That $80 air purifier I bought for my workshop...

Okay so I run a small electrical shop out of a rented garage space, and the dust from cutting conduit was getting brutal. My sinuses were wrecked every night. I read a random forum post about how cheap air purifiers are basically useless, so I dropped $80 on one of those box fan filter rigs instead of a real unit. It's just a 20 inch fan taped to a MERV 13 filter, took me like 15 minutes to build. Honestly, it's been six weeks and the air in there is way clearer, no more coughing fits when I'm doing a full day of threading pipe. My only gripe is the fan is loud enough that I can't hear my radio over it, which kind of drives me nuts. Has anyone else tried the DIY filter thing or did you just bite the bullet on a proper HEPA unit?

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hart.cora1mo ago

That fan noise thing is a real deal. I built basically the same rig for my garage two years ago and ended up swapping the box fan for a used furnace blower I got off Craigslist for like twenty bucks. Way quieter and it moves twice the air, though it needed a speed controller. One thing though, MERV 13 filters are good but they're not the same as a real HEPA. They catch most of the dust you're dealing with, but the fine stuff from cutting conduit, especially if you're doing any grinding or sanding, is still getting through. So your lungs are better off, sure, but I wouldn't call it a HEPA replacement. If you're only cutting pipe and not doing any fine dust work, you're probably fine. Just check the filter every couple weeks and blow it out with an air compressor, that extends the life a lot.

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