turnerted
14th June 2012, 03:05 PM
Back in 2005 I invested in a Triton respirator and it has served me well . About a year ago I realized that I would have to start looking for a replacement . There is just so much that can be patched up with duct tape and the visor had become so scratched that I was flipping it up to do detailed work ,which rather defeats the purpose of using it so I went looking for a replacement .
The Triton is no longer available and the 3M/Racal is overly expensive at nearly $1000.
I tried the Trend but I think it is poorly balanced and top heavy . I don't think the Paftec is suitable for me as I have facial adornment and I don't think it would seal well enough, also I would still need to use an additional face shield. So I decided to try making my own.
Some time ago, NeilS posted details of his system and I am gratefull to him for advice and suggestions.
I decided the only practical way to go for a DIY was to use a tethered system .Also I wanted to avoid having to recharge batteries and having to clean/replace filters.
For my air source I use an inline blower and suck air from outside my shed.
I bought this on E-bay for $79 + $17.95 cartage . It is called a 4" inline exhaust fan and is used in the hydroponic industry.It is said to put out 125 CFM and only uses 65W so it shouldn't cost much to run.
I cut a hole in the cement sheet cladding the internal wall of my shed for the blower and was intendind to run a bit of 4" pipe through the wall cavity to connect to the outside . The exterier of my shed is clad with hardie plank and when I looked through the hole on the inside,I could see plenty of daylight coming through the slits of the overlapping planks, so didn't need to cut an exterior hole.
I purchased some flexible tubing online from Rock Around The Block, a company that sells garden pond equipment . I bought tubing that was 25mm ID x 31mm OD at $5.30/m plus about $10 cartage. I have since found that Bunnies sell a similar tubing.To connect the tubing, I turned up a suitable sized plug with a flange to fit the fan and bored a hole to fit the tubing.
I now had to find a suitable face shield to adapt and one in carbatecs catalogue described as " professional face shield" looked good but expensive but they didn't have one in stock and I had to wait over a month for them to get one in. When I went to have a look ,they wouldn't let me try it on so I didn't buy it.This turned out to be fortuitus as the next day at our club meeting a member turned up with an ancient respirator and I could see now how I could adapt one of the common Protector face shields. Cost about $27.
I purchased some 20mm thick plastc foam rubber, cost $20 for about a square metre which was much more than I needed but I thought it might take a few goes to get it right.
I stuck masking tape around one half of the rim of the visor and marked off numbered stations around it, then while wearing it I got my wife to measure the distance from the edge of the visor to the side of my face and chin and record it. I added 10mm to all diamensions because I wanted the foam to be a tight fit.I then cut the shape out .
I glued the foam round the edge of the visor using liquid nails contact cement and using plenty of masking tape to to hold the foam in position until the glue set .I also cut a couple of slits in the foam for the arms of my glasses.
I also glued a strip of foam across the back edge of the visor to seal the gap to my head.
I fitted a swivel fitting from an old vacuum cleaner hose to a hole bored in the top of the visor just back from the face shield and plugged the hose in.
It was soon evident that the tubing was not flexible enough.I discovered there was very flexible tubing called Cpap tubing. It is used to connect up machines used by people with sleep apnea. I bought a 1.8 m length online for about $15 on E-bay and used it as a dropper to connect from the original tubing to the the face shield .I have since found there is 3m length of tubing available which would be better.
I removed the swivel fitting from the face shield and used it at the connection between the two tubes . The connection runs along a wire above me to allow some movement in the shed . If doing this again, I would scrap the swivel connection as it doesn't work very well and twisting up the tubing is not a problem.
I have been using this now for about a month and am very happy with it . At first I had problems with hooking my glasses off when removing the visor but once I got used to it, It is probably quicker to put off and on than the Triton.
All the connections and changes in hose sizes reduced the airflow considerably but using the flowmeter which came with the Triton. shows the flowrate is at the top of the scale.When using my Triton, I used to find at the end of th day,that my glasses had a fine dust layer on them. Now they are clean after a days turning.
