Opinions wanted on Rikon Air Filtration

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JimB

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I have been considering getting an Air Filtration system. My shop is in a separate section of the basement with no air circulation ( no windows, one heating vent, no A/C) and measures 18 x 10 with 8' ceiling, not very big.

I do have a dust collector that I use on both lathes and BS. I hook up my shop vac to small tools like miter saw and sander.

I see Woodcraft has the Rikon 400 CFM Air Cleaner, model 62-400, on sale for $150, $40 off. From what I have read this seems like a good choice for my shop and a very good price.

Please let me know what you think.

Thanks!
 
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avbill

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I have the same model I can't see any difference as yet. 1 month its in use. its on the same time i'm in the shop and 1 hour beyond. I mounted it to the ceiling with chains
 

jttheclockman

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I do not know about that air cleaner but can tell you if you spend a lot of time in the shop it is money well spent. Anytime you can add a air cleaner will help. If it has a duel filtration filter system will even be better. The key though is to use it.

Bill give it time and then check the filter out and you will see for yourself and answer that question. I bet you will be glad you installed it. :)
 

Edgar

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An air cleaner is definitely a good thing to have.

$150 for that unit seems quite reasonable, but I don't have any direct experience with it.

I went the cheap route. I bought a simple 20" box fan at Home Depot, duct taped a 2" filter grille to the back of it and put 2 20x20 filters in the grille - one 1 micron and 1 about 8-10 micron.

The box fan is rated at 2500 cfm, but that's without any filters. I have no idea what the real air flow is with the filters installed, but it does the job for me & it's really simple to check & change the filters.
 

JimB

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Bill, John and Edgar - thanks for your thought.

I did consider doing the box fan but was concerned it may stir up more stuff than it filters.

John - I am spending a lot more time in my shop than I did previously. I spend anywhere from almost zero time to 25 hours or more per week. When I mostly turned small items the DC did an excellent job. Now I spend more time on my 16 x 42 grizzly lathe and I am turning a lot more bowls etc. A lot of the wood is dry blanks or logs that still have some bark or bark inclusions. Messy stuff. Even when I move the DC hose around I know I am still getting some airborne particles, some times quite a bit.

The Rikon does have a duel filter system that seems to be the same as in more expensive machines. The only big difference I can see between this and the bigger ones is amount of CFM but since I have a smaller shop this seems like a good choice.

Thanks for your thoughts.
 

TonyL

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I would go with the bigger Jet when it's on sale for 30% off (it was last fall). I don't have it or need one for my shop, but I installed it for me friend (on chains) and it makes a big difference in his shop. I almost bought it, but it would have been overkill for the work I do and the size of my shop.
 

Edgar

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The box fan actually works quite well - the filters cut down the air flow considerably & I run it on high speed all the time that I'm in the shop. I made sure to tape the grille on such that there are no air gaps between grille & fan. All the air going through the fan has to first go through the filters.

I have one in the woodshop area of my garage (15x25 area) and I plan to put another in the front part where I have my DC, sander & bandsaw. Just haven't bought the parts yet.

That being said, I would never claim that this is as good as the Rikon or Jet units or try to talk anyone out of buying one, particularly since you can probably get finer filters than 1 micron for those guys. Every shop should have the best dust collection & air filtration that a person can afford - the box fan approach is just an alternative for a low-cost approach to filtration.
 

JimB

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I would go with the bigger Jet when it's on sale for 30% off (it was last fall). I don't have it or need one for my shop, but I installed it for me friend (on chains) and it makes a big difference in his shop. I almost bought it, but it would have been overkill for the work I do and the size of my shop.

I think it would be overkill in my small shop as well as well as more $, even on sale, than is in my budget. It is also bigger and I have limited overhead space. With the ceiling joists the ceiling is 7.5 feet and I also have some heating ductwork in there so I have limited space for mounting.

Thanks everyone for the comments.
 
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