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Been looking into fresh air delivery systems. There are a couple complete systems from HobbyAir and Breath-cool that start at about $350 but wind up between $550 and $700 after you add in longer hose and full face respirators. These systems are based on a small turbine driven motor (think vacuum cleaner) that supplies HVLP fresh air to the respirator with positive pressure. They are the only safe approach when spraying two part ISO paints but can be used for a bunch of other stuff like welding, sanding, woodworking, etc. The idea is you place the motor in a fresh air area and it delivers it through the hose to your mask. These entry level systems look like this
The next step up uses a better motor, air pump and filtration, but idea is basically the same. The standard workhorse seems to be an Allegro A-750 that costs well over $1,000s and looks like this
I've looked around for different brands and models but they all seem to "look" identical. After some research it seems they all are based upon a GAST 1023 carbon vane vacuum pump with 1/2 to 3/4 HP motors.
There are a ton of used GAST pumps on e-bay ranging from about $100 to well over $1,000. The ones at the lower price are really beaten up or sold not working for parts.
I found a BRAND new pump with 1/2 HP motor that had an original asking price of about $625 that was just cut to $435 with free shipping. To my great surprise, my $250 offer was accepted!!!! So now I'm in a fresh air supply building mission. Here is a picture of my new pump:
Looks like it is set up as a vacuum pump and has some sort of muffler on it that I won't be using...
Found a parts manual for the Allegro A-750 and obtained part numbers for the critical elements: 50 micron intake filter assembly, 0.5 micron HEPA exaust filter assembly, intake and exhaust filters, the pressure gauge and pressure relief valve. After some searching was able to source these as well on Ebay for $183 shipped. Figure $25 for fittings and I now have the same air supply pump that is sold for about $950 by itself for $450.
I'm now looking into a breathable air line hose in the 75' - 100' range and respirator mask. I figure I should be able to get these for under $250. The hose is surprisingly expensive because it has to be rated for breathable air. Apparently regular compressor hose gives off toxins which you don't want to be pushing down your lungs, LOL...
The next step up uses a better motor, air pump and filtration, but idea is basically the same. The standard workhorse seems to be an Allegro A-750 that costs well over $1,000s and looks like this
I've looked around for different brands and models but they all seem to "look" identical. After some research it seems they all are based upon a GAST 1023 carbon vane vacuum pump with 1/2 to 3/4 HP motors.
There are a ton of used GAST pumps on e-bay ranging from about $100 to well over $1,000. The ones at the lower price are really beaten up or sold not working for parts.
I found a BRAND new pump with 1/2 HP motor that had an original asking price of about $625 that was just cut to $435 with free shipping. To my great surprise, my $250 offer was accepted!!!! So now I'm in a fresh air supply building mission. Here is a picture of my new pump:
Looks like it is set up as a vacuum pump and has some sort of muffler on it that I won't be using...
Found a parts manual for the Allegro A-750 and obtained part numbers for the critical elements: 50 micron intake filter assembly, 0.5 micron HEPA exaust filter assembly, intake and exhaust filters, the pressure gauge and pressure relief valve. After some searching was able to source these as well on Ebay for $183 shipped. Figure $25 for fittings and I now have the same air supply pump that is sold for about $950 by itself for $450.
I'm now looking into a breathable air line hose in the 75' - 100' range and respirator mask. I figure I should be able to get these for under $250. The hose is surprisingly expensive because it has to be rated for breathable air. Apparently regular compressor hose gives off toxins which you don't want to be pushing down your lungs, LOL...
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