DIY Solder Fume Extractor (Comic Relief)

[rjb]

Have a gander at my DIY soldering fume extractor, every bit as effective as the expensive commercial models!

If there were a general Beginners' Corner, I would have posted this there.

The activated charcoal filter came from a tropical fish store; the louver is a flower pot from Dollar Tree, and the adjustable base once housed a flood lamp and rotating color wheel for illuminating aluminum Christmas trees.

Have fun,
-rb

[Mars Amp Repair]

Oh I love that kind of silly Rube Goldberg stuff...find attached a crawlspace ventilation fan I put together after our addition was built. It originally was a temporary measure for when I found a commercial grade fan to use. It worked so well (silly as it looks) I just left it that way. It's over 10yrs later now.

About every 3-4yrs or so I have to clean the fan & lube the bushings and about every 5yrs sometimes I have to replace it. I go to the thrift store & buy another fan for $2.00 & good for another 5yrs!

glen

[tedmich]

that's a great kluge! FYI range hood charcoal filters make good extractors mated to a couple "muffin" fans



never used though; the charcoal gets saturated with grease/smoke asap in a typical kitchen!

[Enzo]

AH, you sissy kids. Be a man, just inhale the stuff. Makes your lungs easier to solder.

[tedmich]

true, Enzo, the Pb content of the smoke is pretty damn low, its the rosin that's bad for you, kinda like its the Tylenol that kills Vicodin addicts..

[soundguruman]

Did you steal that prototype from Dyson?

[Bill Moore]

I agree with Enzo, just suck it up!
Actually, I've been casting lead bullets for years, so a little solder fumes is nothing. I do have a fan blowing air into the garage, while the casting pot is near the big door.

[rjb]

Did you steal that prototype from Dyson?

Shhh! I've heard they're quite litigious.
-rb

[rjb]

Actually, I've been casting lead bullets for years,

I used to cast lead fishing weights on the kitchen stove. When I was a dumb kid.

so a little solder fumes is nothing.

As has been mentioned, it's not the solder fumes that'll get ya- it's the flux fumes.
I've also done some stained glass work; I think that flux is a bit more noxious than rosin.

-rb