Any reliable lower cost alternatives to a Dylos particle counter?

[dbhost]

It will be a couple of paychecks before I recover from this ones spending as I had to replace a car, but before I pull the trigger on a Dylos, I was wondering if anyone has come across a better / or just as good lower cost alternative. They were the standard 10 years or so ago, just not sure if that holds true today...

[Jim Frye]

????? OK, I'll bite. Never heard of it until now. Honest, never saw it referenced anywhere till now.

[LCHIEN]

????? OK, I'll bite. Never heard of it until now. Honest, never saw it referenced anywhere till now.

Here was the original thread on the Dylos... from about 2008. Including the group purchase I think close to 100 members bought them for about $120.

https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/discussions/tool-talk/36565-a-preliminary-air-quality-analysis-of-my-shop

I did not buy one initially but purchased one off eBay a few years later.
Its very useful in checking your dust particles... And effectiveness of Dust collection as well as your personal exposure.

My shop sits around 100-130 reading or so undisturbed, When cutting wood on the table saw or miter saw, it will hit 2000-3000.
When I use the laser engraver the fine particle count will hit 9000! (per .01 cu ft).
WHen I use the overhead Delta Air filter it makes a big difference I can see, When I leave the shop I will let the air cleaner run in timer for a few hours 2-4 to clean it up.

The meter comes with a table to help interpret the readings:
0 - 25 Excellent Air Quality
25 - 50 Very Good
50 - 100 Good
100 - 350 Fair
350 - 1000 Poor
1000 + Very Poor

There's a few more Sawdustzone references to using the Dylos over the years since..

Still for sale $199 at Amazon (Dylos DC100) https://www.amazon.com/Dylos-DC1100-Standard-Quality-Monitor/dp/B000XG8XCI/ref=sr_1_3?gclid=CjwKCAiAioifBhAXEiwApzCztqogPKDnY n7keZ2jQ-WZi5vqF56NR2nZRYH2BEeCPOq3J2tScnLNwhoCjZMQAvD_BwE& hvadid=616863380622&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9027759&hvnet w=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15750111403985986621&hvtargid=k wd-14405724881&hydadcr=24663_13611861&keywords=dylos+ dc1100&qid=1675820989&sr=8-3&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18630bbb-fcbb-42f8-9767-857e17e03685

[LCHIEN]

It will be a couple of paychecks before I recover from this ones spending as I had to replace a car, but before I pull the trigger on a Dylos, I was wondering if anyone has come across a better / or just as good lower cost alternative. They were the standard 10 years or so ago, just not sure if that holds true today...

The Dylos DC1100 was noted for being a low cost unit where others were much more. I think that is still the case,
Amazon has them for $199. And I see a number on eBay, used for prices ranging from $175 to (ridiculously $400) and several claimed to be new for $199..
Actually Some new PRO units $260 that measures 0.5 micro particles not 1 micron for the low size.

[LCHIEN]

here's one for $35 that measures (among othre things) PM10 and PM2.5 which are quite larger than the Dylos PM 0.5 and PM 5

https://www.walmart.com/ip/6-in-1-Air-Quality-Monitor-Carbon-Dioxide-Detector-HCHO-TVOC-PM2-5-PM10-CO-Test/1822911731?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=10118 7016&adid=22222222227000000000&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl 3=42423897272&wl4=aud-1651068664506la-51320962143&wl5=9027668&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl1 0=604207667&wl11=online&wl12=1822911731&veh=sem&gc lid=CjwKCAiAioifBhAXEiwApzCzto0cigCEMgxzNYtJaO_Z__ xEpYu2C3788NDUyvLkGm5I-noa63vUZRoCtuIQAvD_BwE


Here's one for $110 new that does PM 1.0, PM2.5 and PM10 (1.0, 2.5 and 10 micron particle size).
https://www.amazon.com/Air-Pollution...wApzCztmX0bMtk Y4XKzKDRnj6nQqxJHJSuWEc87Buu0K_P9JFNGhN_24eSLRoC3-IQAvD_BwE&hvadid=580646641889&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=902 7668&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=14684182032338895882& hvtargid=kwd-392538812773&hydadcr=1777_13457611&keywords=partic le%2Bcounter%2Bair%2Bquality&qid=1675829519&sr=8-16&th=1

Keeping in mind the cut point of our dust collector filters are in the range of 0.5, 1 or 2 microns,
you are probably wanting to know the PM 1 or smaller concentration to see if your air cleaners/dust collectors are working

These studies might be of some interest:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15298668191420062

https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh/58/6/58_16-0136-BR/_html/-char/ja/

https://scholar.google.com/scholar_url?url=https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/14/6602/pdf&hl=en&sa=X&ei=s1_jY_2gC8STy9YP0N6xSA&scisig=AAGBfm2Q2Au307LLNFBOtjRWY6SdTT-I1Q&oi=scholarr

https://www.agroengineering.org/inde...%205%20%C2%B5m.

https://www.finewoodworking.com/forum/dusts-particle-size

[Jim Frye]

Wow! Never gave it thought that there was a need to be that precise. I've always depended on the ambient air filter to keep the air clean. I turn it on before working in the shop to get the air flowing and then let it run for a few hours afterwards to make sure it has cleared all airborne stuff. My filter turns the air in the shop every three minutes. Today is a success, I leaned something new.

[nicer20]

Wow !!

Everyday I am amazed by how much I don't know !!

[LCHIEN]

Here's one $195 does PM1, PM2.5 and PM10

https://www.davisinstruments.com/pages/airlink

Its a box that uses wireless link to display graphical results on your smartphone.