2010 - Volume #BFS, Issue #10, Page #19

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Portable Filter System Keeps Shop Air Clean

Portable Filter System Keeps Shop Air Clean FARM SHOP Miscellaneous 90-10-19 If you're tired of breathing in welding smoke or grinder dust particles when working in your shop, you'll like this new portable air cleaner that goes where the work is. Wayne Hughes, owner of Air-Vac Systems, Cedar Falls, Iowa, says, "It pulls welding smoke or other fumes and particles away from your face before they can get into your breathing zone," he says. The first-of-its-kind air cleaner rides on four caster wheels and is housed in a 16-gauge steel cabinet that measures 3 ft. wide by 2 ft. deep by 6 ft. high. A "step-on" brake locks the unit to the floor while it's in use. An electric fan at the top of the unit pulls dirty air through an 8-pocket bag filter inside the cabinet. An 8-in. dia. suction arm on front draws dirty air into the unit before it has a chance to get out into the shop. The arm can be swiveled left or right 180 degrees, and also swivels at the hood and at the center of the hose. External springs counterbalance the weight of the arm, with friction joints added for stability. "If you want you can even set the hose to reach 11 ft. straight up into the air," says Hughes. A metal mesh spark arrestor filter is located below the bag filters and catches sparks in a slag pan, which can be pulled out and emptied. It prevents any hot sparks from going into the bag filter and catching on fire. "The bag filters need to be changed only about once a year. The spark arrestor filter should be cleaned about once a month," notes Hughes. Sells for $3,980. There's a $500 discount for Farm Show readers. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Air-Vac Systems, 1514 W. Lone Tree Rd., Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613 (ph 800 234-2473; whughes@cfu.net; www.air-vacsystems.com).