I have a coppus. The small ones are really for specification locations. Kinda a pain to move to every joint you weld, but works. I use it onsite. In addition to an extractor you might consider an air scrubber.

 

I just sold my Miller 130 Filtair lately......

and use the blue Covid masks they hand out free at the grocery store. [emoji12]


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Lis2323
Did you like the Miller 130 Filtair?
I'm going to try the covid mask. I'm making 2500 brackets and will have a lot of hood time.

 

The 130 Filtair worked fine. I would prefer a bigger fixed unit with a large overhead swinging extraction tube though. Being “portable” just means it takes up more room.

You could most likely wall mount the unit if your welding bench is always in the same area though.

I purchased it new “out of box” off eBay several years ago for a really good price so I certainly didn’t lose money on the deal.


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I understand. I may fix it to a wall or hand from the ceiling. Just working in a 2 car garage which I share with my hobby car, space is a premium to say the least.

 

Do some research and see who makes that unit for Miller. Like everything else you are paying for the name.

That model would be easy to wall mount. Just unscrew the casters and put it on a shelf.


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Has anyone ever took one apart to see how its made or what it would take to build there own.

 

Yeah. Easy enough. Aside from brand. Filter sets are much of the expense. Portable are for a specific task. Not really permanent or home shop friendly. Pretty annoying if you weld a project with lots of weld locations.

 

How about using a standard shop vac with a HEPA filter installed? The fumes we don't like to breathe are basically the visible particulates (what causes the smoke to be seen by the naked eye) and certain to be captured by a standard vacuum with a good filter. You could even build a box to hold a second filter inline somewhere if you wanted more protection.

I visited a shop last year that had a very "simple" solution that amounted to nothing more than a 6" flexible duct that ran from the work table to the wall where there was a standard exhaust fan built in. He'd wired an on/off switch right at the bench so it was easy to turn the fan on when you were positioning things. No filtration needed since the fan got the smoke up and out of the building rather than exhausting into the building.

 

Shop vac would not be the right kind of fan for this. They are high suction but low volume. You want to move a higher volume of air but not with a lot of suction power for this. It is more like ventilation than vacuuming stuff. A furnace fan/squirrel cage would be more the type. Just find or buy one of those and add a filter as desired, but be careful the filter is not going to catch a spark and smolder.

 

Shop vac's don't work good as fume extractors and can catch on fire. Maybe all you need is an exhaust fan. The Marley Power Cat has hose that can be connected to it.

https://www.electricheaterwarehouse...se.com/Qmark-1200XL-Power-Cat-Portable-Blower--8771120-CFM--120-VAC_p_1603.html

 

I run fans and got a fume extractor. LOL

 

Reebz what did you end up using for an extractor?


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I got the miller product, pricey but my LWS stands behind everything they sell. "My nose clean out" is much better, gross but fact.

 

Good choice. [emoji106]


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In addition to the ventilation - It is still worth wearing a respirator under your hood, especially for the messier processes like MIG and stick. I always felt queasy after MIG welding a bit in my garage until I started doing that. TIG I don't do it, even though I know I probably should, especially on SS.