Questions about Smoke Absorber - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: SH@RK
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 03, 2012, 10:01:40 pm
content: HiI want to get smoke absorber because I am doing all soldering in closed room (there is no ventilation)I did not find anything good in my city so now online searchingso after some search I found one should be good for mehttp://www.cmlsupply.com/benchtop-solder-smoke-absorber-with-spring-arm.htmlI think the spring arm will make it easy to use from different angles .It will cost me 57$ only for shippingSo , does these kind of smoke absorber worth it ?Does it work very good in closed places ?Do I need to get filters or the original will survive for years ?Do u think I should get normal standing one like this ?http://www.ebay.com/itm/320946303191?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649Do you suggest a better one (cheaper if possible ) ?==============What do u think about this ?http://www.cmlsupply.com/vacuum-suction-pen-with-3-pads.html==============Thanks

author: fozzyvis
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 03, 2012, 10:07:49 pm
content: Maybe you could look into projects like this one:http://jumperone.com/2011/07/portable-fume-extractor/.Add/remove whatever you think you need...

author: David_AVD
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 03, 2012, 10:59:06 pm
content: That one on the arm looks ok to me. How often you change the filters is hard to say. Maybe check what it looks like after 50 hours of use?

author: SH@RK
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 04, 2012, 02:25:56 am
content: Quote from: fozzyvis on November 03, 2012, 10:07:49 pmThanksI tried to do like it before but not good for my room (I do not have pictures to show it now)Using 2 12V fans it will blow all the smoke away from me but still in the same room (no ventilation)I tried adding several kinds of filters but will not absorb the smoke if using filter .So I thought about looking for good one in the market and I found what I am asking about above .AndDavid_AVDI am soldering at least one hour a week (very little because most of the week in the university)I will try to search for pictures of used filters and see what it looks like .Thanks

author: M. András
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 04, 2012, 09:20:43 am
content: to absorb the smoke you need some fine particle prefilter you can find it one cheaply, activated carbon filter, and if you want to go for overkill put behind all of this a hepa filter a h14 will definetly do the job

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 04, 2012, 04:04:26 pm
content: The only thing that will remove the metal contamination from the air is something like this.http://www.totalextraction.co.uk/Product/Welding/UNI.htmBut that is overkill for a bit of solder fume, in reality you are not likely to come to much harm from the solder fumes produced fro hobby soldering. A small fan on your bench just moves the fume around the room and if your room is small you will still breath them in just a bit later than when produced, if you are just going to use a fan you want one that will shift the air to outside, you could just put a hose out of the window but doing that you might just well open the window and let natural drafts do the work.

author: M. András
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 04, 2012, 04:12:37 pm
content: during welding thats sure there will be metal particles in the fumes and god knows what else but during soldering what metal will create particles which then goes up with the smoke from the flux?

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 04, 2012, 05:19:18 pm
content: A very small amount of lead, tin and copper. Very small amounts sure and not enough in the normal sceme of things to hurt you but still detectable. All I was pointing out is that this is the sort of equipment required to remove said particles and just putting a fan on the bench just move the problem around it could be that just keeping out of the vapor plume and letting convection currents carry the fumes upwards is the best policy for hobby purposes.

author: SH@RK
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 04, 2012, 06:31:15 pm
content: I just found thisWhat do u think about it ?Quote from: G7PSK on November 04, 2012, 04:04:26 pmI think it will work but it will cost more than anything in my roomSo I think I will pass this optionThanks

author: ftransform
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 04, 2012, 07:08:23 pm
content: I would just run a duct to the window with a squirrel cage fan. Do you really wanna trust your health to some "filter"?You can run a duct under a desk and that way you can be assured that all the fumes are wisked away. Not to mention it will probably be cheaper.I read that those smoke extractors have questionable filtering effect.You can get a 900cfm squirrel cage fan for like 90$. Then you can run ducting to whatever, the losses along the pipe should be insignificant compared to the amount of suction that you need if you get a overkill fan. It might require some work to be put into the walls but hey, whatever makes you sleep soundly at night.Just like the video above, but I would recommend placing the fan at the end of the system, as it will create negative pressure along the ducting and any leaks will create a suction, so your fumes do not escape the system up until the exit.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 05, 2012, 04:35:04 pm
content: 900CFM is quite a lot ... But come to think of it, squirrel fans make massive amounts of static pressure which is good