Ceiling Mounted Hepa Air Filter

[DirtRoads]

I'm looking at this particular model:

 

https://www.baileypottery.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=C-136-9

 

Anyone have experience with this model (or the smaller one)?

 

A school teacher told me they had an ordinary Hepa air filter and it stayed clogged and did no good because it needed filter changes every couple weeks.

 

 

This model says  "Filters should be replaced every 1 to 2 years, depending on the amount of dust produced in your studio."  I wouldn't have a problem with yearly or even bi yearly filter changes.  

 

Any thoughts or ideas about this or similar filters?    I've read the forums and haven't seen any reports of anyone using this.

 

Thank you for reading.

Sharon Grimes

[bciskepottery]

We had these in a commercial studio I taught at.  The advice about running them at night is spot on . . . they do generate noise.  It was hard to say how well they worked; the studio was in several warehouse bays with one unit per bay . . . I really think the bays were larger than the units could handle.  Plus, the owner really did not give a rip about replacing filters (both the air cleaners and the hvac; if we wanted it done, we bought them ourselves).  The studio also had a couple smaller HEPA air filters and, like the school teacher said, they were clogged more often than not. 

 

Not sure this helps, but kudos for thinking of the air your staff are working in at the studio and for taking their health and safety seriously. 

[Mark C.]

Those unit are pretty large-Our local Collage has three of them.

My studio is pretty small and I run a Delta unit which has 3 speeds and is much quieter. Its a wood working unit with an outer filter and an inner bag-it took me some doing but I sourced a hepa filter that fits  in front of the bag filter. This took some searching. I tape a cheaper disposable filter in front of that hepa to get the larger particals 1st that I change out more often.Jet also makes one as does delta.They are about 2 feetw x 30 inches long and 14 inchs tall-thats a guess. These run under $500 and you can hang them or shelve mount-The bailys seemed to large -to noisy and to pricey-my 2 cents.I have been running mine over a decade now.

Mark

[neilestrick]

They work, as long as the filter is clean. How long it will take to clog up a filter will depend on your studio environment, and there's probably not a good way to check that without taking the plunge and buying one. If you find you're having to change filters every few weeks, that can get very expensive.

 

Marks method of rigging up a woodworking dust collection system is a good one. You can get a system like that from Harbor Freight for under $200. You'd just have to find a HEPA filter that fits it. In addition to standard flat filters, there are HEPA filters for shop vacs (I use one in my kiln repair work) that may be useable in some way.

[Guest JBaymore]

The important thing to remember with this whole "air filters" business is that they are the LAST line of defense..... not the first.  That's the standard of industrial hygiene practice in that approach. 

 

The 'people units' in the studio are the first set of air filters... with their lungs.  Their breathing zones are likely closer to the dust sources than the ceiling mounted air filters.

 

The standard order of precedence for using active controls is 1.) local pickup ventilation 2.) general dilution ventilation 3.) air filtration.

 

If you've got employees........ https://www.osha.gov/dsg/topics/silicacrystalline/osha_standards_silica.html

 

best,

 

...................john

 

(Was the college's acting H+S officer for a while  )