01-11-2018, 12:41 PM
For years (I'm now in my late 70s) I've used dust masks when working with power tools, but not as faithfully as I should have because they're a damned nuisance, fog my glasses, get clammy with extended use, and make breathing an effort. I've looked at the powered respirators, but found they are for sure a lot more expensive than non-powered respirators or paper dust masks. Finally broke down and bought a Trend Airflow powered respirator (Rockler had them on sale at a modest discount, and shipped it for free). I debated spending more for the unit from Amazon including the clip on hearing protectors, but opted to go with the Trend Airflow from Rockler. When I got it I tried using it with my Peltor Optime hearing protectors, but that didn't work well, and ended up getting a set of the same muff in behind-the-head configuration, NR of 29 compared to the NR22 rating for the Trend clip-on option. These work much better than the conventional over-the-head model.
In use, there's some noise from the blower and airflow, but nothing objectionable. And the blower noise disappears when running my jointer or planer. And there's a full face shield, something the non-powered respirators or paper dust masks don't provide. Its weight is minimal, and I don't find it objectionable even for extended periods of time. I'm assuming the outer surfaces of the hellmet and face shield develope a bit of static charge, and find that I have to wipe the outer surface of the face shield. And this provides a good example of what I'm NOT breathing. Below is a picture of the unit after I'd spent about half an hour making some profiled edge banding for a bookshelf project. The planer, jointer, router table and tablesaw used in this operation are all connected to a dust collection system using a 3hp cyclone, and the planer and jointer also have "booster" 1 1/2 hp blowers due to being about 50 feet from the cyclone. And unfortunately the over-table blade guard/dust pickup on the tablesaw cannot be used when ripping 3/8" edge banding pieces. When I finished and took the unit off, there was no noticeable dust on the inside of the face shield or on my glasses.[attachment=7169][attachment=7169]
Should have bought one of these 50 years ago, but better late than never. Incidentally, the user review of the Trend Airflow on youtube includes a recommendation to wear the unit when cleaning the shop, something I'd not thought of, but definitely a good idea.
In use, there's some noise from the blower and airflow, but nothing objectionable. And the blower noise disappears when running my jointer or planer. And there's a full face shield, something the non-powered respirators or paper dust masks don't provide. Its weight is minimal, and I don't find it objectionable even for extended periods of time. I'm assuming the outer surfaces of the hellmet and face shield develope a bit of static charge, and find that I have to wipe the outer surface of the face shield. And this provides a good example of what I'm NOT breathing. Below is a picture of the unit after I'd spent about half an hour making some profiled edge banding for a bookshelf project. The planer, jointer, router table and tablesaw used in this operation are all connected to a dust collection system using a 3hp cyclone, and the planer and jointer also have "booster" 1 1/2 hp blowers due to being about 50 feet from the cyclone. And unfortunately the over-table blade guard/dust pickup on the tablesaw cannot be used when ripping 3/8" edge banding pieces. When I finished and took the unit off, there was no noticeable dust on the inside of the face shield or on my glasses.[attachment=7169][attachment=7169]
Should have bought one of these 50 years ago, but better late than never. Incidentally, the user review of the Trend Airflow on youtube includes a recommendation to wear the unit when cleaning the shop, something I'd not thought of, but definitely a good idea.