I’m sure this has been discussed before but I’m new. I thinking about getting a powered respirator, such as the trend airshield or Aircap. Any comments would be appreciated.
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Replies
I wear rigid gas permeable contacts lenses, and my eyes hurt like hell when I get any sawdust in them. I bought the Trend Airshield, and love it! I also found it useful when doing blown in cellulose in our attic. The one downside is the cost of the extra batteries. The factory batteries are 4 hour deals that cost $50 or so. I made my own battery holder following these directions;
http://azwoodturners.org/100_-_Airshield_Battery_Pack.pdf
When I put rechargeable lithium AA batteries in this homemade holder, I get a full 8 hours of use for a fraction of the cost.
It has really transformed my ability to work in the shop comfortably. I can also wear standard reading glasses.
It fits me well, but I have a crew cut. My wife has thick long hair, and she can't get the adjustable head band tight enough without it slipping on her hair.
John
I've been looking into these as well. I have been leaning towards the Trend Airshield but they are coming out with the Airshield Pro next month which supposedly has a stronger fan and 8 hours of battery life si I am holding off until then.B.Kidd
I have a older model Trend Airshield which I mostly use when turning, especially the finsihing and sanding of bowls, since the dust goes all over, even with my little dust collector. I am pleased with it - very little nasty stuff coming out my nose when I'm done, so it looks liek the filtration works well.
The blower inside also keeps it from fogging up.
I have an older model shield of this sort. It works extremely well. The flow of fan-blown air removes any feeling of claustrophobia. The only thing I can add is that you will probably want some anti-static spray for the face shield. It "dust up" otherwise.
Frosty
"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
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