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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
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    Default Visibility Using a Trend Airshield Pro.

    Hi All,

    I've been using an Airshield Pro for some time now, and am very pleased with the protection it gives me. However, I've always used a tear-off visor in order to protect the main helmet visor. Although I keep the secondary visor clean, and I do replace them regularly, I find visibility through the two visors less than desirable. Has anyone else come across this problem, and if so, have you managed to come up with a solution?

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  3. #2
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    Oct 2009
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    South Africa
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    I wish I’d seen this before I ordered mine yesterday.

  4. #3
    Mobyturns's Avatar
    Mobyturns is offline In An Instant Your Life Can Change Forever
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    I've been using the older version of the Trend / Purelite PARP for well over a decade. It has been a good solution for me as I wear a beard. There are not many practical (or affordable) options for combined breathing and (medium) impact protection PPE for hobbyists & semi-pro wood workers, and even less for bearded ones.

    IMO they are not a suitable choice for tasks that require "high" or "ballistic" impact ratings! A separate face shield with "high" or "ballistic" impact rating and a half face respirator would be my preferred choice for those tasks. By far the best solution is to manage hazards to within acceptable levels of risk!

    There were two issues that bugged me early on,


    • the power packs!!!! They have relatively short battery working life, with the"old technology" NiCads, the long charge duration, the position of them, but most of all the cost of OEM battery packs & chargers - ouch.
    • protection of the visor from "gunk."


    The power pack was an easy fix. Simply purchased an accessory spiral power cord and a 3 x AA battery case (several) new NiMh batteries and chargers at a small fraction of the cost of OEM.

    The OEM visor overlay's weren't much better imo, again old technology. The flexible shield with the "stick on" overlay permits fine dust & other gunk to eventually work its way in between the two. No matter what you do, moisture seems to also work its way in between the two, through "condensation" on days when humidity is up and temps down (well for the tropics.) Cleaning both was a PIA, unstick the overlay, then three surfaces to clean! The dust between the two reduces visibility, and alters the visual acuity of the materials - which also alters the wearers depth perception!

    I tried motorcycle helmet visor "tear offs" - they do work much better than OEM but are designed for the more rigid polycarbonate helmet visors - again much cheaper and more effective than OEM too. I even went as far as investigating the options for having the visor shield itself custom cut to do away with the overlay all together - simply replace the visor screen. Costs and sourcing the raw film became very prohibitive.

    I only use the "tear offs" when "wet turning" which I almost never do anyway these days. The majority of my turning is of dry blanks and laminated blanks (more dust ... argh).

    Why the designers chose the flexible visor material is beyond me! For a very good but pricey bit of kit they have skimped on quality in some key areas imo.

    Overall, despite a few short comings that can be "fixed", I believe that they are still a great PPE choice for hobbyists & semi-pro wood workers. The next option of going 3M or the like is an eye watering and wallet crunching price hike.

    I rarely wear mine these days, only because I have taken a slightly different direction in my wood working / turning and have upgraded dust collection / control with a suitable dedicated DC (for my tasks) and a room DC.

    BobL may suggest that I should "do more" but in Townsville's environment I believe my shed has less dust issues than ambient outdoor dust levels. Ask my wife about dust, on outdoor furniture, patios, path ways, inside .....

    As the Americans say "your mileage may vary" - my advice & experience has solved issues for me in the wet/dry tropics.
    Last edited by Mobyturns; 5th May 2021 at 09:46 AM. Reason: spulling oops spelling!
    Mobyturns

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  5. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
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    Perth
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mobyturns View Post
    I rarely wear mine these days, only because I have taken a slightly different direction in my wood working / turning and have upgraded dust collection / control with a suitable dedicated DC (for my tasks) and a room DC.

    BobL may suggest that I should "do more" but in Townsville's environment I believe my shed has less dust issues than ambient outdoor dust levels. Ask my wife about dust, on outdoor furniture, patios, path ways, inside .....
    Although all dust has risks, it's likely that wood dust is more problematic so having less dust inside a workshop than ambient out door air may be misleading.

