Air purifiers are not the answer. There is NO substitute for a dust
collector with enough air flow to collect an envelope of air around the
tool generating the dust so that it carries all of the dust and dust-laden
air away and into a CYCLONE that is designed well enough that it removes
at least 99.4% of the dust from the air stream BEFORE it gets to the
blower. Then add a 0.3 micron certified filter after that, and you will
have clean air to breathe.

For a 10" table saw, you need 1000 CFM of ACTUAL air flow, minimum; same
for a sanding table and somewhat less for jointer or planer.

Spend some time at Bill Pentz's web site and get informed about dust
collection principles. Bill nearly died from the effects of wood dust
and spent a year doing extensive research before he was back in his
shop after recovering (somewhat). His site is by far the most
authoritative site anywhere on the subject of dust collection. He has
designed an excellent cyclone dust separator, and I am the ONLY person
licensed to produce and sell systems based on his design.

To access his site, go to:

http://cnets.net/~eclectic/woodworki...lone/index.cfm

For info about the kits I produce and the blower housing that goes with it:

http://cnets.net/~eclectic/woodworki...larkesKits.cfm

Other info about dust collection at:

http://www.digitalnetworks.ca/~steve...wood/links.htm

If you have other questions, contact me privately.

Clarke

Ellestad wrote:

Has anyone considered using a consumer "air purifier" to eliminate dust in a
small shop?

I have a small shop (no remedy) and vasomotor rhinitis (no cure). My sinuses
and nasal passages are hypersensitive to various stimuli including the
ultra-fine dust created in a woodworking shop. Oil-burning exhaust, perfume,
cleaning solution oderants, cookies baking - all sorts of things that most
people aren't affected by (I know, some of them smell good) are like
snorting battery acid to me.

A fair amount of the culprit particulates that get to me are too small to be
trapped by the typical shop dust filtering systems that I have looked into
(also, most of these systems are simply too large to be installed in my
small area). So I am considering one of the larger consumer "air purifiers"
on the market. Any comments or experiences?

The HEPA filtration that is a part of these units would be a plus point for
me but I am a little skeptical about the capacity of the filters in these
units when put to use in a woodworking shop. Any discussion of the limits of
these filters?

I do use a P100 mask when I am cutting and I use vacuum dust collection on
the tools but that doesn't catch a lot of this fine stuff and I don't want
to have to wear the mask full time in the shop.

Thanks in advance for any info.

Tim