Downdraft Filtration for Re-Using Air

[blackout44]

Hey all,

I am moving my shop to a cold climate, so I need to be able to re-use the air. in the shop It also isn't a great look to vent smoke outside anyways, which is what I've been doing at my old location.

Due to the parts I cut, which are not flat, I cannot use a water table.

I have seen the Torit filtration systems, but holy cow are they pricey. I can't spend 10k or 20k on those.

My plan was to use some sort of cyclonic system, followed up by a HEPA filter. Also a spark trap before the cyclone as well.

Would the cyclone collect enough of the dust and small particles, or will the filter still get overloaded?

Also, any other options for collectors like the Torit but less expensive would be viable if anyone knows any.

My table is 5'x5', and I use 1 12" duct fan at my current shop (~2900cfm, or so it said). I don't run it all that often (maybe a few hours per week at most).

Thanks!

[weldguy]

Ya that's a bummer scenario. I believe that without spending huge amounts of money on a commercially available filter system anything else will become quickly overloaded with the copious amounts of particulate that come off these tables.

For the few hours a week your using it you may just have to pay for the wasted heat, if it was everyday for long periods of time that would be different. As for the smoke I knew a guy who plumbed his exhaust fan into a barrel full of water and it was very effective in eliminating the smoke outside, like a massive bong lol

[cutnweld]

I'm in northern ontario, gets quite cold. I just open a window next to the table till I'm done, works fine for me! Have thought of putting some curtain around the table while cutting just to contain the heat better

[blackout44]

Ya that's a bummer scenario. I believe that without spending huge amounts of money on a commercially available filter system anything else will become quickly overloaded with the copious amounts of particulate that come off these tables.

For the few hours a week your using it you may just have to pay for the wasted heat, if it was everyday for long periods of time that would be different. As for the smoke I knew a guy who plumbed his exhaust fan into a barrel full of water and it was very effective in eliminating the smoke outside, like a massive bong lol

Hmm, do you know if he was directing it down into the water? That's pretty interesting!

I have been browsing the professional 10HP Oneida systems. As I understand it, they are generally used for woodworking, but could they be used with a table? I assume the big problem would be loading the filters too quickly? It seems that I can upgrade the filters to a MERV 16 rating, which I think is what most Torit systems use. Cleaning should be just blowing compressed air from the outside of them, right?

I also plan to throw a spark arrestor inline as well. Overall, still not cheap, but also not $25k from Torit....

[weldguy]

Yes, his fan pumped air into the lower area of the barrel and forced the air through the water and it bubbled out the top smoke free. Worked very well actually. I think any filter system that doesn't cost a fortune will disappoint you and cause a lot of trouble in this application.