Fume Extractor recommendations

[Vamino]

I've got quite a bit of desoldering and soldering to do and for the sake of my lungs I need a half decent fume extractor for the house. I'm unable to use something that dumps the fumes directly outside.

I'm thinking of buying this one:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/2UUL-uuFilter-Desktop-Extractor-Filtration/dp/B09S418XD6

NorthridgeFix seems to be selling a rebranded one and he seems to think it's very good for the money, replacement filters seem to be easy to source too.

Has anyone got one of these or have any other suggestions?

Cheers.

 

[big10p]

I recently got myself this little one and am very pleased with it.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08RHJ64LD?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

I just wanted something to pull away fumes while I'm doing close-up work (which is usual, with my eyesight). If you're doing a lot of soldering in one sitting, perhaps a proper extractor might be more suitable.

 

[Vamino]

Thanks for that suggestion.

I think I'm gonna go for the 2UUL. I have a load of sockets to replace, adapters to make and chassis to recap.
I think the below is a rebrand of the 2UUL.

 

[big10p]

Thanks for that suggestion.

I think I'm gonna go for the 2UUL. I have a load of sockets to replace, adapters to make and chassis to recap.
I think the below is a rebrand of the 2UUL.

Interesting video. I knew the carbon extractors like mine don't really filter any particles out but I just needed something to draw it away from my face. I also always have an air purifier running in my workshop mainly because I'm a smoker.

I also needed something quite small and portable as I do not have the room for something like the one in the video on my workbench. TBH, that one doesn't look all that powerful but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Vamino]

Yeah, I looked over a few different ones and they all seem to have strengths and weaknesses.

Last time I did some soldering for a few hours I really felt the effects of breathing that stuff in, so I've not done anything meaningful until I get an extractor. I've got a brick building built onto the side rear of house which is classed as a utility room and storage sheds, the previous owner used one of those rooms as a workshop, so until I sort that out unfortuantely I'm stuck with doing soldering in the house.

I'll order the extractor and see how I get on with it, I'll give some impressions once I've had a couple of sessions with it.

 

[big10p]

It would be interesting to hear what others are using.

 

[tin]

My soldering station (such that it is) is beneath a massive velux, which I open 👍

 

[funk]

Weird you should post this today, been looking at solutions myself for soldering and possibly more importantly a 3D printer enclosure. As good as the IKEA hacks are I still don't feel comfortable housing something that could potentially burst into flames in a wooden box 😬

 

[Brettster]

This guy uses one of those types of extractor too, might be easier to see how much desk space it uses etc in this video

however his voice reminds me of Bert from Sesame street. 🤣

 

[FrancoB]

Funnily enough this is something I've been thinking about recently too.

I've used one of these type of fume 'extractors' for years, I think I got it from Maplins...



It was OK but you had to pretty much have the hood right over what you were doing for the fume to be pulled in. So, I put my Blue Peter badge on and added a cardboard funnel and removeable tube to focus the draught and extend the soldering position away from the hood.

This does actually work a lot better than the standard fan. The whole thing is still a bit unwieldy though and as the video above was saying, it's not actually filtering anything out.

Ideally I would like to extract/vent the fumes out of my window so I'm thinking of making a 'fan in a can' type setup to suck the fumes and blow them out of my window. The video did give me an idea of adding a two or three stage filter in case I want to use it but don't want the window. I guess this will add airflow resistance so it might be a case of making these 'drop/slide in/out'.

I'm thinking of using two or three ~80mm fans in a ~120mm long 3D printed case. The additional fans won't add additional CFM but they should increase air pressure for what could be a high resistance setup. Turbulance/noise might be an issue but it will be something to try out.

I'm thinking of using something like [this] for the outlet (and possibly inlet) but I'm not sure if that stuff is rigid enough, I'm guessing not.

I was actually playing with one of [these] tubes of my daughters which partially gave me the idea. These are really rigid but they might be a little too small diameter and add too much air resistance. I've 'borrowed' one for testing anyway 😬 I'm thinking about magnetic flanges/adapters for both sides of the extractor so the tubes can be attached and removed easily for storage.

Power wise I'm thinking of adding a USB C port and then using a 5v > 12v step up for the 12v fans. I've got a power strip on my desk with USB A and C outlets so it would free up another plug and cut down on wiring. I'll add some kind of power switch too.

Any thoughts/ideas on the above would be great. It might not work but it will be fun trying

 

[yoganuggy]

I have all my soldering kit on a big piece of plywood. This lets me move it all in one go and put it on top of the cooker.

Solder away there for a few hours with the cooker extractor on venting outside.

Bit of an inconvenience moving it back and forth but if I solder in the garage with no extractor I can really feel it.

