Got a new Welding Fume Extractor :)

   / Got a new Welding Fume Extractor :) #1  

ChuckE2009

Silver Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2010
Messages
133
Goodmorning ladies and gentlemen!!

So, this is one of the newest additions to the shop, its an SPC-2000 Portable Fume extractor from Avani Environmental...


I drove out the Fedex depot to pick it up, brought it home in all it's crated glory, and set it up...

What are my first impressions? Well, the fedex people couldn't deliver it, because they thought for some reason it weighted 1,080 pounds... Which it didnt, the crate holding the main unit had "475lbs" written on the side of it, and it didnt even feel like it weighted that much... I unloaded it in 50 MPH of wind, single-handedly with some ramps...

The fume arm was packaged separately, and it's entire carton was huge but only weighted 55 pounds, according to the side of the box... Had I thought to read the side of the box, I would have simply laid it down in my truck instead of strapping it in vertically...

But, the guys at the Fedex depot were super friendly, and very helpful, and overall the unloading of the unit went very well. Whoever crated this thing did an awesome job, the crate was rock solid and came apart in minites...

The entire assembly process involved bolting the fume arm to the main unit... I simply setup my air ratchet, removed the blue cover where the opening is, then bolted in the fume arm... All the filters and wiring were installed at the factory...

Okay, so what were my first impressions of this machine?

It's a beast, it really is. It sounds like a jet engine idling away, and reminds my of sitting on a tarmac waiting to take off... It's a VERY low sound, and actually sounds pretty cool. It's not super loud, mostly just low. The fit and finish of this unit is exceptionally good, everything is powder-coated blue, yellow, and black. The unit has a very high quality finish...

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Everything seems well made. Even the hinges and latches on the doors are heavy-duty, and I'd guess the cabinet itself is 14 or 16 gauge steel. The fume arm itself seems a little thinner, presumably to save weight... Those black parts on the arm are all cast aluminum, again, probably to keep the weight down. It's also very rigid... I had the arm bent down pretty far to reach into the lower part of the garage, and it didn't flop or sag after I adjusted the bolts on the fume arm pivots...

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How does it work, you ask?

Just as well as it looks... I wanted some epic smokeage... So, I got the smokiest rods in my shop to begin with (1/8" 7014's), and cranked my StickWeld 250 to MAX and went to work.

There was just a trail of thick smoke, running from the puddle, up into the air, then turning to the side and disappearing into the bright yellow cone at the end of the fume arm. The machine sucks up smoke and fumes, filters them, and then dumps clean air back into your shop...

I even tried it out mig welding, just to see if it would suck away the shielding gas...

So, it looks beautiful and works great, but what don't I like about it? I don't have too many complaints honestly, it seems like a very well engineered and well made machine. The power cord is pretty short, but my biggest complaint is that for it being a "portable" unit, its actually pretty tricky to move around... It rolls on four rubber wheels, which are small in size and get hung up on every little nut and bolt and electrode stub on your floor... And there's no lift eye or anything on top of the machine... I assumed there would be, and I could simply run a come-a-long from that, to a tree, lift it up an inch or so and drive out from under it, and then set it back down, the way I unload motorcycles... But no...

I think this machine would benefit greatly from some larger wheels, and a lift-point on top... But to be fair, once its in position, its probably not going too far anyway...

Overall, I really like it. I'm sure it'll be in plenty of videos to come, and once I've spent some real time with it, I'll make a full review video...

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Thanks for reading, and have an awesome week, everyone!! :)
 
 
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