Mario Proulx's filter?

[Max Debelleix]

Hi everybody.

Well, some might remember me. I'm most certainly unknown to most

I've searched through the library for sure, and can't find anything on Mario's old closet filter for airborne dust. Any lead for me?

Mario, if you pop around. I'd love a link, for a badly coughing friend.

Thanks a lot guys!

[Jim McConkey]

Long time, no see. Welcome back, Max!

Is this what you were looking for?
http://www.mimf.com/library/Mario_Proul ... -2008.html

If not, go to our search page: http://www.mimf.com/nl-ksearch/ksearch.htm and search for Proulx air filter

[Max Debelleix]

Hi Jim!

Well, sure it's been a long time. I have to concentrate on my day jobs (roofing/timberframing, exept in the winter, when i'm on the chairlifts) I hope all the ones i know over here on the forum are all right.

That's the one. Perfect! Thanks a lot.

Max.

[Chuck Tweedy]

Good to see you back Max.

[Clay Schaeffer]

Welcome back Max!

[Jason Rodgers]

Hi, Max! Haven't seen you much on the New MIMF. Welcome back!

[Mario Proulx]

Welcome back, Max.

Not much to update on the air cleaner. I still run it nearly every day, pretty much as it was in the last photos. I never did enlarge the wall's capacity and I did re-close the bottom hole. I realized that it was doing such a great job of cleaning the air that increasing the flow wasn't necessary. Not sure if I had installed it yet when that thread was being written, but I have it on a 4 hour timer, but to do it again, I may just wire it with a regular switch and just run it 24/7. It's so quiet that I forget it's running anyhow, and even when there's no dust to scrub in the air, it provides excellent air circulation.

And my "tickle cough" has never, ever, returned!

[David King]

Mario,
That's great. I've had 2 blowers sitting in my basement still waiting for this treatment since you posted that.
I've since found this nice filter media that I use for everything. It's designed for intake air on spray booths and works well though nothing like HEPA rated. It's two layers, a 1-1/2" thick polyester coarse web at the front with a 1/2" fine web poly at the back which is treated with stickiness to grab and hold on to anything. It comes in 80 foot rolls in various widths. The stuff is called tackified polyester.

[Jamie Unden]

Hey Max! Long time!

[Max Debelleix]

Hey guys!

Cool to see you lot still post here. I pop round, every now and then; but i haven't much to say besides rafter, purlin, reduced haunch, and gallow brackets talk!

Thanks and bye.

Max.

[Andy Birko]

I love Mario's setup and will have to add one of those some day. I thought I posted this in the original thread but apparently I didn't. One of the key factors as to why Mario's setup works so well is the location of the intake and exhaust.

In my former day job and now part time job, I work in operating rooms. In all operating rooms, the intakes are near the floor, where dust settles, and the exhausts are over the operating table pointing down (except for some laminar flow setups where there is a cross breeze). The key factor is that because dust settles, the most effective spot for an intake is near the ground. After reading Mario's thread and realizing the parallels to the operating rooms I work in, I moved my ceiling mounted unit to the floor and it's much more effective than before (but probably still not as good as his setup).

The only improvement I would suggest is that if necessary, duct an exhaust port over your dustiest area - sanding station or whatever and have the exhaust pointing straight down. That will improve the effectiveness even more.

On the other hand, Mario's setup as is might be setting up some swirling that moves the dust from the far reaches of the shop closer to the intake port.

[AL Lombardo]

I know this is just so obvious but in my 20's and 30's, what dust? My last checkup the X-ray report reads mild COPD. I said " hey doc, I've never smoked a cigarette in my entire 59 years of life".

You just really gotta follow these common sense rules

[Mario Proulx]

Well said. When we're in our 20s and 30s we're bulletproof, then suddenly, we realize otherwise!

[Bob Hammond]

Hi Max! Still running the old Toyota? Mine's still around. I think the body will be a pile of red dust in the driveway before the powertrain quits.

RE dust collection, have you seen a Thien baffle? I've thought about making one for a single machine that's located away from the main shop. It might be a good first stage of a system.

[Barry Daniels]

I put a Thien baffle on my single stage dust collector as well as upgrading to a canister filter. I think both things really made the machine more efficient.

[Mario Proulx]

Update!

I've been suffering with eye issues for over 3 weeks now, most likely caused by my constant exposure to fine dust. The air cleaner was doing its job, but there's still room for improvement. So, I doubled the filter area by doubling the filters to 2 sets of 20"x25" pleated filters. I tape them together, and then simply tape them to the opening, making for a good seal and simple mounting/replacement. I then removed the diffusers to clean them and immediately noticed a big improvement in airflow, so I've left them off completely. This leaves me with a 4"x21-1/2" hole on each side of the wall. I think the airflow through the diffusers was fine when I only had one set of filters, but when I changed to 2 sets the flow capacity increased enough that they(diffusers) became restrictive.

My next move will be to move the blower itself so that it will blow through 2 wall cavities. Simply put, I'll move it over so that it is centered on a stud and can blow into both cavities. I'll then open that second cavity at the ceiling also. Onward!

[Mario Proulx]

Another update:

I was running the air cleaner on a 4hr timer, but changed it to a switch and have been running it 24/7. Even without moving the blower to increase the flow, I quickly grew tired of the air movement everywhere which makes the shop feeling cooler than it is and also makes HHG tougher to use, and I also grew tired of the sound and even the feel of the slight vibration in the floor.

So, I've gone in the opposite direction than I thought I wanted to. I slowed it down... And I like it.. Using an adjustable pulled on the motor, I kept dialing it down until it became whisper quiet and the blower's slight out-of-balance no longer showed itself. The flow didn't really change that much and still reaches the far corners of the shop(verified by my high-tech tissues taped to the ceiling) and it appears that the calmer 24/7 air exchange is working much better than the intermittent, but higher-flow, use was.

Still learning, always improving....!

[David King]

Mario, did your blower come with a 3 or 4 speed motor or did you switch out to a VS motor?

[Mario Proulx]

It's a single speed(1725rpm) 1/4hp motor... Why?

Edit: I see the confusion. I meant to write(in my second update above) "using an adjustable pulley on the motor"

[David King]

Sorry Mario, I see my confusion. The blowers I have at the moment are all direct drive so I'm stuck at full speed. Some of the newer HE furnaces use brushless DC motors with continuously variable speed. I looks up the prices and it was north of $400 for just the motor.