Jet AFS1000B air filter

The Jet AFS1000B is basically a big metal box with a squirrel-cage fan and two-stage filter system. It draws the air through the filters on one end, and blows it out the other end. It has a control panel on the box as well as a remote control. There are three speeds as well as a timer system so you can leave it running when you leave the shop, to finish cleaning up, and then shut itself off. The outside filter is a standard HVAC type, and the inside filter is a proprietary sub-micron arrangement with much more surface area.

On arrival, my first thought was to wonder how I'm going to get the thing installed on the ceiling. It is very heavy on one end, and overall it is constructed very well. This is good, but not so helpful when you have to hold it up to the ceiling. For a typical finished garage with low ceilings, you will need to hold it up to the ceiling while someone *quickly* drives screws into the brackets. Jet made no effort to ease the hassle of hanging it. The brackets have to go on the unit first, then you fasten the whole thing to the ceiling. There are also hanging mounts for cable or chain, but with our low, finished ceiling the brackets made more sense. If you have rafters or high ceilings you may want to use chain and something like carabiner clips so you can quickly snap them on. In fact with open rafters you can use a rope to hoist and suspend it while you attach the permanent mountings.

Noise level is not bad. Having a low ceiling seems to reflect the sound down much more than the demo I heard in the store, which seemed much quieter (20' ceilings). It's not bad on low, but pretty loud on high. However it's still MUCH quieter than any DC or any of the tools. It's a white noise that is not annoying at all, except that it drowns out the radio. I really should consider wearing headphones around the shop anyway, so I may move to that instead of the radio. Overall it's not objectionable and worth the health improvement.

Last night I used it while plasma cutting and welding, and it helped clean up the air quickly, as well as just providing gentle air motion to move fumes out of my face without blowing away the shielding gas. I also did a little sanding without DC and it really felt like the air was cleaned very quickly. I don't have a way to measure the results yet, a particle counter is on the way and I'll post results.

The remote control is very handy and works from almost anywhere in the shop, even from behind the unit. It has enough power to bounce off the walls and control it. There is a loud beep from the air cleaner each time it receives a signal, so you know it worked. There's also a control panel on the unit that is clear and easy to use. Overall I would say that controls are perfect. Oh, and both the remote and panel use sealed membrane switches so dust and even a liquid spill should be no problem for them.

It's a good addition to the shop and one I'd recommend for the health benefits as well as just reducing the dust annoyance.