Trend Airshield powered respirator
#4
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.
   
   
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.
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#5
I'm in the same boat as you, but haven't yet pulled the trigger on the powered respirator. Thanks for the review.
Seems like I read somewhere that wiping the shield with a dryer softener ' anti-cling' sheet helps keep the dust off the shield.
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#6
Ed is right about wiping with the dryer sheets.I plan on getting one,I am on full time oxygen and need something to keep the dust out of my breathing tube and not pinch off my oxygen supply.About $500 in Canada,so will be a while.

Mel
ABC(Anything But Crapsman)club member
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