The completed New Airwasher, a miniature Industrial fume scrubber .
see our patent. and patent drawings
We want to put these units out on long term loan to those that donate to our R&D effort, please indicate any interest in this comment thread below…pg
7inch x 12.5inch x 12inch high – 175 x 320mm x 300mm high T6c-Airwasher
The project of the last 2 years is completed and several of these miniature industrial Airwashers are now being used by friends and my family members. They are testing it’s operation under real conditions of cleaning the air in their homes and to offer their critique on it.
The funnel to the left of the scrubber power head is for an upended 2 liter soda pop bottle to supply additional makeup water as it evaporates and to maintain the proper operating water level within the machine. see below.
With the supply bottle in operation the machine draws 58 watts of power as it cleans about 60 cubic feet of air a minute, while trapping the pollutants in the 4 liters of water in the clear acrylic plastic tank below it. I clean out the tank of my airwashers weekly, but for best results it should be cleaned daily
With the exception of the water tank and the 2 Liter “pop” bottle, all of the plastic parts were created out of about 1 kilogram, 2+ pounds, of ABS plastic on a small Desktop 3D Printer from files created with a desktop computer. Truly a manufacturing empire on my kitchen table! …pg
Any interest in this device should be added to the comments below…pg
up date: 4 August, refinements to the scrubbing rotor have reduced the power consumption from 58-60 watts to 55-56 watts, increased the air flow, and reduced the sound levels it produces. I am now re-manufacturing the bearings of the motors to improve their ability to support the rotors weight as it is many times heaver then the pump impeller that the motor was designed for. …pg
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We want to put these units out on long term loan to those that donate to our R&D effort, please indicate any interest in this comment thread…pg
I continue to make internal improvements to quiet and improve Airwashing activities. Every improvement makes the end product of a consumer model a little more real for the mass market of injection molded parts. This Completed project has a great deal further to go, but, At least now after 25 years, we have new operating machines to use and duplicate…pg
PG
I thought our small water issue was resolved. It was with the hose test, not so much with the official rain test- boo.
The solar panels are having the first of the spring pollen rinsed off without me having to do anything today. The Northern Washington weather should be ending soon. I’ll check with the boss to see how soon I can make a trip to your area.
@kakatoa; yes, roof leaks are a bear to find as sometimes the water travels through hidden passages, so that the inside leak is a ways from the outside point where the water entered. Your description of broken lag bolt as the culprit may indicate that others could have shifted as well and cracked their seal. Maintaining a watertight roof is not easy if you put things on or into it.
Thank you for your donation and your Airwasher will be waiting or we can ship If you wish.
We are about 45 minuets above Chico and I will send you travel instructions…pg
@kakatoe; thanks to your generous donation and offer to test the latest Airwasher, it is nearly ready, just as soon as it is dry. A dry run here takes water. 😉 and I will box it up. for Mondays posting.
Hope you get the origin of your roof leak located and fixed soon or the rainy season will be over. Although if Smith is right this may be one of those Monsoon summers with heavy showers that we used to get in the 50s. Maybe a visit can happen at a later date…pg
We are about to start test 5 with the Airwasher in the Main House. It cleaned the air quickly during test 4 so we are going to test it out again! Sooner or later winter in going to end up here in the foothills.
Our 6% capacity factor for the PV system in Feb was an all time low for us and it led to a rather pricey electric bill from PG&E (400 bucks). Our big kerosene heater (28000 btu/hr) was in need of a new wick so we, the boss actually, set up our small kerosene heater to take the chill off the new kitchen addition (1920 or so built). Last week test 4 of the Airwasher cleaned the air in the kitchen in less than an hour. Given we ran the heater for 2.5 hours before we started the test it was great that the VOC’s associated with using the kerosene heater were removed from the rather large kitchen in less than an hour!
@kakatoa; good to hear that you are getting to really use the Airwasher to Clear the Air. Kerosene spot heaters are really handy but there is that smell that gets into everything. The little fume scrubber will not only clean the air in the room but will pull those smells out of the furnishings as well. a tiny bit of detergent in the water will help.
