# 3 Supplied Fresh Air options for under $700.



## Last Craftsman (Dec 5, 2008)

ATTENTION: Clammer pointed out some very important information that should be noted.

The breathecool is NOT NIOSH approved. I do not know the status of the other units. It is up to your discretion if the task you need one of these units for is safe. You should consult the proper authorities regarding the types of environments you will be working in, and what the requirements are.

Materials such as isocyanates and the like require very strict adherance to safety guidelines. Consult necessary authorities regarding your material, application, and safety protection measures. 

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For those of you who are still using solvents or any other toxic product, and who choose to use a respirator with organic cartridges, I highly recommend you check out some of the fresh air options that are available.

I have definitely noticed that I feel better after several hours of using a fresh air system, than I do after several hours of using a conventional respirator.

I find even with a respirator, that I still accumulate some toxic compounds in my bloodstream, either through inhalation or through eyes and skin. As the cartridges wear out, eventually you start inhaling small amounts of solvents.

I feel what happens is that one gets used to this, and can't really notice small amounts until a toxicity builds up and then one can become hyper sensitized to solvents.

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Ultimately I feel more clear-headed, and less burnt out after several hours using fresh air as opposed to using a respirator.

Here are 3 choices for inexpensive units I have come across while researching options.


Breath-cool.

We bought this one on a rush order and got it the next day. We bought a 25 foot section of hose, and a 50 foot section. This can be combined for 3 different hose lengths of 25, 50, or 75 feet.

The unit works ok and supplies fresh air, but there are cons.

1. The tyvek Hood is extremely chintzy and fragile. Especially because the replacement cost is $70. The plastic across the face is area is not rigid like you would assume, but flexes very easily, especially when trying to apply or remove the optional clear stick on overspray protectors. 

2. This type of hose is bulky and light, and likes to spring back into it's coiled shape, even when stretched out, and it is difficult to prevent it from banging up against areas with wet paint.

(note) do not leave this hose in the environmet where toxic paints are flashing off. The vapors will accumulate in, and permeate the plastic hose, and you will be breathing residuals from them for several hours. 

3. It is VERY loud. I got quite uncomfortable having it on the front porch in a neighborhood, I do not like to subject clients or neighbors to continous loud noise levels.

This was for a job that required several days of brushing out oil, and I resorted to buying new cartridges for my respirator every day after only using the fresh air unit for several hours, it was just too noisy for this application.

SAS

What I like about this one is that the hose looks close to a standard diameter airless hose, and of the same composition. If we get one of these in the future, I will probably combine the airless hose and the supplied air line together with velcro straps, and achieve the affect of only one line while I am moving about.

It seems like it is probably quieter, however, I have never heard it in operation.

The arrangement of the regulator and gauge apparatus looks vulnerable to damage/malfunction. 

MC SYSTEMS

The website doesn't list cost, but if I remember you can get a full setup for $500 or so.

This one I like because you can get a optional hose to attach to the INLET of the air pump. This would be very handy because you could place the pump INSIDE the toxic environment, then run the inlet hose out into fresh air such as out a window and hanging down the side of a building several feet.

If it is noisy which I imagine it is seeing as how it uses high rpms to pump air down the line, keeping the actual pump inside would drastically reduce noise levels for people outside of the building.

Plus it looks very small, and I have imagined encasing it in a 12 inch diameter PVC tube filled with insulation that is about 3 feet long to cut down on noise.

The people who sell this unit don't stock it, and can't tell me how loud it is.

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Hoods/vs masks. You will get more line distance and cfm potential with a mask because it pumps the fresh air right to your nostrils/mouth.

I like hoods. It is very comfortable having fresh cool air blowing around inside the breathing environment with nothing strapped to the face.

Most hoods have this ridiculous 2 foot bib, that hangs down everywhere.

They tout that you can "tuck the bib into your clothes" to "cool the body" with the air.

I found that the bib TRAPS vapors next to your body, which find a way into the hood. This was quite evident while leaning over a bucket of impervo, and mixing in naptha, I could smell the naptha as I poured it in.

I wound up cutting the 2 foot bib off, which let air escape directly below my neck, and did not give any area for fumes to accumulate and funnel upwards into the hood.

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Check these units out if you work with solvents. I think the price on these units makes it feasible to buy them just to try them out. You can always sell them at half price, without losing much.


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## Bender (Aug 10, 2008)

You ever spray deck and joist with a full face mask?


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## Last Craftsman (Dec 5, 2008)

Bender said:


> You ever spray deck and joist with a full face mask?



Have only sprayed several deck and joists since I started painting. Used a regular respirator. Or sometimes just a particle mask. Those were the days.


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## nEighter (Nov 14, 2008)

Great info LC! I hate my respirator. It doesn't really work that great.


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## Last Craftsman (Dec 5, 2008)

nEighter said:


> Great info LC! I hate my respirator.


That's like music to my ears. 

