Recommend INEXPENSIVE fume extractor or welding exhaust device please.

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Okay, so I looked at Lincoln Electric and their little "R2-D2" looking fume extractor costs more than some of their welders!!!!  Even their little exhaust system machine is over $1,500 and it only directs fumes away from the welder.  It has no filtration elements associated with it so,  WTF?  I don't understand why it's so darn pricy!!!So far, I GMAW weld out on the driveway, but sometimes I've had to go into the garage when it gets windy.   Isn't there some inexpensive device that costs much less than the name brand systems?  I'd build my own using the flexible aluminum cloths dryer hose if necessary, but I have no idea what type of pump or fan to buy to suck and redirect the exhaust outside of the garage.  Any ideas?Thanks in advance.Lincoln Power Mig 216Lincoln AC/DC-225/125Miller  625 X-Treme PlasmaMiller 211 Forney 95FI-A 301HF 91110Victor Journeyman O/PMilwaukee DaytonMakita  Baileigh NRA Life Member
Reply:Hey S-A,I made this where I worked to vent some very acrid fumes from a material when we were welding. It had some kind of adhesive on the outer grooves of the frames we had to resize & re-weld.This is about as basic & INEXPENSIVE as you can get & quite small so it's easy to store away. Just an old squirrel cage fan with a piece of shop-vac hose attached. The end of the hose has a plate/clamp to adjust nozzle angle. Surprisingly, it worked very well venting the fumes to the wall exhaust fan. Other than something like this, some just use their shop-vac inflow hose near the work & attach a long hose to the vac exhaust & vent outside. Can't get any easier than that.Denny Attached ImagesComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:I did find a nice extractor used and bought it cheap, it is just a fan and vent hoses, 8" but in a pinch before that when I would weld in the garage in the winter I used my Craftsman shop vac with a hose connected to the exhaust port and run out side. It worked surprisingly well . I used the vac line but I like the line in the pictures above fastened to a metal pipe. I'm sure you could tape the plastic shop vac lines to a pipe. good luck."Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum"Lincoln Idealarc 250 AC/DCMillermatic 251   Syncrowave 300   30A spoolgunLincoln MP210Hypertherm 45(2) LN 25(2) Lincoln Weldanpower 225 CV(4) SA200   1 short hood    SA250    SAM 400
Reply:This contraption looks interesting for a fume extractor system... http://www.grizzly.com/products/G3376/images/It would trap any sparks instead of exhausting them thru the blower.... The blower could be an old furnace blower. Probably not necessary to purchase this cover,but at $30 it might save time. They did have one for a 5 gal. container at one time.The portion of tubing from the trash can to the work table could be dryer vent flex pipe to prevent it burning while the outlet tubing could be standard flex pipe or even flex drain pipe or combinations of each in conjunction with straight rigid pipe both metal and plastic.The picture shows how it could be designed... just extend the tubing to suit your own needs. They just set the system up with short tubing for example. The dust bags after the blower would not be required for a welder vent,just exhaust the fumes outside
Reply:I too have looked at fume extractors.  Basically most of the so called "inexpensive" ones (If you consider 2 grand inexpensive) look like giant shop vacs.    I wonder how good a shop vac hooked to a sheet metal hood would operate?  I know that trapping Hexavalent Chromium is part of the goal.  But some of the giant hoods I have seen have simple but large paper cartridges almost like a shop vac filter, and seem to pass muster for these applications.  I am no expert in particle filtration, but just wondering myself how you could get by on the cheap, without too much expense.  I'd hate to bet the farm on a system like this being 100% effective, but it surely must be somewhat effective, if nothing else is around, or affordable.Esab Migmaster 250Lincoln SA 200Lincoln Ranger 8Smith Oxy Fuel setupEverlast PowerPlasma 80Everlast Power iMIG 160Everlast Power iMIG 205 Everlast Power iMIG 140EEverlast PowerARC 300Everlast PowerARC 140STEverlast PowerTIG 255EXT
Reply:Why they are so damn expensive?  Well there are several species of vermine known as Lawyers, Insurance Carriers and OSHA agents who all contribute to the cost and nothing to the product itself.You have no idea how many insurance policies you're paying for on any purchase these days.As to making a fume exhauster, head over to the local box store and pick up some of the metal flexduct, 4" works nice, and then grab either a blower like yorkie has, or even a 5" computer fan which fits nicely into a slightly deformed 4 to 6" duct reducer and connect the whole deal up.  Getting the fan as close to the fumes as possible increases efficiency.NO you don't need to move a dang hurricane through the system to suck fumes!DON'T forget you have to replace every cubic foot of air you suck out or the system doesn't workl.
Reply:there is a difference between an exhaust system and a fume extractor. the extractor is a hepa filter system that dumps the cleaned air back where you are working. the exhaust sucks the dirty air away .
Reply:I put an attic fan up above my welding table.  It was under $80, and at 1200 cfm, it replaces all the air in my 440 sf garage every five minutes or so.The garage-door makes a 'shuck' sound and the walk-through door gets pulled closed when you turn it on.  Jack OlsenMy garage website
Reply:get one of the round floor fans from walmart then head over to lowes and get the large diameter metal foil flexable ductwork and attach using true duct tape and you can route the ductwork however you want.
Reply:If your looking for the quicky DIY solution I'd go get a used bathroom vent 200cfm-ish and some 4" flexi metal dryer vent if your looking just to clear the smoke and fumes. Or, if you want to suck more, you could go to a local heating/electrical supplier and pick up an inline or axial tube fan. I just got one for around $150, but it was a 6" and moves 300cfm. I'm going to build an extractor arm with it and 2 or 3 sections of spiral ducting w/ flex duct joints (like the arms that come with the $$$$ machines). The axial fan/arm will be hung on a bracket and be movable to three different 6" "dryer" vent outlets in the wall. Idea being I can have it reach a couple welding tables, belt sander, and plasma table. Once the new shop is complete I'll be able to build it. Probably a few months away but I'm planning to document it and make a post. Good luckBert200amp Air Liquide MIG, Hypertherm Plasma, Harris torches, Optrel helmet, Makita angle grinders, Pre-China Delta chop saw and belt sander, Miller leathers, shop made jigs etc, North- welders backpack.
Reply:Good ideas and this thread has some others.. http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=19542
Reply:Originally Posted by SuperArcOkay, so I looked at Lincoln Electric and their little "R2-D2" looking fume extractor costs more than some of their welders!!!!  Even their little exhaust system machine is over $1,500 and it only directs fumes away from the welder.  It has no filtration elements associated with it so,  WTF?  I don't understand why it's so darn pricy!!!So far, I GMAW weld out on the driveway, but sometimes I've had to go into the garage when it gets windy.   Isn't there some inexpensive device that costs much less than the name brand systems?  I'd build my own using the flexible aluminum cloths dryer hose if necessary, but I have no idea what type of pump or fan to buy to suck and redirect the exhaust outside of the garage.  Any ideas?Thanks in advance.