We use wood heat here so smoke is sometimes a problem for us. Also cooking in this small place can sometimes become a problem. Hard to believe I waited 20 years to build new machines to replace the old ones that died. The Smoke and poor air quality from the last couple of Big fires really drove home the need for this tiny Airwasher to those of us that have asthma and Hay fever.
There are many times I wished I installed PV here, every time we pay Public Graft & Extortion, Seems every time we pay them we are too broke to buy equipment. At times I think a nice steam generator would be cool as we have lots of wood. Stored sunlight! But that would be a management problem and there are only so many hours in a day. So we use the utility and pay the bill. And gripe…pg
Happy Easter,
All is clam up here in the foothills. Bell is resting peacefully on the sofa with a shirt protecting here stiches. We are almost back up to operational status. The two really big oak limbs that crashed down over the winter were cut up by Pete while I put in yet more fire breaks. We gave our big wheeled cart a trial run on flat land and we think it will be a way to move the rounds down the hill for transport next week.
We should be able to get the screw driver out shortly. Interesting picture of how gravity does it’s thing. I’ll take a look at the referenced post later today.
PS Loved the PG&E reference. My neighbor got a new power pole earlier this month. It took 8 workers using 3 big trucks and one small one about 4 and a half hours to accomplish the task.
@kakatoa: we had quite a thunder show last evening, the crash and boom was almost continues for a couple of hours. The last was a POW! like a howitzer going off next door. Surprised therewas not even a flicker in the electrical supply, but I am glad that we have two layers of surge protection for our electronics. We are the end of the line for the local high tension line, because any hits on the line really wallops the last transformer on the line.
Hope you have fun testing the additional Airwasher and compare the sound levels before you change the rotor in the earlier one. Also compare the utility of the different water containment designs. I just did the rotor change in My Ladies Airwasher and she was very pleased with the reduced sound level, says that it is now” acceptable.” 😎 be sure you remember to file down that water baffles a bit, I forgot until I plugged it in. Ops! embarrassing ! “Old Timers Disease”…pg.
The ” manufacturing factory” has been quiet for 2 weeks. several Airwashers are scattered into new homes to clear the air for a few lucky people so they can advice me on their observations on using the things. We are building enclosures to better house the printers. These will reduce the noise and improve the quality of the parts printed by giving us better control of the temperature that they are printed under. We now have 3 printers to ready for the next stage of production. One a CR10-500 is much larger then the others and we must become familiar with it’s operation. Mean while, other demands of life make their demands on my time. And it is Spring! Gardening and pruning calls as well…pg
pg
Greg Gutfeld, one of The Five hosts, complained about fishy smelling air in their studio the other day. Robin dislikes the smell of cooked fish too. She ran a test with the Airwasher in our kitchen last week that confirmed an earlier finding: The Airwasher really does pull VOC’s out of the air rather quickly and it’s use to clean up the air after cooking will mean more fish in the future!
Greg’s “safe space” could of been returned to normal rather quickly if someone in their offices’ facilities group, or an innovative intern, had access to a portable Airwasher. I need to check with the boss, but I think her test included a drop or two of Dawn in the water bath.
I may be willing to let Robin run the ultimate test in our kitchen- cooking Brussel sprouts! I am a bit late in formally summarizing some of our latest tests. I hope to have some details from the chief shortly………………….. I can confirm that she was happy with her lavender oil, in the water bath, test earlier this week..
I may be running a garage test early next week if it’s as cold as it has been lately. Our mornings have been in the low 40’s. My fingers don’t work well these days when it’s that cold. I am picking up our indoor propane heater this weekend. I didn’t think I’d need to use it until fall/winter. There is no way I am going to heat the garage with our little portable electric heater as our summer baseline quantities just kicked in and our price per kWh has gone up yet again. Hence I may try out the heater next week in concert with the airwasher……
The battle to control red bugs is ongoing- I think we are winning the this year’s skirmish. I’ll bet they didn’t enjoy the hail storm yesterday- it was kind of cool seeing how asphalt dissipated some of it’s stored heat when the storm ended and the ground was evaporating moisture as the wind blew the freaky fog along the ground.
