Basement shop, Air quality

[C. in Indy]

Hi All, I work my projects in the basement and I'm doing over 90% of the work with hand tools in recent years. So I don't have a major amount of dust in the usual sense. But even the domestic woods tend to be 'aromatic' (like Oak smell), and my wife is concerned if there are air quality problems.

I do general shop-cleanup with an old (loud like a 4-barrel carburetor) Dust Collector and hose accessories; this filters to 5 microns.

I'm thinking of some finer-grade air-cleaner device to run on a continual basis while I'm in the basement. So it's best if it's rather quiet. Any recommendations? Maybe a Honeywell Air Purifier? Or some shop-cleaner from the likes of Shop Vac or the woodworking companies?

Thanks in advance,

[Admiral]

Gee, I don't know, the gassing off of normal household products (e.g., carpets, plastics, etc.) in the main house (or in a new car for sure) seem to me to be more worrisome than that of domestic wood. I view the issue of particulates in the air to be more of an issue than "gassing" of wood aroma. But then again, we all die of something. I use a dust collector for TS, jointer, planer and have a Griz air cleaner, and feel pretty good about the air quality in the shop. I would think that an air purifier would get buggered up by the particulates in a shop environment, even with hand tool use.

[JimBelair]

At the very least I'd put a HEPA filter on your shop vac. If it won't accept one, time for a new vac (seems like you're over due just from a noise standpoint).

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.as...&cat=1,42401

[Anji12305]

I have an overhead, two stage filter that I turn on after a sanding
session. If there's a strong smell, I run an old Honeywell hassock fan for a few hours. It's quiet and seems to do the trick.

There's no substitute for opening a window, or outside door.

Honeywell 50250-S

[Alan S]

An air cleaner like the Jet will do a pretty good job of taking dust out of the air. There are some questions about whether it will adequately protect you while you produce dust (measurements are not bad, but you'd have some exposure) but if you run it while you're there, and on a timer for a while after, it will do a very good job of protecting others from exposure. This can be quite important if someone is highly allergic.

[Wilbur Pan]

I have a JDS 750-ER, which does a great job in my small basement shop. The current model is the Air-Tech HP. It filters down to 1 micron.

All of the air cleaners are pretty much the same machine, but I decided to get mine from JDS because they were the only company that rated the air handling capacity with measurements that reflected how the air cleaner actually performed in use. Most companies say that their air cleaner can pass some amount of cubic feet of air per minute, but that rating is done with all the filters taken out. When you install the filters, the CFM drops. JDS would report that number in their specs.

Even with hand tools, if I’m doing a lot of sawing I’ll smell that wood dust smell in the air, and I don’t have a great sense of smell. Turning on the air cleaner does help.

[C. in Indy]

Thank you all! I will digest your ideas and proceed.

Thanks,

[mikefm101]

I have a basement shop with no ventilation apart from a tiny window at one end. Its normally shut anyway as most of my woodworking is in the winter.

The miter saw and sanders get connected to a Shop Vac like yours with a HEPA filter.

I have a Jet DC650 dust collector, but upgraded the 5 micron bag to a Penn State 1 Micron bag many years ago.

The last few years I noticed after spending time in the shop I was getting a runny nose all the time. I purchased a Jet air filter and the nose cleared up, and in fact the air feels better in the shop than before. I have it mounted just forward of the table saw and run it if doing a moderate amount of TS work and when sanding. I'll try to start it a few minutes before using the tools to get air moving, but usually do not run it constantly or for hours after I leave.

I also keep it pretty well swept up and don't let dust accumulate.

I am in the shop weekends and occasional evenings, so not a heavy user, but even my light use creates noticeable dust and the methods above seem to alleviate that.

Mike

[paulmaine]

You might consider doing a home radon test yourself. A dehumidifier is helpful to reduce chances of mold growing. I use an overhead JDS air cleaner. Dust collectors like the inexpensive Delta with a cheap cloth bag let all sorts of dust back into the air..Some spalted woods are said to be difficult for lungs. Sanding is the worst thing-the smaller the sandpaper grid the smaller the particle size.