# Expensive Box Fan?



## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

http://www.powermatic.com/us/en/p/powermatic-pm1250-micro-dust-afs/1791331

Saw this on the rockler mailer. I appreciate the quality of Powermatic products, but this one looks to be the most expensive version of the filter on a box fan concept.


I think you could probably make 4 or 5 of them like Izzy Swan did for a fraction of that!


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

your link didn't work...
this one should....
*Rockler Powermatic micro dust air filtration system....*


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

Powermatic is the (Gold) standard. I have seen them in magazine ads. I am sure some people will buy them. Heck if I had a lot of money I might buy one. :surprise:


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I had a thought about those fans yesterday. If you have a dust collector that filters down to very small particles, let's say 1 micron or less, then would just running your DC with all the blast gates open do the same thing as one of those box fans?


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> I had a thought about those fans yesterday. If you have a dust collector that filters down to very small particles, let's say 1 micron or less, then would just running your DC with all the blast gates open do the same thing as one of those box fans?


that's what I do..
it works...
but..
you need make up air..
or the DC vented back into the shop or your heating costs will climb...
the CFM exchange w/ using the DC is much higher...
little or no breeze either..
just air movement..


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

Not fancy at all, but I made my filter holder out of scrap. The filter slides in from the top. Twenty inch box fan from wally world.  Been working OK for several years now.


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

I'm betting there is some executive somewhere feeling soooo proud of himself for setting the price on those. I just wonder how many are going to have to be seriously marked down to sell them.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

kp91 said:


> *Expensive Box Fan?*


No..
just high and or over priced...


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

K-Mart box fan, furnace filter and bungee cord. Wife saw this on a TV show and suggested it for my shop. If I had $600 dollars, I would sit up all night and look at it. I would rather spend the money on other things for the shop.


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## Danman1957 (Mar 14, 2009)

I bought my General Int'l. air filter used and still thought I was getting a good deal at $250. Had I known this, I probably would have bought 2 box fans and filters and still saved a bunch !
We live and learn !


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## twmv86 (Oct 14, 2018)

alton brown uses the filter/ fan setup to dry beef jerky shown about the 2:20 mark in this video but I doubt you could make jerky in the shop. 

I was thinking of hitting up my a/c guy to see if he can hook me up with an old squirrel cage fan to make one of these

https://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/altons-beef-jerky-recipe-0170068


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

swamp cooler...


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Lots of forced air furnaces die because of burner or pump problems (oil type) that still have perfectly good fans.


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

You could go to a baseball game- there's a fan in every seat. Good idea to check with someone in HVAC.


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## gdonham1 (Oct 31, 2011)

I have a Jet Air Filter with an electrostatic filter. I find that I cleans the air really good. The filter hangs from chains and has a remote to turn it on and off. Additionally it has a timer feature so I can leave the shop and the filter will shut off automatically. The fans with filters are ok but they do not have the effectiveness of the Jet Air Filter. There are several other clones of the Jet and from what I have read they work very well. 

Small wood particles are not good to breath. Plus my shop is both for the making and finishing. So the Air Filter helps get the small dust particles out of the air so they do not fall down on my projects during finishing. 

Just do not run the air filter while projects are drying. The moving air causes dust that still collects on the tops of fixtures and other objects to get into the air. Run the Filter before you start finishing. When you start finishing turn it off.

There is nothing wrong with saving money but what is your safety and health worth? It is false economy to get inferior results by saving money.


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

I also wear a quality dust mask when sanding, turning, etc. in the shop.


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

gdonham1 said:


> I have a Jet Air Filter with an electrostatic filter.


I have the same jet and love it. The one I was saying is overpriced is the Powermatic in the ad, which is just a fan with an electrostatic on the front for $600.

I have seen several tests done in online videos with the box fans and filters and they do get the particle count down quite far for not a lot of cash. If you don't have the $300 for a hanging unit, spending $60 on a box fan and some good filters is a great way to go!

A long time back I had built this one, unfortunately it was too heavy to really hang, so I had it mounted on a shelf. Moved a ton of air, but awfully noisy at times. I had a handful of electrostatic filters and just cleaned them off with the garden hose

**** I just realized you can see my old 'tube' style ambient dust filter that was made by Rigid. That worked OK in my single car garage, but didn't do much in the bigger garage***


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