CPAP air supply for woodworking

[justbreathe]

Has anyone ever used an old brick CPAP rigged with a HEPA filter and an oxygen mask to supply clean air for woodworking.

I do some art work with my scrollsaw and use a dust mask but it fogs up my glasses and is hot. I am wondering if I got an old CPAP on craigslist to use in this way would be a solution. They make this type of helmet filter that runs on battery but being the jerry-rig kind of guy I bet this would work for less money.

Any ideas?

[Tip10]

Something along the lines of a FitLife total face mask should be all you need.
You could build you a nice wooden box to put the machine in with suitable filters on it's air intakes to filter the majority of the particles (could even use allergen type furnace filters) and let the fine filter on the machine do the rest and you should be good to go.

[xenablue]

I use a respirator dust mask which isn't any where near as hot and doesn't fog up my glasses. The masks I use are suitable for fibreglass and sanding. IMHO this would be worth trying before tethering yourself to a machine.

Cheers,
xena

[Tip10]

Just looked -- a really good full face respirator mask still costs far less that the full face CPAP mask........

I'd look into upgrading your dust mask to a respirator as a start.

[avi123]

IMO, the first objective is to remove the sawdust at the source.

I have not tried this one :

http://www.resp-o-rator.com/ror/

These cost more, but have the face shields included:

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/200492 ... hield.aspx

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/202099 ... d-Pro.aspx

[Tip10]

I was thinking more along these lines:

http://www.amazon.com/MSA-Safety-Works- ... B000P9CX1A

[archangle]

I've always thought that simply blowing clean air into a simple mask was a better way to do industrial face masks. Simply attach a fan to suck air through a filter and blow fresh air into the mask. That way you don't have to fight to inhale against the filter. You don't need to seal as well. You don't end up rebreathing your own moist, stale air.

You could either have a fan on the mask itself, or have a hose going to a box elsewhere or on your belt. In a lot of ways, it's the same idea as CPAP, but without as much pressure.

You don't need to keep up pressure like a CPAP does, you just need enough airflow that the air flows out of leaks in the mask, not into the mask. You wouldn't need to seal like a CPAP mask does. It would leak less because you don't have as much pressure, and you aren't as worried about leaks anyway.

I know they do some of this for high hazard environments like germ labs or poison atmospheres, but I'm thinking of something much simpler for stuff like wood shops or even yard work. It's a more comfortable way of doing the same thing.

By the way, a CPAP system is an excellent way of doing this if the hose and mask don't get in the way. And if you can handle being on a short leash. You might want to put some extra filtering on the air inlet for the machine, and/or use a longer hose.

[Guest]

I have used my ol tank with a 10ft hose and a nasal mask to clean out the cellar. I dont like the full faced mask it makes you sweat while working. Use more pressure than when sleeping or you will come up short of breath.

[francisco]

@ archangel:

The concept you outlined has already been invented and is used industrially. It is called a Powered Air-Purifying Respirator (PAPR).

From Wikipedia:
The purpose of this type of respirator is to take air that is contaminated with one or more types of pollutants, remove a sufficient quantity of those pollutants and then supply the air to the user. There are different units for different environments. The units consist of a powered fan which forces incoming air through one or more filters for delivery to the user for breathing. The fan and filters may be carried by the user or with some units the air is fed to the user via tubing while the fan and filters are remotely mounted.

The type of filtering must be matched to the contaminants that need to be removed. Some respirators are designed to remove fine particulate matter such as the dust created during various woodworking processes. When used in combination with the correct filters they are suitable for working with volatile organic compounds such as those used in many spray paints. At the same time filters that are suitable for volatile substances must typically have their filter elements replaced more often than a particulate filter. In addition there is some confusion over terminology. Some literature and users will refer to a particulate filtering unit as a dust mask or filter and then use the term respirator to mean a unit that can handle organic solvents.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respirator ... espirators

[archangle]

@ archangel:

The concept you outlined has already been invented and is used industrially. It is called a Powered Air-Purifying Respirator (PAPR).

Thanks, I didn't know the term. I knew they were available, but they're very high dollar stuff for big commercial customers. They're intended for majorly bad breathing environments.

I think such devices could be made a lot more cheaply for smaller customers or even home users. Especially if you made it a battery powered device. It would probably be a lot more comfortable and would solve a lot of the sweaty mask, bad seal, fogged glasses problems that current respirators have. A lot of people who should be using a respirator don't use one because of these problems.

It could even be a device you strap on to you and power with an electric cord. It's a lot easier to drag around an electric cord than an air hose.

[DaveLP]

For a scroll saw, I'd use a shop vac with a long hose (to get the noise away from you).

I have a cyclone vacuum system that I built from a wood magazine project. I bought a Harbor Feight dust collector that used a bag (1 hp) and built the cyclone using the article from the magazine. I have it ducted into my shop (from around the corner in the basement) using 4" plumbing pipe with flexible pipe to the machines. I have to open and close a shutter on each machine to maintain vacuum at max, but it's still strong enough to suck a glass quart mayonnaise jar up the tube and into the pipe. It wedged at the elbow. I was using the flexible tube to clean up my workbench.

This is not mine, but it's built from the same plans.
http://wayneswoodwork.davyfamily.com/CycloneMain.htm

[OddTodd]

I built a box, drilled a 3" hole on the side of my shop close to center of room about 6', mounted box, added screen, filter, and vent, hooks to keep it above me, setup CPAP values, and now have fresh air!

[Goofproof]

I always thought smelling the Wood was part of the Goodness of Woodworking. But if you think you must surf yard sales for old Hair Dryers, put one in a box with hepa filters. Jim

[chunkyfrog]

An isolated air supply is commonly used for painting.
Hubby had one, but sold it to a friend who really needed it.
I don't know if a cpap hose would be long enough to work effectively,
Or if more hose were added--would the blower be effective?

[palerider]

An isolated air supply is commonly used for painting.
Hubby had one, but sold it to a friend who really needed it.
I don't know if a cpap hose would be long enough to work effectively,
Or if more hose were added--would the blower be effective?

I think so... I've got a 10 foot hose on mine, (and there's a setting), I don't see why another 10 feet would be an issue, you're not trying to maintain a specific therapy pressure, after all, just enough airflow to breathe easily.