Yesterday I went to Harbor Freight and bought that 6" filter. It won't fit the fan unit I have and modifying it is too complex. I will now cut a half inch plate and install an old computer fan to pull air out of the burn chamber. I'll mount the filter in some sort of removable holder to hold the filter onto the fan and plate.

I will no longer be considering electrostatic filtration. I will be working on this today. Later this evening if I get everything done according to plan I'll take some photos and post them to show my solution. I just hope this works sufficiently to extract the smoke. As for dust - there shouldn't be any real concern for dust. Just the smoke.

 

I bought activated carbon filter in sheets from Amazon. You can cut it to fit any size fan you have.

 

I bought activated carbon filter in sheets from Amazon. You can cut it to fit any size fan you have.

My solder smoke extractor uses that method. was surprised at how well it works.

 

There are air pollution stations that are putting out warnings for persons who are sensitive to air pollution.
Because a percentage of the population are affected, there is a rising concern for those who are sensitive.
I will post a basic small negative ion generator ( learning about what is inside) it is capable of some experimentation.
I have seen other units that generate significant amounts of ozone where inhabitants are recommended to stay away
for a day or two while the ozone reacts and neutralizes. Safe level is indicated as 0.1 ppm (0.2 mg/m³).
Air pollution detector circuits appear to be simple, Maybe a negative ion generator could be used to test an Air pollution detector?

 

There are air pollution stations that are putting out warnings for persons who are sensitive to air pollution.
Because a percentage of the population are affected, there is a rising concern for those who are sensitive.
I will post a basic small negative ion generator ( learning about what is inside) it is capable of some experimentation.
I have seen other units that generate significant amounts of ozone where inhabitants are recommended to stay away
for a day or two while the ozone reacts and neutralizes. Safe level is indicated as 0.1 ppm (0.2 mg/m³).
Air pollution detector circuits appear to be simple, Maybe a negative ion generator could be used to test an Air pollution detector?

View attachment 326676

Thank you. But:

Yesterday I went to Harbor Freight and bought that 6" filter. It won't fit the fan unit I have and modifying it is too complex. I will now cut a half inch plate and install an old computer fan to pull air out of the burn chamber. I'll mount the filter in some sort of removable holder to hold the filter onto the fan and plate.

I will no longer be considering electrostatic filtration. I will be working on this today. Later this evening if I get everything done according to plan I'll take some photos and post them to show my solution. I just hope this works sufficiently to extract the smoke. As for dust - there shouldn't be any real concern for dust. Just the smoke.

 

To what links do you refer?

OK, this time it was a whole catalog pages. Just as bad.
I "prefer" that actual data rather than catalog pages be shown. Links sometimes get me onto lists that result in ongoing strings of advertising for products that ai m not interested in. Yes, they are easy enough to delete but I would rather not need to.

 

OK, this is where my math skills are weak. I have a 12V 1.4A fan. Running at 12V runs it full power and wind noise is a lot. Briefly powering from a 9VDC source (rated at 200mA) runs at a reasonable speed and moves sufficient air (in my opinion). What I haven't tried is running the fan long term on the 9V PS. Will this overheat the PS?
[edit] the 9V PS is heavy. Likely it has a transformer inside and is not a switch mode PS. [end edit]

 

Links sometimes get me onto lists that result in ongoing strings of advertising for products that ai m not interested in.

Hey Bill: Links that extend past a question mark are the ones that do that. When I include a link if it has a ? in the string I delete the ? and everything beyond that. The link still works but you've disabled their tracking. I'll just for fun open a link and copy it and paste it both in its full form and in its tracking disabled form:
https://www.amazon.com/Strong-120x120x25mm-Computer-Cooling-1600RPM/dp/B07D493BDX/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=3DS18HFTNSZM2&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.TQXen8VKYkyLZyVM7BEv0KABgQ5H0nZJFSljThvbRtIGNetgDPyECUzSNm0OFiePSl4UJitdzsh1e_kK5zuHkvokea76DASMruybbDlWvGMUS-SVsAsbZHaU3KzQf6igOM0qT739LW8tFDl9M5L2GPgienc6S6l_KIjc-XbIJDArivSovyXfSOII3AF-B1-kPcbdZn3v0K0Cv3HqcI_O9mAJ6VJtMLXk3i2LDzVjcvcTy2H6_Ot_rjd-bBP2Y42JKBRi1GcimvxbLdli4TtYiCw9oLLi1Jg1JZNpUZ3yTCw.6ivWnPgUnEAKD8cG0lKUUT9jZXF4-ySWdM6Mi3icVvY&dib_tag=se&keywords=12V%2Bcomputer%2Bfan&qid=1720637189&sprefix=12v%2Bcomputer%2Bfan%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-3-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1
AND
https://www.amazon.com/Strong-120x120x25mm-Computer-Cooling-1600RPM/dp/B07D493BDX/ref=sr_1_3_sspa

Both links will work but the shortened one will not allow (this case) Amazon to track your viewing habits. So when someone posts a link I copy it and then use everything UP TO the ?.

 

Probably a 9 volt 200mA supply will be overloaded. Probably that same fan will draw half the current at half the voltage, which would be 700mA at 6 volts. So probably it will overload the 9 volt supply quite a bit.

 

Thanks @MisterBill2. I decided to use a buck converter to drop the voltage. Since it's adjustable I've been able to set it to a decent level where it still draws air through the filter. A computer fan is not the same as a shop vac. It's not going to pull as much air.

Inside this rig is the filter trapped against the front and back of the filter box. The fan, mounted on the outside, draws sufficient airflow so as to evacuate the smoke from the laser chamber. I'll post a phot later.

 

OK, here's the finished look. The filter inside - you can use your imagination. It's simply held by the heads of four screws. It only needs to hold long enough to get the face plate screwed back on. Works well. The front and back of the filter chamber holds the filter tightly.