Products > Test Equipment
Room air filter for solder smoke?
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Faringdon:
Thanks, the cheap solution, as  hinted kindly by thm_w looks like the attached, i believe.

1...Have 2 fans on the bench to disperse the solder smoke away from your face.
2....Then an inline duct fan on the bench, blowing air into the duct, at the other end of the duct you jam it with filter material like wool etc.......and that will just gradually clean the room air.
Any good?
thm_w:
I'm fine with just the one fan and duct, no secondary fan on the desk, but depends on your preference.
The items you list are.. ok not great. Ideally you have a proper HEPA filter (similar to what arvidb shows) instead of just cotton that won't really catch anything.

The problem is you have to adapt the filter on the end of your hose, and usually they are square sizes which is not easy. Cardboard or posterboard can work.

Ideas:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amazon-Bascis-Purifier-Replacement-Filter/dp/B09W9JV3KJ/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/kalado-Purifier-Filter-KCA02-High-Efficiency/dp/B0BZ8938SN/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/DeLonghi-Replacement-Filter-Purifier-ACF-2/dp/B00CPDZ3TI/
sebyon:

--- Quote from: Fungus on September 21, 2023, 02:08:59 pm ---Kitchen extractor blowing into one of these: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33010913122.html

I'm not sure how many microns are needed for solder fumes. Anybody?

--- End quote ---

Good on you for taking this seriously.

Solder fumes are typically between 0.1 to 1 micron. The nasty part would be the volatile organics from the flux. A HEPA filter will capture the particulate matter, while you'll need an activated carbon filter to neutralise the volatile organics from the flux. 

The best thing to consider is how much soldering you're doing, and how confined your workspace is. While off the shelf and DIY units would do little for filtration and neutralising, having airflow pushing it away from your respirable zone would drive down your exposure. If you're doing a lot of soldering, I would look at commercially made units with both HEPA and carbon filters.



 
Faringdon:
Thanks, i have looked into some HEPA filters to put round the exit of the duct.

Also, i wonder if this el cheapo humidifier at £20 would do some good.....it puts water vapour into the air,  and i wonder, if the water vapour may catch hold of the rosin flux particles, and lead solder particles, and stick to them, and make them fall to the floor?

Humidifier:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Portable-Purifier-Humidifier-adjustable-Suitable/dp/B09BL533YJ/ref=sr_1_18_sspa?crid=3UJM29IGUP6QB&keywords=HEPA%2BFILTER&qid=1695482793&sprefix=hepa%2Bfilter%2Caps%2C81&sr=8-18-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9idGY&th=1

i am actually wondering if a kettle, with water being brought to the boil every say 10 minutes, and emitting steam into the air, may also have such benefit?

___---___
Then there's this, for £33 and the HEPA  filter is £12 on top of that...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BGN5GTG4/ref=twister_B0BKJGFDY6?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

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Then there these £10 HEPA filters which could be cut into 5 inch diam discs, and put into the 5 inch ducting with the fan at the other end?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HQRP-4-pack-Bionaire-Purifiers-Coaster/dp/B01GQBJ70U/ref=sr_1_3?crid=7FPRPZXTTFDW&keywords=5+INCH+HEPA+AIR+FILTER&qid=1695484005&s=kitchen&sprefix=5+inch+hepa+air+filter%2Ckitchen%2C72&sr=1-3

___---___

Then theres just ducting the room air to one of these £26'ers placed on the ground..say 2 metres away....that way, you will be assured that the entire room air goes through the filter at some point...rather than just using the solder fan filter on its own..

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Soldering-Absorber-Remover-Extractor-absorbs/dp/B0CH9W1SFQ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E5ILSPJUN8EN&keywords=solder+air+filter&qid=1695484775&sprefix=solder+air+filte%2Caps%2C81&sr=8-1
Jackster:
I used to use these to filter out smoke from soldering and laser cutter in my shed back in the day.
https://amzn.to/3PuIRxl

They work great. Just a wooden box with a HEPA and activated carbon filter with a decent 12V NIDEC server fan in it.


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