I got a nice email back from Molly Bell at Rio Grande and she said that Rio will always have HEPA-quality air cleaners at their shows now because…they are selling them!
Of course they are.
This is a perfect, capitalism-based solution to the problem, and I salute Rio. Now that they sell them, it’s completely sensible for them to have them at shows. Perhaps they could bring a few extra to Bead and Button, to demo how nice it would be to have one of these around your kiln area…or at your lampworking torch. It’s fairly affordable ventilation, with a list price of $775, and how nice to have a system that you can take anywhere you work or teach.
Maybe these will be also appearing in MC Cert classes? Has anyone seen that yet? They would be wonderful solutions for those times when kilns have to be fired indoors.
F*cking awesome.
THANK YOU RIO GRANDE! And thank you Diana Ellison, and Gail Lannum, for letting me know.
Visit the Beadmobile blog and keep up on the progress of our new book, Geometrics!
April 15th, 2010 at 7:09 am
Yay Rio Grande!!!
April 15th, 2010 at 9:27 am
interesting to see that the filters come from Japan. I wonder how long they’ve been in use there, in personal studios and in classrooms…
April 15th, 2010 at 9:54 am
I don’t know.
April 15th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
And, if the Aida (Art Clay) people are using them…
April 15th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
Do you mean that they are using them, or you wonder if they are?
April 15th, 2010 at 11:48 am
That is wonderful news!
April 15th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
That is just funny. But what the hey, whatever works, right?
April 15th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
What’s funny, the portable ventilation?
It’s perfect. Hepa filtration, can move from torch station to kiln, can go travelling with teachers- I think it’s f-n brilliant.
April 16th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
No, I meant the whole capitalism thing is funny. Not, it’s good, so I should sell it. Rather, I can sell it, so it’s good.
April 16th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
Right. So true. But capitalistic solutions are the only ones that would interest businesses and people who are making huge amounts of money from the status quo.
So I think that this is brilliant. It gives Rio both cover and profit.
April 15th, 2010 at 6:15 pm
Rio isn’t making any claims re: this being adequate for glass bead makers. Not enough info on their site to decide for myself, but I am guessing not. I would want a lot more info before I put out that much money…. even if buying only for soldering and kiln venting. While something is better than nothing, it may not be enough.
April 15th, 2010 at 6:23 pm
Right, I don’t know how suitable this is for all torchwork, but it is certainly suitable for a metals bench or a firing MC kiln.
April 16th, 2010 at 10:09 pm
They’ve actually been selling this for quite a while. I came close to buying it for my work space sometime ago, but bought a different unit from another company.
Good news for sure, though!
April 16th, 2010 at 10:39 pm
Hi! Yes, great news- I didn’t notice when they started selling it, or when they started bringing them to shows, but I was so pleased to get the news. I am hopeful that they will send them along with the kilns to cert classes, and especially the alloy clay classes. After all, why not? It’s just more good marketing, now that it’s a product, and not a response to any kind of…worry.
Do you think that the units are good enough for lampworking torches?
April 17th, 2010 at 10:07 pm
The one I got is from Sentry Air Systems and is meant for industrial soldering applications. It moves a bit more air than the one from Rio, but they are quite similar I think. I don’t know too much about the airborne nastiness involved in lampworking, but I don’t see why if it’s proper for soldering fumes(which was my primary impetus for buying it in the first place) why it wouldn’t be just dandy.
April 17th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
Hmm, well, I’m not an expert by any means but there are a lot of heavy metals used in glass, and many lampworkers fume gold and silver onto their glass, which results in vaporized metals in the air. Gold is often processed with stuff like arsenic or cynanide. Although metalsmithing offers short bursts of noxious fumes from time to time, I think the common agreement is that pretty much everything done with hot glass needs venting. The most toxic area at the B&B show is widely agreed to be the lampworking zone. It’s a good barometer of the situation, because on the whole the field of hot glass is hyper-vigilant about ventilation and safety.
I didn’t hear back from Molly Bell about my suggestion that they demo a few units in that area, but maybe she’ll think it over and see a market there, or maybe Rio will just feel like donating some clean air.
June 1st, 2010 at 6:13 am
I also purchased a Sentry Air Systems solder fume extractor. I use my system with a torch and kiln. HEPA filtration is important, however with certain apps you need an activated carbon filter. The unit I purchased from Sentry Air includes both filters and does a great job of removing the fumes and particulate. No more complaining from my husband! :)
June 1st, 2010 at 6:39 am
He was so right to complain. Good for him! And you.