Which Dust Extraction System Should I Use?
If the activities of your business involve the use of machines or other devices that produce a lot of dust or smoke, it is vital that you invest in a suitable extraction method to ensure the safety of workers, the prevention of damage to equipment and a more comfortable working environment.
Breathing in different kinds of dust can cause serious lung diseases, from hypersensitivity pneumonitis to silicosis, so a failure to install equipment to prevent this would represent a severe breach of your legal duty to protect the wellbeing of employees and others on site.
So, what kind of dust extraction units might you need in order to fully adhere to health and safety standards?
In this article, the team at Defuma – specialists in the supply of equipment designed to rectify issues relating to dust, fume and pollutant production, will lay out the elements you need to consider as you choose your ideal system.
Type of Dust
The type of dust your workplace produces should be key when it comes to choosing the right extraction method.
Typical byproducts of grinding, sawing and other activities include metal, stone, ceramic or wood dust as well as smoke from fire or welding.
You can search the Defuma site by category to make sure you’re considering the right equipment.
For example, for metal dust, we recommend our CT-502H Metal Dust Extractor. For wood dust extraction, our AirCube 500 Unit is an excellent choice and for welding fumes, you should consider our MaxiFil Clean Welding Smoke Filter Unit.
However, it’s worth noting that all of the above machines are capable of extracting multiple different types of dust and fumes, so there is significant crossover.
Furthermore, your choice of extraction equipment depends heavily on the amount of dust produced as well as the type – something that we’ll explain further in the next section.
You can also search by the “type” of dust you are producing – L class, M class or H class.
Quantity of Dust
To tackle sporadic, low volume dust and fume production, you could consider a smaller scale extractor – like our Dusty High Vacuum Smoke Extraction Filter Unit.
However, if the work you do results in high quantities of dust or fumes being produced on a regular basis, you may require something a little more powerful, such as the MaxiFil Extraction Unit.
Fixed or Mobile
You may produce dust or fumes in different areas of a site at different times – in which case, a mobile dust extraction system will always be preferable. For example, our CT90-H Extractor is highly portable and easy to position wherever it is required.
Disposal
Whatever equipment you require – whether you need a wood dust extractor or a filtration system for welding fumes – it’s important that you have thought about the disposal methods that are to be utilised.
Some units, such as the NV750 Workshop Vacuum Extractor (Numatic), use specialist “HepaFlo” disposable filter bags, so that you can easily and safely remove the collected waste at a time of your choosing once full.
We also provide options for hopper and bin type collection, such as our Three Bin Shaker Filters.
So, whether you wish to purchase a new filtration system or you’re interested in temporary dust extractor hire, you now know precisely what needs to be considered before you make a decision on which is the best extraction system for you.
For further information, please contact Defuma using one of our handy enquiry forms.
