with a shop vac exhaust... You can even hook it up so that the
air supply is coming from a cooler area so that you won't feel as
hot...

For a mask, you can either buy a commerial rig (equals *expensive*) or
adapt something else... One option is to take something like this
(http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=241203) or this
(http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=244661) and adapt whatever
air supply hose you might be using to it... The advantage of this sort
of air supply is that you have a positive air pressure in the mask and
as such, it is not important whether you have a perfect seal along the
edges... When I stained the concrete floor in a previous house, some of
the chemicals being used looked pretty nasty on the MSDS, so I rigged
up something for a one-time use out of a paper grocery bag with a view
area cut into it and a piece of clear plastic taped over the view area
to prevent air leaks from there... The air supply was sufficient to
ensure that I did not smell any of the vapors in the enclosed area in
which I was working... After that, I bought an Israeli gas mask from
Sportsman's Guide and adapted it for a fresh air supply...

On Tue, 17 Oct 2006 21:02:45 GMT, blueman wrote:

Looking for a good all-purpose respirator to save me from the variety
of particulates, solvents and fumes I encounter as I repair and/or build things
around my house. (I am now ready to graduate from disposable dust masks
and respirators)

Key features include:
- General purpose protection against most solvents and particles
- Comfortable fit plus easy to put-on/take-off
- Affordable (including affordable replacement cartridges)

Any recommendations?
How critical is sizing and individual comfort here? (the local Home
Depot seems to stock only the cheapo disposable masks and I don't know
where to go to "try on" and compare different ones)

Should I buy a separate less bulky "woodworker's" respirator to protect me from
dust and a separate cartridge one to protect from fumes or am I just
fine with an all-purpose one?

Thanks
IMHO, disposable dust masks are only slightly better than nothing at
all. Certainly the non-woven material *is* capable of filtering
particles, however, it is not practical to obtain a seal around the
mask/face. Even the slightest gap would make the things useless.
Doctors (surgeons) wear these type masks more to protect the patient
from his/her microbes rather than the other way around.

Thus, I would suggest any rubberized type of mask that can fit snugly
on your face. Home Depot in my area does sell these (in Paints) and
they are fairly cheap and effective for dust. Filters need to be
changed for solvents, etc.

On Tue, 17 Oct 2006 22:47:19 -0400, wrote:

said:

Bullard hood?

http://www.granitecitytool.com/showi...d%20Air%20Hood

We used them in industry for solvent protection. Has the added benefit
of keeping your nice and cool...

Pretty much no way to get exposed to anything as your air supply is
'piped' in.

Not disputing the effectiveness of this hood, but I believe my
neighbors would wonder about the EPA Disaster Response Team styled
garb and freak out. (Too many viewings of "Outbreak" perhaps.)

They wonder what goes on over here anyways....


Ha!...LOL
Agree...overkill for the woodshop, IMO.

According to blueman :

Should I buy a separate less bulky "woodworker's" respirator to protect me from
dust and a separate cartridge one to protect from fumes or am I just
fine with an all-purpose one?

_Real_ respirator masks, not dust masks, eg: North and other manufacturers,
are all pretty much interchangeable in all respects. Except for the
way cartridges connect. There's three or more different
standards.

So, you pick a reasonably well known one (eg: North), and pick
which cartridges you'll need, and the size that fits right.

Preferably pick a standard with the "large" screw fittings (around 1 1/2")
not the 1" diameter fittings. North is the small ones. Lee Valley
carries another other style with the big fitting.

The difficulties with them isn't their effectiveness, nor fit per-se,
it's things like fogging up safety glasses, being warm/sweaty after
a while etc.

For those, you'll want to consider full face masks with built in
respirators. Some of them are _really_ comfortable. But they're
all considerably more expensive. Some are $1000.
--
Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

According to :
On Oct 17, 4:02 pm, blueman wrote:
Looking for a good all-purpose respirator to save me from the variety
of particulates, solvents and fumes I encounter as I repair and/or
build things
around my house. (I am now ready to graduate from disposable dust masks
and respirators)

In the long run, the most economical solution is a fresh air supply...
The supply can either be from an oil-less compressor or a shop vac
exhaust... A garden hose makes a good air supply... It has plenty of
capacity with a shop vac exhaust... You can even hook it up so that the
air supply is coming from a cooler area so that you won't feel as
hot...

I'd avoid home-brewing something like this _unless_ you put some
serious filtering in it. Any dust or crud the thing picks up is
potentially going to be rammed down your lungs. It'll pick up
crud, even if you put the air pump somewhere "clean".

These things aren't designed for breathing air.

I'm seriously considering something like this myself with a small
adjustable speed blower (I think it's a combustion blower off
an oil furnace), but not without _very_ serious attention to
filtering (and scrubbing the blower thoroughly too).
--
Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

Chris Lewis wrote:

The difficulties with them isn't their effectiveness, nor fit per-se,
it's things like fogging up safety glasses, being warm/sweaty after
a while etc.

And they don't work as well with a beard.

According to B A R R Y :
Chris Lewis wrote:

The difficulties with them isn't their effectiveness, nor fit per-se,
it's things like fogging up safety glasses, being warm/sweaty after
a while etc.

And they don't work as well with a beard.

Depends on the beard I think.

I've never had issues with mine.
--
Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.