This has been pretty long winded but I hope some may find it interesting and see that a PP respirator can be made for $200 or less.
The pictures are pretty obvious and I am happy to answer any queries.
Ted
The Triton is no longer available and the 3M/Racal is overly expensive at nearly $1000.
I tried the Trend but I think it is poorly balanced and top heavy . I don't think the Paftec is suitable for me as I have facial adornment and I don't think it would seal well enough, also I would still need to use an additional face shield. So I decided to try making my own.
Some time ago, NeilS posted details of his system and I am gratefull to him for advice and suggestions.
I decided the only practical way to go for a DIY was to use a tethered system .Also I wanted to avoid having to recharge batteries and having to clean/replace filters.
For my air source I use an inline blower and suck air from outside my shed.
I bought this on E-bay for $79 + $17.95 cartage . It is called a 4" inline exhaust fan and is used in the hydroponic industry.It is said to put out 125 CFM and only uses 65W so it shouldn't cost much to run.
I cut a hole in the cement sheet cladding the internal wall of my shed for the blower and was intendind to run a bit of 4" pipe through the wall cavity to connect to the outside . The exterier of my shed is clad with hardie plank and when I looked through the hole on the inside,I could see plenty of daylight coming through the slits of the overlapping planks, so didn't need to cut an exterior hole.
I purchased some flexible tubing online from Rock Around The Block, a company that sells garden pond equipment . I bought tubing that was 25mm ID x 31mm OD at $5.30/m plus about $10 cartage. I have since found that Bunnies sell a similar tubing.To connect the tubing, I turned up a suitable sized plug with a flange to fit the fan and bored a hole to fit the tubing.
I now had to find a suitable face shield to adapt and one in carbatecs catalogue described as " professional face shield" looked good but expensive but they didn't have one in stock and I had to wait over a month for them to get one in. When I went to have a look ,they wouldn't let me try it on so I didn't buy it.This turned out to be fortuitus as the next day at our club meeting a member turned up with an ancient respirator and I could see now how I could adapt one of the common Protector face shields. Cost about $27.
I purchased some 20mm thick plastc foam rubber, cost $20 for about a square metre which was much more than I needed but I thought it might take a few goes to get it right.
I stuck masking tape around one half of the rim of the visor and marked off numbered stations around it, then while wearing it I got my wife to measure the distance from the edge of the visor to the side of my face and chin and record it. I added 10mm to all diamensions because I wanted the foam to be a tight fit.I then cut the shape out .
I glued the foam round the edge of the visor using liquid nails contact cement and using plenty of masking tape to to hold the foam in position until the glue set .I also cut a couple of slits in the foam for the arms of my glasses.
I also glued a strip of foam across the back edge of the visor to seal the gap to my head.
I fitted a swivel fitting from an old vacuum cleaner hose to a hole bored in the top of the visor just back from the face shield and plugged the hose in.
It was soon evident that the tubing was not flexible enough.I discovered there was very flexible tubing called Cpap tubing. It is used to connect up machines used by people with sleep apnea. I bought a 1.8 m length online for about $15 on E-bay and used it as a dropper to connect from the original tubing to the the face shield .I have since found there is 3m length of tubing available which would be better.
I removed the swivel fitting from the face shield and used it at the connection between the two tubes . The connection runs along a wire above me to allow some movement in the shed . If doing this again, I would scrap the swivel connection as it doesn't work very well and twisting up the tubing is not a problem.
I have been using this now for about a month and am very happy with it . At first I had problems with hooking my glasses off when removing the visor but once I got used to it, It is probably quicker to put off and on than the Triton.
All the connections and changes in hose sizes reduced the airflow considerably but using the flowmeter which came with the Triton. shows the flowrate is at the top of the scale.When using my Triton, I used to find at the end of th day,that my glasses had a fine dust layer on them. Now they are clean after a days turning.
This has been pretty long winded but I hope some may find it interesting and see that a PP respirator can be made for $200 or less.
The pictures are pretty obvious and I am happy to answer any queries.
Ted