Fume extractor

[night-B]

I wonder if you guys are using a fume extractor when soldering. I'm considering of buying one for 40$ on banzai, to keep away cancer and lung disease from me. Maybe I'm too much carefull 'cause I'm working in a cancer treatment unit...

[jkokura]

I want to, but I don't have one as of yet.

Link to the one you're considering?

Jacob?

[Haberdasher]

I made my own from a Holmes air purifier carbon filter refill (ebay) and an old computer fan I wired up with a 9v adapter (which is more like 12v actual).  It is zip-tied into a study box lid.

The only problem is that the fan has to be fairly close to the iron tip or there isn't enough suction to extract said fumes.  It seems to work pretty well though, and it's better than nothing.  I notice the room stinks less now. 

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[night-B]

http://www.banzaimusic.com/Solder-Fume-Remover.html
It has a charcoal filter, bet it's a cool stuff...
Cheers!

edit : I've seen it's rated for 230v so I don't know if it is ok with Us and Canada wall plugs 

[gtr2]

I was thinking of making my own with a charcoal filter.  I just use a fan to suck them away for now.  I know there has been a lot of debate on DIY forums that involves anything with soldering.  Some say it's fine to breathe, personally I care not to.  I also solder in the garage away from the kids.

Josh

[Haberdasher]

Josh, here is the seller I bought from if you're interested.  It came loose in an envelope, not in the packaging shown in the pic but it was cheap.  I bought from ebay because I couldn't find refill filters for weller/xytronics fume extractors at frys, and the Holmes filter is big enough to cut down into 2 filters.

[cjkbug]

after soldering tattoo needles for the better part of 20 years I can honestly say, if you plan on doing diy electronics long term. having a fume extracter is an absolute necessity.I never fire up my soldering staion without turning it on. I have a colleage in the tattoo buisness who suffered from throat cancer. he was a non smoker, but was a veteran of the tattoo business who soldered every day, like myself, for a couple decades. his doctor determined that his cancer was caused by long term occupational over exposure to vaporised flux in the solder. now tattooers use silver bearing solder whitch is different than the stuff we use to make pedals. but I can only assume that this is nasty s@#t  judging by the tase of a big cloud of solder vapor. I never would want, or want for any of you guys to suffer the way my friend had. chemo, removal of his voicebox, and ultimately a slow painful premature death. so what ever it takes. get it done and buy one for yourself. the cost is insignificant compared to you health. nuff said.

[irmcdermott]

for those that just need something.... because something is better than nothing. It'll hold you over while you gather funds for the real deal...
http://makeprojects.com/Project/Mini-Fume-Extractor/21/1

[bigmufffuzzwizz]

I generally work next to an open door or with a bandana, but cjkbug is absolutely right. Not worth sacrificing your life.

[irmcdermott]

On this topic. I just purchased this from eBay. Company is based in Lexington, KY and I live in Middle TN, so I should get it soon after it ships. I'll let you guys know how it is. Good price, and it does come with a filter. I'll report back once it gets here.

Ian

[dwstanford]

I generally work next to an open door or with a bandana

Hey, i wear a bandana too


























When I'm robbing people.

[TheCobbenator]

I generally work next to an open door or with a bandana

Hey, i wear a bandana too


























When I'm robbing people.

Wow, you too!? We should start a club where we do that together. We could also wear them when we burn drugs. You know... to keep us from accidentally inhaling them.  Then we could maybe sell some of those drugs to other people to fund the whole operation of constantly buying more drugs to burn (to keep them away from other people!) and of course, to afford all those bandanas!



That being said, I think the flux fumes have caused brain damage.

[jimmybjj]

On this topic. I just purchased this from eBay. Company is based in Lexington, KY and I live in Middle TN, so I should get it soon after it ships. I'll let you guys know how it is. Good price, and it does come with a filter. I'll report back once it gets here.

Ian

I would like hear the report when you get it.

[dwstanford]

That being said, I think the flux fumes have caused brain damage.

I don't know what at you are talking about of.  My brain is hasn't any dammage and is a genius one.

[irmcdermott]

 It took me so long to test it because I've been in the hospital with my wife since Monday as she had our baby boy.

Literally all I have done was take it out of the box, plug it in, turn on my iron and flow some solder on it. Here are my initial thoughts:

1. If you look at the top, there are two clips that hold in the grill that holds the filter in place. These appear to be VERY fragile, like they might snap off really easily.
2. It's a lot quieter than I thought that it would be.
3. It's got a nice small profile. Perfect for my small bench. I have a desk lamp that i set it in front of, and I can bend the head of the lamp over it with no issues.
4. It's probably not as powerful as some of the more expensive ones that you can buy. I started about 3 inches away from it and slowly started to move back from it while flowing some solder onto the tip of my iron. It seems to not catch 100% of the fumes once you get about 12 inches away from it (that is a total guess, I seriously only spent about 2 minutes testing it before I needed to go help my wife with the baby).

OVERALL, I think I'll be happy with it. It's not industrial strength, but for what I use it for it's great. My only concern is going to be about those two flimsy clips that hold the grill in place. I'm not confident that they will last a few changes of the filter. They just look/feel too fragile.

So yeah, I think it was worth it. It may not be the strongest in the world, but put it in perspective... these things usually cost $80-$100, and I bought a $30 one and sometimes you do get what you pay for. This is a hobby, and I probably only spend 6hrs or so a week at the bench, so I think it suits my needs just fine.

I'll report back once I have used it for a little while longer.