    In a 2019 report on air quality of QLD, Townsville shows up with an annual PM2.5 average of 7µg/m^3, as compared to the recommended PM2.5 of 25µg/m^3.
    By comparison Brisbane has an annual;l average of about 6 µg/m^3
    Townsville exceeds the recommended max of 25µg/m^3, 7 days a year due mainly to burning off days and occasional days of dust storms in Central Australia.
    There may of course be micro environment variations
    No consumer dust level measuring device is capable of accurate results at these level.

    The report is here
    https://www.qld.gov.au/__data/assets...ing-report.pdf

    I still contend that replacing wood dust ladened air in a shed with outside air is the safest option for most situations. I'm thankful I rarely have to wear a dust mask in my shed for just about any work practice. The downside is I'm finding the DC system increasingly noisy (this is a sure sign its working) and am increasingly having to wear ear muffs when doing certain things like turning.

    FWIW I use Armadillo full face shields and have two inside my shed, and one in my van that I use when chainsaw milling. The visors replacements cost about $20 but they are very strong and provide excellent all round vision. I have been hit on the visor between the eyes by a large brass nut that fell off the Chainsaw mill onto the chain moving at full throttle. The nut ricocheted into my face and i felt like I had been hit in the face with a baseball bat.

    I have had these masks for over 10 years and have replace 2 of the 3 visors in that time. I always hang them up rather than putting them down on surfaces as the tend to roll onto the front of the visor and eventually will leave scratches.

  6. #5
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    Bob, that is pretty much what I expected that you would recommend - great advice that I agree with.

    However the "official" air quality measurements for Townsville are rather contentious and have been the subject of a number of legal challenges with the TPA (Port) and others including Mr Palmer's QNI & Sun Metals, including when, where and how the data is collected, manipulated etc. As we both know, results can be skewed one way or another and these days I have far less trust in any person / organization / Gov't department / Politician because of the "way they play the game" - "just don't get caught out." The Port air quality monitors are very close to the Port boundaries yet the well heeled residents on Yarrawonga a few km's away don't like the black sludge that builds up daily on outdoor surfaces and furniture.

    I certainly would not agree with the reports cited results and we have the added problem of "flying fox" control in our neighborhood with "fogging" by contractors for the TCC (Council) with EPA approval for "up to three hours per day" - every single day, 364 1/2 days per year.

    I strongly suspect that our "micro environment" more often than not exceeds those numbers on most mornings from late March right through to November. If its not us, then it is the neighbors down wind. Proving it though and having the courts agree is another matter. Throw in controlled burns and a still winter morning ..... well .... not good for my wife and family who suffer asthma issues. On occasion it has been bad enough for medical intervention. (Our daughter is a senior CN in oncology / heamatology & she is concerned about her asthma management.)

    TCC, like all councils with a "flying fox" problem, are constrained by EPA and biodiversity / environment legislation - the "flying foxes" quickly become accustomed to any new control measure but the neighbors don't!
    Mobyturns

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  7. #6
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    Given how bad it seems I’m very surprised concerned citizens haven’t employed independent consultants to assess the situation.

  8. #7
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    You can look at the Townsville air quality PM2.5 in real time at
    North Ward, Australia Air Pollution: Real-time Air Quality Index

    I would be interested to know when you measure something different to what they say.

    I often compare the WA Perth AQI real time PM2.5 monitoring stations relative to what I see on my 3 particle counters I have running most of the time. The 2 counters inside the house are usually always lower than those outside especially during burn offs and bush fires. However, in general the outside counter generally agrees with the what shows up on the AQICN website. When the counters inside the house show up higher (sometimes MUCH higher) it's usually because SWMBO is cleaning, cooking, or accessing /rearranging her fabrics stash.

    Asthma triggers are not necessarily good indicators of absolute dust levels, eg a slight increase in some types of dust, eg pollens, relative to total dust can trigger problems.

  9. #8
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    Wow! Thanks Guys, my post has created a whole new topic.
    I like the idea of not having the additional stick on visor for dry turning, which is the majority of the lathe work I carry out.
    However, I also need to upgrade my DC to a more powerful (and noisier) unit.
    I have the DC outside my workshop, but being a small 1hp unit it isn't very noisy but I've covered it with an insulated box. However, the 2hp unit I'm looking at is much bigger and will probably need a purpose built enclosure. Anyone overcome the same type problem?

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