discussion Bench extractor test

[BattleshipBob]

I recently posted a question about buying a bench extractor to control paint fumes, when brush painting lacquer and smelly glues in the house instead of going down to the garage. So keeping fumes from stinking the house out!!

It arrived yesterday so a experiment, does it work or waste of my hard earned teachers pension???

Reached the bench from a socket nice and easy, they said its more powerful on its side, so on its side it went!. So added the charcoal filter and opened a tin of my favorite Mr Surfacer and straight away the pong escaped! So put my nose close to the bottle and YES, it was very strong, so on went the extractor and the fumes instantly vanished! Next, the old nose to the exhaust, nothing. So then a bottle of IPA, same result. So yes, it worked and perfect for my lacquer brush painting, using smelly glues, etc. You can see the suction, i placed a borrowed ( nicked ) serviette, good I thought especially with the filter in place.

forgot to add the motor not too noisy!

Bought from Ebay for under £20, other typically £25 to 30

 

[pjgtech]

Thanx for the info.....
Where/how does it extract? or does it just use a charcoal filter?
If so do you know how long each filter will last?
Also, how noisy is it?
Cheers

 

[BattleshipBob]

Hi

it exhausts through a slot at the top, not very noisy too be fair.

Bugger all on the box and no instructions! But it's easy to use, honest lol.

looked on the web ref the filter, the filter will start to turn white due to smoke from soldering or of course the suction power will drop! Not a scooby if the same will happen with paint fumes???

in addition they say you can weight it, 12g clean 16g knackered ( technical term )

 

[Tim Marlow]

Thanx for the info.....
Where/how does it extract? or does it just use a charcoal filter?
If so do you know how long each filter will last?
Also, how noisy is it?
Cheers

Going from what Bob has posted,
- it extracts front to back (first shot is the fan at the back).
- Don’t know about carbon filter, but that is more than likely. Filter life is absolutely tied to challenge (how much contaminant you throw at it) and time in use, I posted this the other day . With something like this I’d keep a spare filter if I could get one, and just change the filter when I can smell the contamination during use. It’s not going to get heavy industrial use after all.
- According to Bob it’s not too noisy…..

 

[pjgtech]

Ah ok, so technically its not "extracting", eg: venting to external air, its actually a filter that is trapping the odours/fumes via the charcoal filter, bit like a cooker hood. In all the cooker hoods I've used, the filters tended to last about three months, then needed changing, but TBH thats mostly due to build up of grease, etc, not really from smells? so your one should probably last longer, maybe change the filters every six months.
I assume it will be the same sort of charcoal filters used in cooker hoods, and you can buy spares of those on the bay of Evil or Amazon, Temu, etc, so should be cheap and easy.
Cheers for the info, I might have to invest in one of these myself....

 

[Jim R]

Glad it works Bob and not a lot of money. I reckon Tim is right - charcoal filter change when you notice the smell is back.

 

[BattleshipBob]

It will do for me Jim, cheap and will not used a great deal but gives me the option. The filters are easily available l.

Once we eventually find our bunaglow and my modelling room i can then use the booths as they will be in the same room, finally lol

 

[Tim Marlow]

Ah ok, so technically its not "extracting", eg: venting to external air, its actually a filter that is trapping the odours/fumes via the charcoal filter, bit like a cooker hood.

No, it’s a containment device, not just a vent line to outside, so is actually far more effective. It doesn’t just shoot the fumes out of the room, it traps and neutralises them. Recycling filtered air to the room is extremely common in professional bio and chemy safety applications.

An example of a bio safety unit…….and if you can afford it, can you buy me one LOL…

https://www.shopaessolutions.co.uk/purair-1-5m-pb-60-biological-safety-cabinet.html

 

[Tim Marlow]

Looks like a good buy for your application Bob, nice choice ????

 

[Ian M]

How is the exhaust blast out the back. I can see dust being an issue.
Re the carbon filter. Full face respirator masks with cartridge filters recommend that carbon filters are changed weekly in volatile conditions, monthly in normal(?) usage (I am guessing non harmful odours).
Even if the filters are kept in an airtight bag between use. Max six months...
But as we all know anything is better than nowt.
I would, weather permitting, put a vent tube out the window when possible.

 

[BattleshipBob]

The amount of fumes will be small, I will not leave open a tin of lacquer while I work, but decant a amount into a pallet so further reducing the smell.

This way the filter should last a good time, it wil do me fine

 

[Tim Marlow]

How is the exhaust blast out the back. I can see dust being an issue.
Re the carbon filter. Full face respirator masks with cartridge filters recommend that carbon filters are changed weekly in volatile conditions, monthly in normal(?) usage (I am guessing non harmful odours).
Even if the filters are kept in an airtight bag between use. Max six months...
But as we all know anything is better than nowt.
I would, weather permitting, put a vent tube out the window when possible.

Er, I used full and half face respirators, safety cabinets, and chemical cabinets for thirty years Ian. None of them had filter changes remotely like that frequency, unless they were steam sterilised (which shortens life very quickly). Respirators were changed two yearly. Mine was used for formaldehyde protection as I was a named fumigator. Safety cabinets were tested at each use and easily went yearly between changes. That seems like an absolute worst case scenario with the heaviest challenge possible. Either that or the rules were set by a filter salesman LOL.

 

[pjgtech]

Ah right, there you go, well you learn something new everyday, Lol.... I might have to get one of these as I do get the odd strong smell when painting/glueing.....

 

[pjgtech]

Oh S*d it.....!
I've just pulled the trigger and bought one myself from eBay (£19.99).....
I'm such a sucker for a gadget.....

 

[Ian M]

I was just saying what it said on the box with the cartridges in.

 

[Tim Marlow]

I was just saying what it said on the box with the cartridges in.

No worries Ian, I was just quoting from experience and test data…….nothing we use is actually that toxic, or of a high concentration, so a good rule of thumb is if you can smell it, change the filter….

 

[pjgtech]

Got mine today, see pics..
Quick mooch in the garage and knocked up a basic but functional "booth" which I will coat internally with white lining paper....
Gonna use it in the garage, for when I use Tamiya aerosol fine surface primer....