DUST!

[Burgerman]

I am sick of dust. Every time I clean it takes about 2 days before you can write your name in everything again... And PCs fill with the stuff. Powerchairs need dusting regularly etc.

So I bought various dust filter devices ofer the years. All are useless. They do not have a large enough airflow, and that because they try to filter nano sized particles. These are not the problem The bigger dust partivles are. So I took a pair of my GFs tights and stretched them over a room fan. The sort that occilate back and forth. After a week it had collected a large amount of visible dust. And the room was still clean. So it works 1000 times better than expensive bought solutions. They are all in the bin, too noisy and not effective.

So I just ordered 9 computer fans. 140mm ones with low RPM and these are almost silent. Will glue them all together as a 420m panel, and fit them with a speaker grill cloth or similar. Or even tights... May fit them in a box, and power them with a wall brick of 12v. Lots of those left over from dead printers, etc.

Will take pics and do a page.

[Burgerman]

www.wheelchairdriver.com/images-dustbuster

Images above

Here are my cheap (very!) ebay 140mm fans, all glued into a block 280 x 560 x 25mm. Decided to use 8, and have tested them. They move plenty of air very quietly at 6 volts. And are acceptably quiet at 8 volts in a bedroom. At 12v it starts to sound like a fairly loud PC. And moves a large volume of air.

Next step is to order the wood for a box. And some speaker grill cloth

[Burgerman]

PLY

1X 6MM BACK 280 X 560
2X 6MM SIDES 572 X 300
1X 6MM BOTTOM 280 X 300
1X 6MM TOP 50 X 280
4X 6MM STRIPS 20 X 280

SQUARE 15MM OR SIMILAR SIZE SOFTWOOD STRIP

2X 559 LONG
3X 279 LONG LESS TWICE ITS CROSS SECTION SIZE (= 30MM?) ... FRONT


WOOD!

[Burgerman]

Wood "kit" came, now glued and taped together. Once dry will be attacked with a sanding block and will get sprayed black. Then a "speaker grill" cloth front added. Will stand on the floor, suck air in the front and blow it upwards towards the ceiling cleaned of dust. Then about 3x less dust lands on the rest of the house. it will be stuck to the front of this thing ready to be vacuumed away.

[Martin O Refurbisher]

What a great idea!
Best,

Martin

[Art Springs]

How is it working now you have things up and going? Can you provide full list of all needed parts etc how to do wiring for those not quite as up on that aspect of things? how many square feet does it cover for?

[Burgerman]

All done except a coat of black paint, and a frame for the grill. Its temporarily got a speaker cloth grill taped on while I get that made. Running 24/7 and covered in dust. So working as intended. How much area it covers depends on how much dust, how many changes of air etc so no idea. But its collecting lots of dust. Ie theres non on my PC where it normally gets a coat every couple of days. More soon.

Wiring easy. All fans connected together, and one wall brick. It needs to be 1 amp or bigger. Preferable 1.5 amps. And multi voltage, so you can set it to 3, 6, 9, 12v and choose how loud/effective. 3v at night if the sound bothers you, as its totally silent, 6 or 9v mostly where its much quieter than a PC. 12v if you are changing sheets, sanding something, etc where it sounds like a PC...

[Art Springs]

My biggest problem is that I am not all that up on electronics, building a box and doing the physical work of wiring and soldering are no problem. Can you suggest good fan I can use here state side along with power supply models? Being that I have asthma keeping dust down is an attractive idea.

Like you I have several blocks from dead printers and what have you just need to figure out best fans size ratings etc per filter system. I wonder if there is some sort of speed control switch that could be used rather than buying bricks that are adjustable?

[Burgerman]

Adjustable bricks are easiest. And cheap large computer fans move the most air the quietest. Just check ebay for 140mm fan:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=140 ... &_from=R40

And connect the lot - however many you use - together. So every one gets 6 volts, 12 volts or whatever. The fans work best at 12v, but with 8 running it sounds like a PC. At 7.5 volts its barely audible and still catches tons of dust that would otherwise be on my bench, pc, etc... 8 of the cheaper fans take about 1 amp. So any wall block that is 1 amp or preferably bigger will do it. Some claim 1 amp but really dont like it and get hot or fail.

[Ashley G]

Just a thought, John, for when it comes to cleaning time ....

I'm guessing you'll probably just vacuum the front ? I was thinking of the little sponge air-filters fitted on the back of my oxygen concentrators. I did try to find a link I could use to show you, but I'm obviously not searching appropriate keywords

Basically, they look like a fairly open-pored black sponge, about .75" thick. The machines each have one about 5" square, sitting in a slot outside the air intake, and they sure do collect dust and debris !

Cleaning them is just a case of rinsing them through under the tap. They dry very quickly and are as good as new.

I just wondered whether that material might be a more effective dust-trap and more easily cleaned, bearing in mind it's used to filter the intake of O2 concentrators. I'm sure it must be available in larger sheets.

'Twas just a thought, lagging some considerable way behind your original idea

Regards

Ashley

[ex-Gooserider]

Agreed on the use of filter material...

Ashley, that sort of material is also used on air conditioner filters, and even some times on furnace and HVAC filters. I'd bet that large sheets of the stuff can be found at most decent hardware stores, probably for a LOT less than the "official" filters from your O2 concentrator supplier...

Art - BM has it about right on the fans and power brick choices, I would just add that you need to look at the output specs that should be molded onto the brick. Some put out AC power, others put out DC, you want to be sure to get one that does DC. It is also best to get a brick that is rated for more than the total amperage draw of the fans you will be using.

Also worth noting is that in any given size, some fans move more air than others, or are noisier (Usually the more air the fan moves the louder it is, but there are some that do a pretty well...) There is a website called "Silent PC Review" (I don't have the URL offhand, Google for it...) that, among lots of other things, has some pretty good discussions and ratings charts, etc. on the different fan brands / models and can help you pick particularly quiet ones if that is a concern.

ex-Gooserider

[Burgerman]

I just bought the cheapest possible. They are big at 140mm so turn slowly, not much noise. I paid about 3 uk pounds each. The plywood was cut to size by thye woodyard and I just glued/taped it together. It needs covering in that black speaker sticky back stuff, or spraying black. Grill is currently very open speaker cloth. Much like thick womens tights, stretchy black stuff. Yes I just vacuum the front.

Before I turned it on, I could write my name in the top of my PC every morning. Now its every 6 or 7 mornings. But they are rebuilding my bathroom, knocking down walls, tiles, floors, dust everywhere. The front grill gets a heavy coat of dust daily! And the door to this room is shut!

[Burgerman]

Since I sold my proper camera I only have the HTC Sensations excuse for one... My god its crap!

But heres a pic of jenny vacuuming the front of the dust catcher! This happens every 2 days. The PC has a clean top for a change. It also has no dust in its filters or fans. So its working as intended.

The picture shows some old speaker cloth taped to the front. I have not made a proper grill yet. But you get the idea. The black bit around the edge is still cl;ean, no air flow there.

Assy. pics, in the wrong order! Ist one shows it covered in white dust from my room.

[Swan T.W.]

I assume she was wearing the appropriate maid outfit.

[Burgerman]

As it happens she looks pretty damned good! And 25... But prefers girls.
No no outfit...

[ex-Gooserider]

But prefers girls.

Nothing wrong with that - I prefer girls too...

ex-Gooserider

[Burgerman]

Me too. I am a lesbian trapped in a blokes body?