Ace portable fume extractor score....

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I often weld smaller stuff in our attached garage and, like many others, wind up outside if I'm doing something that throws off fumes and smoke so I've been kind of lurking on Craigslist for a fume extractor.  And this one showed up nearly two weeks ago about 45 minutes from me.  It took until this morning to match our travel and other schedules and $250 later it finally hit the welding table this afternoon.It's a pretty straightforward unit.  Two fan motors, a switch, an air pressure differential circuit with green and red lights to alert you to clogged filters, a 10' long 2-1/2" hose with a short flexible steel hose mounted on a magnetic base and the intake nozzle.  Add the 12x12x11.5" main filter and a 12x12x1 pre-filter and a spark baffle and I think you could likely make a pretty good one like this for a lot less than the $1100-1200 these retail for.The main filter (95% @ 5 micron MERV 15 equivalent) appears to be new or very nearly so.  The MERV 9 equivalent pre-filter shows some dust and I have some on the way. It is single speed 190 CFM but there is a direct swap 90-190 CFM switch for it I think I'll order.The 95% filter is recommended for everything but stainless steel welding where they recommend a HEPA filter rated at 99.97% at 0.3 micron.  They note that the HEPA filter will plug up much fast than the 95% filter if used as a general purpose filter.I have a Multimatic 255 and now have Hypertherm Powermax45 XP plasma cutter on back order.  I plan to use some of the sticks of Unitstrut I have on the basement stock rack to make a cart with with adjustable height shelves with the extractor on top, the Multimatic in the middle and the Powermax on the bottom next to a small tool chest with drawers for consumables and hand tools and with the gas cylinders on the back.  Now I need to find if there is an arc sensing switch that's affordable to a hobby welder.  Or a rough idea of what's needed to make one. The unit draws 14 amps at 120 volts at full load.Best regards to all,Last edited by LanceR; 04-29-2021 at 06:03 PM.LanceMultimatic 255 w/MDX-250 EZ-Select gunHypertherm Powermax45 XPHeck Bevel Mill 4000Miller/Smith heavy duty torch set9" Evolution circular saw
Reply:Originally Posted by LanceRI often weld smaller stuff in our attached garage and, like many others, wind up outside if I'm doing something that throws off fumes and smoke so I've been kind of lurking on Craigslist for a fume extractor.  And this one showed up nearly two weeks ago about 45 minutes from me.  It took until this morning to match our travel and other schedules and $250 later it finally hit the welding table this afternoon.It's a pretty straightforward unit.  Two fan motors, a switch, an air pressure differential circuit with green and red lights to alert you to clogged filters, a 10' long 2-1/2" hose with a short flexible steel hose mounted on a magnetic base and the intake nozzle.  Add the 12x12x11.5" main filter and a 12x12x1 pre-filter and a spark baffle and I think you could likely make a pretty good one like this for a lot less than the $1100-1200 these retail for.The main filter (95% @ 5 micron MERV 15 equivalent) appears to be new or very nearly so.  The MERV 9 equivalent pre-filter shows some dust and I have some on the way. It is single speed 190 CFM but there is a direct swap 90-190 CFM switch for it I think I'll order.The 95% filter is recommended for everything but stainless steel welding where they recommend a HEPA filter rated at 99.97% at 0.3 micron.  They note that the HEPA filter will plug up much fast than the 95% filter if used as a general purpose filter.I have a Multimatic 255 and now have Hypertherm Powermax45 XP plasma cutter on back order.  I plan to use some of the sticks of Unitstrut I have on the basement stock rack to make a cart with with adjustable height shelves with the extractor on top, the Multimatic in the middle and the Powermax on the bottom next to a small tool chest with drawers for consumables and hand tools and with the gas cylinders on the back.  Now I need to find if there is an arc sensing switch that's affordable to a hobby welder.  Or a rough idea of what's needed to make one. The unit draws 14 amps at 120 volts at full load.Best regards to all,
Reply:WOW! 14 amps! That's a lot of power for a "fan"!You sure it is not 1 point 4 amps? Nice score by the way!
Reply:Hi RexIt has a pair of fan motors that from the parts diagram are rated at 95 CFM each after the duct work....which is considerable in light of the total of around 12' of corrugated 2-1/2" hose they have to suck through.  The data plate reads 14.0 Amps.  Which if you look at what large commercial vacuum cleaners draw is no surprise.LanceLanceMultimatic 255 w/MDX-250 EZ-Select gunHypertherm Powermax45 XPHeck Bevel Mill 4000Miller/Smith heavy duty torch set9" Evolution circular saw