Hi, I just put in a ventilation system and it was a lot of work. I
bought an insulated fan, $125, the speed control knob was $37 for
some reason, and the ducting and electric wire and boxes rounded the
whole thing off to about 300.00. I breath perfect clean air now, I
even have a vent in front of my bench pin to catch dust. I finally
got it finished after a trip to the emergency room because I
poisoned myself with solder fumes, pickle pot, and the nail in the
coffin was the paste solder. It was really cold out that day and I
just wanted to be warm. Symptoms; horrific vertigo and body wide
nausea.
As regards fume extractor, If it is sucking air away from your face
that’s a good thing. Its hard to believe that it will work (can it
really extract enough toxins at that velocity?), If its really noisy
its going to be irritating over the long run. I took a workshop from
Andy Cooperman, and I quote," buy the quietest fan that you can
afford," because if it is too noisy you tend to not use it. I keep my
exhaust system on 90% of the time. That way I don’t forget, and it is
so quiet I hardly notice its on, saving my life. Yes, I am cold.
I should mention one thing, a friend of mine who is an inspector for
OSHA, is always reminding me that it is not the particles that you
can see, that are going to get trapped in your lungs for the rest of
your life. Folks, please consider extra ventilation for your bench
and wearing a respirator more often.
Bye now, Holly