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Does anyone utilize an air quality monitor in shop? Im getting concerned about benign more health conscious and would like to start monitoring the air quality. Anyone have any recommendations?

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I use this one - http://www.dylosproducts.com/ornodcproair.html

M

Same as Michael, I use the Dylos DC1100 Pro which detects particles down to 0.5 microns in size. The non-Pro version of the DC1100 detects particles down to 1.0 micron.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

I don't have a monitor, but I have a Jet air filter sitting on a B & D workmate 3 feet from my bench. The filter gets covered, just with hand tools. Padauk, and it is red. Mahogany and it is brown. Spruce and it is white. I run it on high when I'm down there now.

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Why be normal?

Hi Ken,

I think you would be shocked at just how well cabinet style air filters hold <.5 micron dust particles in suspension. If you lived closer I’d loan you my Dylos so you could do your own testing.

Cheers, M

If you're interested, here are a couple posts from a couple years ago showing the kind of information you can gather about the air quality in your shop using a Dylos particle counter. Since I don't have a central dust collection system, I rely on dust collection at the source using a shop vac and on filtration of shop air using a ceiling-mounted Jet air handler. I found the information I got from the Dylos very useful.

In this one, I used the Dylos to see how effective my Jet air filtration unit was at reducing particle numbers:

http://luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=51479&p=677671&hilit=dylos#p677671



In this one, I tested how effective the Jet unit was while sanding with my drum sander:

http://luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=51532&hilit=dylos

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Thanks for that. I used to work as a carpenter and lived with wood dust for years. Fortunately my subsequent careers were not as dusty. Anyway, after reading the research from Bill Pentz I realized how bad the dust was. When I built my new shop (15’ x 22’) I installed a Oneida cyclone. The cyclone and ductwork are by far the most expensive tool I have. I also hung a large Jet filter from the ceiling. Although I don’t have a meter there’s an obvious huge improvement in the air quality. Can’t recommend it enough - take care of yourself!!


Steve

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I use the Dylos 1100 Pro too. Bill Penz's site has an article on converting units from the 1100 Pro to AQI. I use it less often now that I know what to do to keep the air clean. Putting high MERV filters from Wynn Environmental on the Jet air filter helps a lot, as does the old Nilfisk HEPA clean room shop vac.

Trouble with sawdust is it's the fine stuff that stays floating in the air which you can't see that's the hardest to capture and causes lung problems.

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formerly known around here as burbank
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Good comment about the shop vac, I use a Festool vac with HEPA bags cleaning my benches and when I vacuum the shop. Another expensive tool but, again, well worth it.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I’ve got a 5hp Oneida DC with MERV 16 filters, with a 3’ run to the biggest dust making tool in my 10 x 12 shop, and I was still getting the instant sniffles when I walked in. So I set up a HEPA filter that runs 24/7, and it helped an awful lot. As mentioned, it’s the stuff you can’t see that’ll kill you. It’s so fine that it acts more like a vapor than dust. It just doesn’t settle.

I've already purchased a Dylos 1100 Pro Thanks guys

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Due to the mild winters here I don’t have deal with heating the shop. So instead of the super efficient ducted collection system that I still lust after, or filters and air cleaners I just have a line of cheap 12” centrifugal blowers in one wall of the shop. I forget how many room air changes I get per hour but when I put them in I sized them to basically give me 150% of whatever Pentz recommended. Fire them up and fine dust is quickly vented to oblivion.

Vented to where?

His neighbors


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Outside. I don’t have a close neighbour, being that the workshop is in the middle of my 5 acre block, but it wouldn’t matter if I did, as I’m venting invisible fine dust that instantly disperses in the breeze, not chips or coarse sawdust. It’s less polluting that the emissions from the chimney of a wood burning stove etc

The only thing that might annoy a neighbour is the sound of the fans, but I chose centrifugal duct fans due to them being quieter (~56db) than regular extractor fans. So it’s not even that noisy considering the volume of air moved.


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Gotcha…

BTW - if you get the Dylos with the COM interface you can hook it to a RPi and have it kick the overhead air cleaner on and off automatically. I had that setup for a while using this outlet strip with a control relay.

Iot Relay - Enclosed High-power Power Relay for Arduino, Raspberry Pi, PIC or Wifi, Relay Shield https://a.co/d/gOUhWFa

Super nerdy, I know.


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