Also look into as many low and no voc products as you can, and start making the shift to those products.

I would say that all in all, I am now exposed to 10 times LESS toxic vapors and compounds than when I first started painting.


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## nEighter (Nov 14, 2008)

Yep. I am man. I think about these positive pressure systems every time I paint, DeArch was the first one to bring this up that I saw. After that really got me thinking about it. I can never keep my mask contoured to my face. When I used to feed my son I would mimic him opening his mouth.. I think I do that type of thing without realizing it while painting.. a weird facial expression or SOMETHING that breaks the bead around my nose/eye/cheek area. All the sudden I get this cold draft down the side of my nose.. "hey that isn't supposed to be there!"


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## josey wales (Mar 1, 2009)

Just recently i finished a 2.5 year stint painting in the nuclear industry. Most of their products are cut with MEK , and thier coatings are very nasty. Lots of our work was done in air tight transfer chambers. a lot of our work was done in postive air suits. Basicly an air fed tyvek hood, lol oh yeah and a heavy rubber suit (for radation). After using these heavy duty coatings for moths at a time a can honestly say the air fed hood system is great. Feel excellent at the end of the day, but they defintely are a tad cumbersome, and make it a little tougher to mover around. Oh yeah they bcan be quite loud at times, we usually wore ear plugs.


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## nEighter (Nov 14, 2008)

josey wales said:


> Just recently i finished a 2.5 year stint painting in the nuclear industry. Most of their products are cut with MEK , and thier coatings are very nasty. Lots of our work was done in air tight transfer chambers. a lot of our work was done in postive air suits. Basicly an air fed tyvek hood, lol oh yeah and a heavy rubber suit (for radation). After using these heavy duty coatings for moths at a time a can honestly say the air fed hood system is great. Feel excellent at the end of the day, but they defintely are a tad cumbersome, and make it a little tougher to mover around. Oh yeah they bcan be quite loud at times, we usually wore ear plugs.



 that is hardcore man! :thumbsup: glad to hear you are not subjecting yourself to that type of painting anymore!


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## josey wales (Mar 1, 2009)

Yeah i got some pretty crazy stories from working at the nuke plant. It was the final straw that made me realize i was much better off on my own, working for myself. I don't make near as much money as i did there, but i have no doubts that will come in time.


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

Thanks n8r for remembering my contribution to this subject.

LC, you're preaching to the choir here. 

Everyone else, LC speaks the truth. IMO, supplied air is the only SAFE and sure way to keep your body free of the air-borne toxins that we surround ourselves with.

AND, if you have facial hair, no half mask respirator will work. (Half mask supplied air is better with a clean face, but will work with facial hair)

The noise is a real bummer. We had a neighbor complain bitterly on one job.

As I related before, my Bullard (supplied three masks) has intake hoses up to 200 feet. At the end of the intake hose is a particle filter. The noise emitting from that is incredibly loud and annoying. I did improve it by building an insulated box to put the intake filter in. 

My half mask had a hose










whose end clipped onto a belt. The supply hose attached there. It was a bother, especially rolling out ceilings. Standing or sitting at a task was not bad.

But, the bother is well worth the alternative. One reason I no longer paint is the damage I done myself BEFORE I bought my system.


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## clammer (Feb 13, 2009)

One thing to think about here is the breathcool is not niosha aproved.If the negative pressure respirator is a problem you might think about a posative pressure respirator. (pars)It has a little pump that clips to your belt 3m has a good one for around $500 Do any of you go for a fit test or pulmonary function test before using them?


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## Last Craftsman (Dec 5, 2008)

clammer said:


> One thing to think about here is the breathcool is not niosha aproved.If the negative pressure respirator is a problem you might think about a posative pressure respirator. (pars)


Yeah, that is true. I am not super fond of the breathe cool any how.

I tend to use my supplied air unit when most people would just breath the fumes any way. For example brushing oil. A lot of people don't even wear respirators for that. I think that's crazy.

They figure you only need to wear a respirator if you are spraying. :no:

Fortunately I use almost exclusively no and low VOC products and rarley have a use for the fresh air setup anyway.

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I DEFINITELY agree that it should be pointed out the that the breathecool is not NIOSH approved and will edit my original post to reflect this.

For anyone working with any serious chemicals such as isocyanates, etc, it would be crucial to look into the suggested and required apparatus for such material.


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## Softy (Jul 19, 2009)

I normally use 2-3 fans each handle about 5,000cfm then put it in either pressure or suction mode. Works really well. Me and my worker still wear full face mask thou.


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## tsunamicontract (May 3, 2008)

this thread reminds me of the R in RCP.


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

But you are ok with the Beer, Bacon and Broads right?


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## tsunamicontract (May 3, 2008)

RCP said:


> But you are ok with the Beer, Bacon and Broads right?


well, this is wisconsin, so we roll with Beer, Brats, and Babes. Similar, but not the same.


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## tsunamicontract (May 3, 2008)

and boats.


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