How to solder without a hood?

Projects General Guidance
50

Ok, according to the answers(If I noticed all) I have five variants and questions to them:

  1. Hold your breath (it is not clear then how to remove this air so as not to inhale it after, for example, 10 minutes), it was said by @sonofcy
  2. Buy lead-free solder (however, I do not understand whether rosin is harmful and is it possible to do without a hood?), it was said by @cedarlakeinstruments
  3. Hood, it was said by @Grumpy_Mike
  4. Fan, but with what solder and flux will it be enough?, it was said by @LarryD
  5. Filter with a fan (as I understand it, this is even better than a hood?), it was said by @LarryD
51

You forgot the sixth one, which had the most votes - just ignore it.

2 Likes
52

Flux smoke tends to goes up. I usually hold my breath until most of the smoke is cleared from around my face, which in my limited experience is typically not more than a few seconds per solder application (I breathe while I check the solder work before I either fix it or do the next solder spot). Holding my breath also helps me be more steady, so it's a win-win.

53
  • If money isn’t an issue, this room air filtration is very good.

Fan6
Fan6840×631 129 KB

  • However, this booster fan is a must have addition.

Fan4
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Edit, complete air components . . .

  • The air filter is in a plastic container, with a hole on one side.

IMG_3565
IMG_35652224×1668 1.04 MB

  • The air path is as such:

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54
  • Suggest you have the air filtration system plugged into your soldering tools timer so it comes on when the tools are in use.

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55

It turns out, for example, that one hood is not enough, you also need a filter and a fan?

56
  • In my setup, the 3 components are very effective, yours might differ.
57

Larry, I can't see the place for soldering between this air-filtering equipment

58

IMG_3568
IMG_35683134×1184 1.04 MB

59

Airflow doesn't suck directionally, it moves omnidirectionally towards the low pressure. If you want to control a stream of air, you have to make the stream from the source/high pressure side.

Maybe one could duct the exhaust of the filter across the work area and back into the filter

60

Please forgive my ignorance, but what is in the blue frame?

Screenshot from 2024-11-21 17-15-37
Screenshot from 2024-11-21 17-15-37603×457 350 KB

And will one small fan be enough to drive the flow through entire workplace and to the filter?

61

I'm wondering, what if we just take a fan, change it to suck in air, and put a filter, for example, made of coal, behind the propeller?

62

IMG_3568
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  • The 2nd stage fan (middle unit) could be eliminated as the filter unit has an Hepa carbon filter and the 3 speed fan.

  • I had the middle unit so I include it.

63

This whole thread is ridiculous! Any lead you may get into your body comes through your skin when you hold the solder in your fingers! The OP will have to wear disposable rubber gloves while handling solder. The fumes are only flux.

2 Likes
64

I am fully agree with you.

But OP is probably far from chemistry. And the less one know, the more he fear.

2 Likes
65

  • I been told the lead molecule cannot enter the skin because of its size.
    Fingers to mouth is a different thing though.

  • In my case, I only worry about the flux fumes.

66

I think that to remove smoke it is enough to have a fan, and it should blow not into the soldering area, but into the area of ​​your face, to supply clean air and drive away harmful vapors.

And all these filters do little and are completely unnecessary for DIY. Carbon filters tend to become saturated and need to be changed frequently to work effectively, otherwise they only worsen air circullation.

67

  • The small fan on the right blows a significant amount of air from the right, across the work area, towards the filter location.

  • When soldering, the fumes can be observed moving away from one’s face (the work area) right into the air filter.

  • As written on the Filter unit, I change the carbon Hepa filter in the spring and again in the fall to keep filtration effective.

  • As stated in post #53, “However, this booster fan is a must have addition”.

68

These recommendations apply to normal living space air and have nothing to do with filtering soldering smoke. It is impossible to say without testing how long your filter lasts for filtering smoke, but my estimate is few days.
Carbon filters in gas masks lasted only a few hours, then they started letting in impurities

69

  • The HEPA filter lasts for at least 6 months.

  • The carbon portion of the filter is not an important part of the decision, but a bonus.

  • The filter unit is only on while soldering, i.e. connected to the soldering iron timer power unit as stated.
    In my case, this might be as much as 3-4 hours per week.

  • As mentioned I only worry about the fumes in the work room; these are removed by the HEPA filter unit.