Another Solder Fume Extractor Thread

[Electro Fan]

I looked through the threads but wasn't able to draw much of a conclusion about how effective these are for occasional soldering in a closed environment like a garage. 

The fan and filter combination seems to have some merit in theory.

Any thoughts on their utility and which of these (or others) might work best (ideally strong enough to move fumes away from the soldering station and user but not too loud)?

Thx

Generic (no filter)
http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-Whole-Circulator-Floor-HT-908/dp/B001R1Q0OG/
http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-HT-900-TurboForce-Fan/dp/B001R1RXUG/ref=pd_sim_hg_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1HFQ17VPC5MZ6QFJ6P0B

Weller
http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WSA350-Bench-Smoke-Absorber/dp/B000EM74SK/ref=sr_1_cc_3?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1430520708&sr=1-3-catcorr&keywords=solder+fan

Aoyue
http://www.amazon.com/Aoyue-Benchtop-Solder-Smoke-Absorber/dp/B001RLZGKK/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1430520708&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=solder+fan

Hakko
http://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FA400-04-Bench-ESD-Safe-Absorber/dp/B00FZPSEY4/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1430520708&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=solder+fan

Oki
http://www.all-spec.com/products/SA-9-115.html?gclid=CJO-7YjUocUCFQaPaQodIhQA2g

Edsyn
https://www.all-spec.com/products/FXF11.html

A “Fume Off”

[Richard Crowley]

What does "occasional" mean here?
Unless you are talking about more than an hour or two per week, or you are in a cramped space with zero ventilation, they are "nice to have" but I wouldn't sweat it.

If I really needed a fume extractor, I would use a recycled fan from a computer and a clothes-dryer vent and hose.  if you REALLY are serious about keeping fumes out of your nose, then send them outdoors where they belong.

[G0HZU]

What does "occasional" mean here?
Unless you are talking about more than an hour or two per week, or you are in a cramped space with zero ventilation, they are "nice to have" but I wouldn't sweat it.

If I really needed a fume extractor, I would use a recycled fan from a computer and a clothes-dryer vent and hose.  if you REALLY are serious about keeping fumes out of your nose, then send them outdoors where they belong.

Yes, that's what I did here. My fume extractor only took a few minutes to make (so it looks pretty hideous) but it works quite well.

I got a long shoebox sized box and cut two holes in it. I taped the fan into one end and stuck a piece of cheap white ducting into the other. The other end of the ducting goes to my solder station. The box size was chosen so it could be easily rammed into a small top vent window.

The whole thing looks crap and would probably break a few rules for efficient airflow design but it seems to work really well and is very quiet because the fan is effectively outside the room. The total cost was limited to the cost of the ducting tube and this was probably just a few pounds. I don't think the fumes re enter the room because the box pokes out of the window by over 6 inches and there's usually a cross breeze past my house.

[JBaughb]

I've always wanted to slap something together with some dryer duct tubing and one of those fancy maglev fans. Would be a fun weekend project.

or 5 minute project, but sometimes those take me a whole weekend.

[Smith]

Yes they do work. We use Weller wfe2p solder fume extractors at work. I occasionally use mine (don't solder that much), and every few months i have to entirely clean the filter and pipe on the solder iron. It gets really disgusting, sometimes even cloghing the pipe entirely!

[coflynn]

I've always wanted to slap something together with some dryer duct tubing and one of those fancy maglev fans.

I previously used one based on a duct booster fan like this:


+ dryer vent tubing, and just exhausted the gasses outside. Worked fairly well, and the metal tubing held its shape well enough that I could position around the bench. If you want to exhaust other fumes too (i.e. cleaning, etc) it's much better than a little filter device IMHO.

[georges80]

I made a thread and put up some pics of my diy setup.

Locline makes some stuff that is perfect for the job. It is sturdy and supports its own weight easily. You can move/position it as needed. Regardless of the fan you use and how you duct it in or out, the locline stuff is fantastic for this application. It is also what some of the big guys use (other than they source it in black).

Pic of the fume ducting - the blue pipe on the left of the picture with the orange 'inlet' attached.

cheers,
george.