Personal filter

[DeepB]

hello everybody,

first: if this is the wrong forum, i am sorry, please just move it.

I am thinking of buying a "personal filter" for instance like this: ebay.

especially for compressors where i dont know th operator.

so my question: does this thing actually work?

regards
DeepB

 

[h90]

hello everybody,

first: if this is the wrong forum, i am sorry, please just move it.

I am thinking of buying a "personal filter" for instance like this: ebay.

especially for compressors where i dont know th operator.

so my question: does this thing actually work?

regards
DeepB

technically it is no problem to make a such thing which works good. But don't know if this one is good.

Greetings to Vorarlberg

 

[Isaac-1]

I see that this unit is DIN output and appers to come in 2 versions, Coltri Has/had something like it for US Yoke style connectors. I think the Coltri unit uses the same filter cartridge as their small personal compressor, if designed right these things can work, but beware the quickest killer of fitler material is moisture, and some way to cap this unit when not in use would be very important, also care should be taken for places that use wet bath fill stations. When used as prime filtrations these small cartridges are only good for 30-50 fills depending on conditions as a secondary filter who knows, as you have no idea how well the primary filters are operating, in certain cases it can be worse than no filter at all. There are multiple variations on this idea, LF even makes a large filter stack that uses a standard fill whip to connect.

Ike

 

[skippy31]

Also keep in mind that for the filter to actually work you need to have the gas go though the filter relatively slowly. Not sure if there is a restricter built into this unit, but for something that small you'd want to limit the flow to 2-3cfm for it work properly. Of course 2-3 cfm means it will take 1/2 hour or so to fill an 80.

You could let the gas flow quicker, but then you will have reduced filter effectiveness, it's a trade off.

The gas need time to react with the filtering agents.

Mat.

 

[oxyhacker]

The refill kit contains only charcoal, and seems to have to be handpacked into the filter. The refills are very expensive for what they are. Most modern filter systems use a molecular sieve like 13X, which is much more effective on water an oil, with just a bit of carbon. Using just carbon is not optimum. And Mat's comments on speed and dwell are very relevant.

I would look into the very similar filters by Undersea or Coltri, which use standard cartridges with both sieve and carbon.

If you were to hook up one of these to a compressor with a defective or spend filter, the filthy air could wipe our your tiny filter in minutes. So you really need a way to monitor the health of your filter, so think about adding an "eyeball" moisture indicator.

The other thing you got to ask is whether the shop is going to be willing to use it.

 

[frogman62]

All, The concept of a personal filter isa fine safety thought however most dive shops would not put up with a slow fill rate which would be required. knowing the dive shop owner or personnel is not a good judge either as I have seen some good guys who were a little slopy with their filters. I thing the best test is how active the shop is with divers OR is this a paint ball operator who also sells air to divers and is not a diver himself. Most dive shops take care of their air supply because if someone gets a fill of bad/smelly air -- everyone nearby knowabout itvery quickly. WORD OF MOUTH is a fast communicator in the close knit diving industry. I started diving in 1954 and I have never had a tank of bad air from a certified dive shop. From my experience, I wouldn't waste my money on a "Personal" filter.
Frogman 62 Jim Shelden

 

[rcontrera]

I started diving in 1954 and I have never had a tank of bad air from a certified dive shop.

Dang Jim! That is way back in the days of wooden scuba tanks!!

You are luckier than most out here on the left coast. I have about 150 dive shops that I have been selling stuff to over the last 28 years and of those, there are at least 50 that I would never get my tanks filled.

A few years back, I had one guy that told me that he changed his filter every year ... if it needed it or not. Of course he was using a short surplus tower on a big IR machine. We discovered his existence when a customer took rental tanks up there and they all came back oily.

I just delivered a personal filter to a dive shop employee that got sick off the air in his own dive shop but the owner didn't have the money to do the required filter change.

In a perfect world, dive shops would all take care of their air systems and we could focus on selling them oil and air filters. Most do. But there are just those few that keep the personal filter business alive.

 

[CraigAClark]

All, The concept of a personal filter isa fine safety thought however most dive shops would not put up with a slow fill rate which would be required. knowing the dive shop owner or personnel is not a good judge either as I have seen some good guys who were a little slopy with their filters. I thing the best test is how active the shop is with divers OR is this a paint ball operator who also sells air to divers and is not a diver himself. Most dive shops take care of their air supply because if someone gets a fill of bad/smelly air -- everyone nearby knowabout itvery quickly. WORD OF MOUTH is a fast communicator in the close knit diving industry. I started diving in 1954 and I have never had a tank of bad air from a certified dive shop. From my experience, I wouldn't waste my money on a "Personal" filter.
Frogman 62 Jim Shelden

Hey Jim,
When you state "certified dive shop", what is the criteria for that definition? I've been involved in both recreational and commercial diving since the '70's and although there were industry standards for both, I was unaware of any enforcement in the recreational industry until recently and that at the state level (Florida). However, such "enforcement" entails a quarterly air test be filed with the state. Although this sounds like a great idea, what happens between tests leaves quite a bit of doubt as to the effectiveness of such "enforcement". I have serviced quite a few dive shop systems in my day and have found a great number of responsible operators, but also some very questionable ones, that had room for vast improvements. Thankfully, most of the latter have folded.

Craig

 

[Packhorse]

Could one of these be added to a decently filtered compressor to deliver O2 compatible air for PP Blending?

 

[Scared Silly]

PH - No.

Read this thread for lots of good discussion on portable filters:

The Deco Stop