For those of you that use cartridge style respirators in the shop (and for those of you that should), I wanted to pass along this trick for extending life of cartridges.
When the cartridges are exposed to air, the charcoal filters are constantly working and being used up even if the respirator is not being worn. This depletes the effective life of the cartridge unnecessarily faster.
I use P100 filters in the mask that I wear – which filters out 99.97% of particulate as well as organic vapors (and more). The increased sensitivity means that these filters will be used up more readily, so I wanted to extend their life as much as possible. To achieve this, the filters must be starved of any ambient air when not in use. My solution – I store my respirator as well as unused cartridges in vacuum storage bags. This is the type advertised on television as Space Bags (under other names as well). They come in variety of sizes, and the bonus is that the smaller ones (that I use) achieve a vacuum by sealing the bag (heavy duty zip lock), and then rolling all of the air out through a one way valve (no shop vac necessary).
The bags are inexpensive and can be found at larger drug stores. They are also a great way to store your joiner biscuits which will swell up if not sealed tightly.
Dan Kornfeld, Owner/President – Odyssey Wood Design, Inc.
Replies
Great idea Dan, and I've been looking for an excuse to buy one of those contraptions (keep wondering if the sweaters every really come back to full volume?!). Question: how do I know when the cartridge is dea? Since I don't do much confined-area finishing, I don't use mine very much. How will I know when it's dead?
forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Jamie,
I think one of the major tests that the cartridge is exhausted is by smell.
If you are working with paint or solvents with an odor, you should not smell it with the respirator on. When you start smelling it, time to change the cartridge.
Bill
Forest Girl,
"how do I know when the cartridge is dead?" You will start to notice that the mask is more difficult to breath through. If you are able to smell anything while wearing the mask, the charcoal filter in the cartridge is no longer effective. Also, depending on how long your respirator has been sitting in the open air (weeks, months, etc...) it would be worth replacing the filters.
Just a side note - a respirator should be disassembled and cleaned at least once a week with constant use. The silicone valves (usually round or rectangle flaps)inside the mask will get gunked up with heavy use, which in turn doesn't allow them to create a perfect seal. All of the parts pop off and can be washed in a mild dish soap and warm water. Sit them on a paper towel to dry off, and then reassemble the mask.
Dan Kornfeld, Owner/President - Odyssey Wood Design, Inc.
Thanks for the info, Dan. I've been neglectful of my mask and will rectify the situation toot sweet!
Have a good Sunday, y'all. I'm off to Oregon tomorrow morning to go visit my sweetie and pick up the utility trailer he bought for us!forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Jamie -
What ever happened to that locust wood your 'sweetie' had nailed over there in Or?.
With respect to resperators, OSHA now requires any trades people using resperators (painters in particular) to be clean shaven. For relatively obvious reasons. None the less, with a full beard I find that my 3M mask has been extremely effective used when spraying lacquer in a not-too-well ventilated work area.
The guy at the paint store where I bought the mask suggested just removing the cartridges and putting them in a zip-lock freezer bag. The bag is small enough I guess the amount of air enclosed with them doesn't rob that much life out of them. So far, so good.
...........
Dennis in Bellevue WA
[email protected]
Dennis, I was not able to go see the Locust grove -- the only time I was able to get over there this summer was for his dad's ninety-something birthday, and it was a quick turnaround.
I'd think a ZipLock would be OK as long as the plastic doesn't start degrading. No reason it should, I s'pose, long as it's not sitting in a pool of Naptha or something, LOL.forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Don't know much about respirators - Hack! Cough!
But the wife taught me this one:
Insert a plastic drinking straw in the bag, zip it tight to the straw, suck, pull out the straw and zip the rest of the way. Then double bag it. It's not 100% but it's pretty darn good. That's how we freeze peppers every year."If we're treading on thin ice,
Then we might as well dance."
I too wear a beard, a VanDyke or fullish gotee. SurviveAir resirator I use seals reasonably well. To check for leaks put your palms over the cartridges and try to inhale. If you're getting anything it's leaking around your face or through the one-way valves.John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking
Life is tough. It's tougher if you're stupid - John Wayne
> ...Insert a plastic drinking straw in the bag, zip it tight to the straw, suck,
I've got a plastic freezer bag filled with a lacquer laden cartridge that's been protecting my lungs all this time, and you want me to suck on a straw stuck in that bag! (grin)
I don't think so. I'll spend the money on another cartridge first (hehehe)
...........
Dennis in Bellevue WA
[email protected]
Hmmmmmm........... and I thought my beard was a prefilter. ;o)
jackie,
Thanks for the heads up on the respirator cartridges. When I want to keep air away from something, I use recycled cereal bags....of course I can't get the air out like your solution does...
Edited 12/13/2003 3:15:40 PM ET by BG
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