This is some shadetree engineering.
I got interested in the air cleaners you can buy--I use a shop vac for DC so I miss a lot of dust. Well, after not long researching it, it occurred t me to DIY one of these.
I had a big fan that I got free in a discarded server enclosure. It's a 10-inch, 110VAC fan made by Comair Rotron (big name in high-perormance fans). I looked up the model number online (it's a Caravel CLE2T2) and was pleasantly surprised to find that it's rated 450-550 CFM. That's comparable to the lower end Delta air cleaner.
So I figured that furnace filters were the way to go. I built a (not-quite but almost square) box from 1/4" ply I got from the BORG cull bin. I sealed the corners up with aluminum tape I had previously grabbed at a salvage place. The most expensive part of the project was the high-end 3M furnace filter, and I used a $2 off coupon on that. So I have about 15 bucks into this system.
I decided to use 20x25 furnace filters, so they're interchangeable with my furnace. I keep a small stock on hand anyway.
There's a kind of shim at the bottom--I just shoved a scrap of 1/2" ply in to take up the slop. There are actually 2 filters in series--the inner one is the fancy-pants 3M one rated for umpty microns or whatever. The outer one is a cheapie for prefiltering. They are just stacked. Air is getting drawn in like crazy.
And it's blowing out like crazy too. I put some ribbon on just to give a visual on how much this project blows.
The corners are held together by cleats made of scraps of western red cedar (I love that pencil sharpener aroma when you cut it). The frame on the high-dollar filter is stiff enough that I can get away with only supporting it at the corners.
It's not terribly loud either. Comair Rotron makes fans with notched leading edges on the blades. This thing just hums quietly.
Thanks for looking.
I got interested in the air cleaners you can buy--I use a shop vac for DC so I miss a lot of dust. Well, after not long researching it, it occurred t me to DIY one of these.
I had a big fan that I got free in a discarded server enclosure. It's a 10-inch, 110VAC fan made by Comair Rotron (big name in high-perormance fans). I looked up the model number online (it's a Caravel CLE2T2) and was pleasantly surprised to find that it's rated 450-550 CFM. That's comparable to the lower end Delta air cleaner.
So I figured that furnace filters were the way to go. I built a (not-quite but almost square) box from 1/4" ply I got from the BORG cull bin. I sealed the corners up with aluminum tape I had previously grabbed at a salvage place. The most expensive part of the project was the high-end 3M furnace filter, and I used a $2 off coupon on that. So I have about 15 bucks into this system.
I decided to use 20x25 furnace filters, so they're interchangeable with my furnace. I keep a small stock on hand anyway.
There's a kind of shim at the bottom--I just shoved a scrap of 1/2" ply in to take up the slop. There are actually 2 filters in series--the inner one is the fancy-pants 3M one rated for umpty microns or whatever. The outer one is a cheapie for prefiltering. They are just stacked. Air is getting drawn in like crazy.
And it's blowing out like crazy too. I put some ribbon on just to give a visual on how much this project blows.
The corners are held together by cleats made of scraps of western red cedar (I love that pencil sharpener aroma when you cut it). The frame on the high-dollar filter is stiff enough that I can get away with only supporting it at the corners.
It's not terribly loud either. Comair Rotron makes fans with notched leading edges on the blades. This thing just hums quietly.
Thanks for looking.
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