Respirator Question

[Bigdog72]

Has anybody used the Aircap2 currently on sale at Woodcraft: http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx...oductID=144908

There is also this one:
http://www.woodcraft.com/product.asp...&FamilyID=5511


I am in the market for a respirator that I can wear with my goatee and these looks like it might do the trick.

Comments?

[TracyP]

Geoff, facial hair and respirators go together like oil and water. From my years of experience as a firefighter I can tell you that there are no full face respirators "that I know of" that allow a positive seal with a beard or goatee. Hope this helps in making your purchase. I would choose a respirator that covers the nasal area and above only.

[Dragon]

Originally Posted by TracyP

Geoff, facial hair and respirators go together like oil and water. From my years of experience as a firefighter I can tell you that there are no full face respirators "that I know of" that allow a positive seal with a beard or goatee. Hope this helps in making your purchase. I would choose a respirator that covers the nasal area and above only.

Have to agree here. Same experience from years in the FD myself. If you want a full, relatively air tight seal, the fur has to go. FWIW however, you may be able to get by with the fuzz since your main concern is airborne particulates as opposed to noxious/toxic gasses. I too currently have a beard and am going to experiment with a respirator to see how efficient it is with the facial hair. With all the sanding I'm doing, I really need to cut down on the amount of dust particles entering my lungs and respiratory system.

[CaptnA]

I've never seen that air cap before and I can't get the picture to blow up where I can see it better. Looks interesting.
I've been looking at the Triton and Trend for too long. I truly need to quit looking and just buy something. Anything beyond the good quality dust filters I have.

As part of our physicals every year we do a spirometry test. Lung flow and function test. Mine results are exceptional ( a real blow hard). BUT- if I look at the numbers over the past years I can see the percentages dropping. Partly age? partly who knows??
Every year as part of our medical clearance to wear respirators we get fit-tested and are asked a battery of questions. One is about woodworking/wood dust. <cough> any connection??

The Trend and Triton are both filtered systems that flow air that is slightly pressurized. If you have a pressurized mask -forced air -then you MAY get by with some facial hair not allowing the best seal.

You might talk to your local fire department and see if they have the resources to do a simple fit-test with "Bitrix" or something similar. You put on the system and they 'puff' an odorant around the mask to see if you are inhaling outside air around the seal or your facial hair. Not definitive but you aren't trying to pass a qualitative respirator test, just seeing if and how well your mask works. Realistically you could put it on and get someone to blow cigarette smoke on your mask and do the same thing.
If you're smelling the smoke, your mask imay not be fully protecting you.
Just an idea.

[woodArtz]

Was on the fire team at a refinery where poisonous gases and smoke were the biggest concerns. Our air packs had a choice between "on demand" and "positive pressure". The positive pressure was supposed to prevent anything form entering the mask if the seal broke. We still had to remove all hair that would interfere with the seal.

I'm looking at the Trend since the reviews seem good and it has positive pressure to deal with my goatee.

[Gofor]

I was a certified respirator trainer/fitter for the shop when I worked for Lockheed as well as I have logged several thousand hours wearing them. If you have a beard or goatee, you will want an air-supplied (positive pressure) respirator for full protection, so the incoming air will keep any contaminant fumes/dust from entering into the mask. Usually that also means full face or hood, which are better anyway, because the blood vessels in your eyes will absorb contaminants at 10 times the rate your skin will. These will work well for Not Immediate Danger to Life environments (paint fume and dust environments usually fall in this category, but fire fighting does not). Fire Fighting and Confined Space areas fall under much stricter criteria than most industrial trades due to the toxicity of the fumes exposed to.

If using an air-supplied respirator, ensure you get one that supplies either outside air or filtered air to the mask. NEVER use an air compressor unless it is certified for breathing air. The fine oil particulates in the air coming from a normal air compressor, even after going through an oil/water separator, can cause lymphatic pneumonia (lungs fill up with the oil) and you will die from it (almost impossible to get the oil out of the lungs). This is not even to mention the carbon monoxide that most compressors also produce.

If using a regular filter respirator, you may be able to get a decent seal using KY Jelly, etc on the hairy areas, if you don't mind lubing your face like a wheel bearing. Petroleum jelly (i.e. vaseline) works, but will dry out the skin as well as may deteriorate the mask. That said, the dust masks with the little elastic straps are not much more effective on a shaven face than on a beard.

Bigdog72: Either of the ones you posted look like they should work well for most woodworking tasks. Both are better than a regular filter respirator if you have any lung or heart impairment, and unless you have had a pulmonary function test and okayed by your Dr to use a demand respirator, are better advised. Buy peel-off faceplate protectors for the clear facemask to use if spraying paint. The Triton looks like the better protection, but if the weight and vision impairment mean you won't use it, the lighter weight one may be a better option. Light and comfortable is a big plus if wearing one for any extended period.

Another tidbit: There is the urban myth that any respirator is better than none at all. Not True. If you have a negative pressure filter respirator that has a malfunctioning exhaust valve, it will trap the fumes inside the respirator, along with the CO2 you exhale (which in turn causes hyper-ventilation), so you are worse off than just using a bandanna in most ventilated environments. If any here experience breathing problems or increased heart rate using a regular filter respirator, please quit using it and go to one that pushes clean air to you.

Go

[Jim M.]

Geoff,
I have a Triton system and like it very much. I also have a beard so I felt this would be the best system since the seal is based on the collar, not my chin. It takes some getting use to, but I don't really notice it much at all now.
I also had the advantage of wearing a respirator similar to the triton back when I was an arborist in another life 15 years ago. Jim