 

[cliche]

The one mentioned earlier doesn't rate highly according to this user

 

[Vamino]

Interesting idea Franco. A home made/3D printed one with the ability to use existing filters would be a nice idea. There doesn't seem much to them to be honest.

After a bit more research I ended up going for this one:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004980225263.html

MAKE SURE YOU CHOOSE THE ACTUAL EXTRACTOR FROM THE DROP DOWN MENU!

It's a bit cheaper than the other one, and going by the Aliexpress reviews it's not too bad for the money. Obviously it's gonna be a bit cheap but it's gotta be better than nothing. It'll take a while to get here and I'll give my impressions when it arrives.

 

[FrancoB]

Bloody hell, nice find! For £8.61 delivered that's worth picking up for some of the parts alone!

Thanks for the link. I've ordered one too. Cheap as integrated circuits 😁

 

[Vamino]

I think that low price is just for the filter mate! Aliexpress does that sometimes with multiple options.

I paid 64 ish for the extraction and a set of 5 filters.

 

[big10p]

I thought that looked impossibly cheap.

 

[Vamino]

I thought that looked impossibly cheap.

Classic Aliexpress troll move.

 

[FrancoB]

Oh lolz!

That's what I get for reading posts as soon as I wake up 😁

To be fair, I've had quite a few Alibaba/express deals that have seemed far to cheap to be real but have come through.

Oh well, guess that's the HEPA filter ticked off my shopping list

 

[FrancoB]

Got round to sorting this out. I was going to print an enclosure with some 80mm fans in but I didn't want to go to a load of effort and find it didn't work properly so I came up with something a bit more suitable for the job.

I cobbled together a 100mm extractor fan and some 100mm ducting. I was going to print a hood for for it but I found a dust collector hood on ebay which was near the right size so wasn't worth my time designing/printing. I bought an articulated mobile phone mount and printed an adapter to fit it to the hood. This provides 5 axis of adjustment and can be positioned/reach anywhere on my desk.

One problem I had when using the old extractor was that I got a lot of shadow/loss of light due to the tube etc blocking the light source. This was going to be even more of an issue with a large hood so I added some 5V LED strips fitted to some printed recessed mounts inside the hood.

I added a JST XH connector so it can be disassembled easily if required. I also wanted to be able to turn the fan on/off from the hood so I added switches for the fan and LEDs

Luckily there were already three ~12mm square cutouts in the side of the hood which just happened to fit some small SPST rocker switches I had. I printed some blanking plates to plug the remaining cutout and gaps.

It didn't seem like a good idea to run ~230vAC near the hood though so I used a 5v relay instead. The sleeved 5vDC wires travel up the ducting and then exit out the side of the fan and then into the box on top.

I didn't have room to fit the relay inside the box so I've fitted it to the top. I just need to make a cover for it as there are bare 230vAC terminals currently.

The box on top of the fan contains the timer circuit as this is where you would set the 'run on time' if connected to your bathroom lights. There was a fair bit of space in here and actually just the right amount of space to fit a decased 5v 2A PSU I had in a box of random PSUs. Switch live is connected to live so it will just turn on and off with the relay, no run on time required.

1st test:

It's all a bit McGuyver but it does work really well.


Parts list in case anyone's interested:

100mm In Line Bathroom Extractor fan

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0813W5WRM

£42.99

Hon&Guan 4inch Aluminium PVC Ventilation Air Ducting Flexible Hose 100mm with 2 Clamps

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BYP1FFRT

£15.29

4 inch Hose Clips, HG Power Adjustable Hose Clamps 60-100mm

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07Q2Q78CN

£3.99

DUBEUYEW DC 5V Relay Module 1-Channel Relay Switch with Optocoupler Isolation High/Low Level Trigger(3PCS)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BZCDDF1Z

£6.20 / 3 = £2.07

LED Strip Lights,USB TV Backlight 6.56ft/2m LED Lights for 40~60in HDTV,Waterproof SMD 3528 5V Daylight White

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07SQVLRCD

£6.99

FAPPEN Cell Phone Holder, Phone Holder for Bed Desk, 360° Flexible Articulating Long Arm Clamp Bracket Mount Stand

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07PHRLXRX

£14.99

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01EY1NCM8

POWERTEC 70169 Mini Gulp Dust Hood Collector with 4" ID Port
£12.20

SPST Rockers x2 - Already had

Total = £98.52

 

[funk]

That's a great solution @FrancoB , nicely done, the inline fan is a cracking idea.

Wondering if there would be lower powered ones that'd do the trick too, but I suppose you need the air draw.

Been on my list to 3D print and build up for a good while so I may take inspiration from this. Thanks for sharing 👍