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[sevenlayermuddle]

I know a few here dabble with electronics, some even do it professionally. 

I have been dabbling with electronics as a hobby since pre-teen years and have very occasionally found that solder fumes, among other irritants, might leave me with very slight breathing congestion that lasts anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.

My congestion may well be a consequence of having been hospitalised once with infant pneumonia, and subsequent childhood asthma and bronchitis.  I've experienced no problems at all in recent years but for obvious reasons, I'd feel like a twit if I triggered a reaction right now.   So just wondering, has anybody any experience of budget fume extractors, the likes of this...

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/soldering-fume-extractors/1234905/

...I do have a little project I've been working on since Christmas which is now design complete, PCB ready to order, eager to start putting it all together.

[toulouse]

Hi sevenlayermuddle,

You might like to check out a website called 'dronebotworkshop.com' where the guy discusses all things electronic, particularly arduino and the occasional raspberry pi project. One of his early videos was the construction of just what you're looking for using basic 'spares box' components.

HTH

toulouse

[sevenlayermuddle]

Hi sevenlayermuddle,

You might like to check out a website called 'dronebotworkshop.com' where the guy discusses all things electronic, particularly arduino and the occasional raspberry pi project. One of his early videos was the construction of just what you're looking for using basic 'spares box' components.

HTH

toulouse

Thanks Toulouse, I already stumbled upon Dronebotworkshop’s diy extractor.  Can’t seem to find it now, but there’s a few copies who credit him as the source.

I think tbh, I’d rather buy one ready made.   There’s just so many other things lined up for me to do, especially as the garden has started growing again.

It does remind me of teenage years, however.   My £1 per week pocket money had to be spent very carefully and homemade tools were very much the order of the day.  Happy days.

[Westie]

Another alternative might be to use a FFP3 respirator if you can get hold of one ...

But at the moment you would probably have more success at extracting the teeth of the local poultry. 

[sevenlayermuddle]

Another alternative might be to use a FFP3 respirator if you can get hold of one ...

But at the moment you would probably have more success at extracting the teeth of the local poultry. 

Oddly enough... you have no idea what might be found gathering dust, on the shelves, at the back of my garage.   

And just last week, while looking for that obscure box of 5/16” screws with 9 and a half mm torx heads, I found...   a sealed FFP2 respirator.   It’s 3 years out of date, but what a find.   Worth how much, on ebay?

[banger]

20 odd years ago I was a professional PCB stuffer and solderer otherwise known as PCB Assembly Eng. I moved into the design office after that but I worked for about 4 years as a PCB stuffer and we didn't have any extraction. But as I was moving to the design office there was another section in the workshop for wiring jack plugs and they were mainly girls. They were fitting extraction pipes in front of the girls benches because one of them was pregnant. So that RS filter wouldn't do any harm you can never be too careful. I have asthma and had bronchitis as a kid but 4 years of solder fumes didn't seem to make any difference to me.

[sevenlayermuddle]

Thanks Banger, that’s my thinking.   I’ve found a few rumours/reviews saying the cheap carbon filtered extractors do no good, including a product evaluation that appeared to be sponsored by some element of the US Govt.

But equally, it’s hard to believe they do any harm, even if it’s just a process of drawing the smoke away from my face and towards the open window.   It has to be better than nothing.

I’ve looked at the more industrial HEPA filtered extractors but they cost many hundreds of pounds, and usually seem to be huge - like a large fan assisted dustbin, with ducting to the bench, sitting under the desk.

[sevenlayermuddle]

Thanks for all comments, pushed the boat out a little and bought one of these...

https://www.weller-tools.com/consumer/EUR/en/Weller+Consumer/Soldering+Workbench+Tools/Fume+Extraction/WSA350

Put to the highly unscientific test of offering up a rolled up piece of smouldering paper it draws in the smoke pretty well, with not much coming out the back.   It's a little bulky and you have to be fairly close,  might need to be readjusted to suit the moment, but should be easily achievable with sensibly sized pcbs.  Only available with an EU plug, but that's no big deal.

So, looking forwards to some proper engineering soon.  The prototype PCBs for the little project that inspired this are now 'in production' at an incredibly cheap Chinese fabricator -  2 sided, solder masked and silk-screened, yet maybe even cheaper than vero board.  I'm thinking about starting a thread on the topic of cheap PCB prototyping, if anybody might be interested.   

[burakkucat]

The prototype PCBs for the little project that inspired this are now 'in production' at an incredibly cheap Chinese fabricator -  2 sided, solder masked and silk-screened, yet maybe even cheaper than vero board.  I'm thinking about starting a thread on the topic of cheap PCB prototyping, if anybody might be interested.   

You have gained my interest.

[sevenlayermuddle]

You have gained my interest.

Watch this space.