Glad to hear the new printers are working well!
@kakatoa, sorry I didn’t reply earlier but I’ve been away helping a friend with his projects for the last week. Glad to hear that you are getting good use from the Airwashers.
You are sure right about this cool wet spring. Rain, wind and hail for us as well. Cold and damp, even had to get a fire going this morning to take the chill off. My garden is way behind but the strawberries are ripening. Nice to see those bright red things among the greenery. Glad I at least got them weeded….pg
Users of the test Beta-Airwashers have complained about the “noise” coming from the unit’s operation.
Results below of design work to get rid of the water rattle from the vanes of the Airwasher blower.
pg (28.05.2019 08:03):
I’m testing the new rotor, pretty quiet, just a little water rattle. and contemplating further improvements. reduced the weight 5 grams and print time nearly a half an hour. very nice solid and clean part. Airwasher sound level low and air movement good, power useage down to 55.6 watts
pg (29.05.2019 07:41):
still have that rattle after a second rotor design, going to try a different tack
pg (29.05.2019 08:43):
wow! that seems to have solved that problem, just added a slinger ring to the water pickup section
pg (29.05.2019 08:43):
that means we will have to go back to a 2 piece rotor
pg (29.05.2019 09:02):
damn, now I have to create 2 new files for the rotor and print 10 new rotors for the test units we have out
pg (29.05.2019 09:06):
it is nice and quiet, only the motor and motor fan noise now, good air flow from the blower, good water movement from the scrub
this means I need to redo the CAD files for the rotor and print up 10 new rotors. Then get them out to, and installed in all the testers units….pg
Now that we have solved the noise problem, I have solved another. The quality of the 2 liter cola bottle has decreased to the point that they tend to collapse under the low internal pressure as water drains out and into the Airwasher tank. Now a sleeve is being printed to solve that. One more piece to be added to the water management system. ..pg
Every time I think that this is the one, I find an improvement is needed. At present the water pickup has been improved but still needs more improvement. The sound level is still a problem. While it is fine with me, many people find it objectionable. To reduce that will require a total rework of the housing internals. While the improvements in fan design have increased the air flow and decreased the power usage, it has increased the air flow sounds caused by turbulence within. This high speed motor makes things more effective but causes problems that I did not have to deal with in the earlier efforts with a slow speed motor. So now I contemplate a redesign of the main body.
We now have 4 printers, 2 operable and 2 that need upgrades as we learn more about this new field of creation. ..pg
Once again we have reworked the water pickup design. Thanks to the clear tub that lets me see the water and rotor contact area and the scrubbing action, considerable improvement has been made.
Finally, An Industrial level of fume scrubbing has been achieved in our desktop Airwasher! With each improvement in effectiveness a small reduction in power usage has also been achieved. We are now using just a bit over 50 watts at present.
My early efforts to “just get her done” and make it work, now yield to refinements in each part to make them easier and more efficient for the printer to create. Make the parts work together more effectively and efficiently. And that BIG bugaboo, SOUND ! why can’t you do this “Whisper Quiet”! Other air cleaners / filters are fairly quiet.. This is not an air cleaner or dust filter. This is an “Airwasher” an Industrial Fume Scrubber that removes fumes as well as dust and microbes, with water, from a fairly high volume of air. It is heavy, messy and noisy. The question is how much, heavy, messy and noisy, can I reduce while maintaining effectiveness. For those of us that just want to breath during times of poor air quality, how much of these drawbacks will be tolerated to obtain relief. Fume Scrubbing requires a certain level of minimums to be effective. Everything is a compromise of wind & water, volume & time, the more the better. Meanwhile the demands are small, light weight, quiet and inexpensive.
And Effective! “I can not rewrite the laws of physics” said Mr Scott.
Neither can I. …pg
Now! I have too much scrubbing going on, too much water being lifted too high and we have water rattle back, back to too noisy but very effective airwashing going on..
Even more fun, it is intermittent. Here one minute and then gone the next…pg
This week things have greatly improved with the airwasher. Refinements to the scrubbing rotor have reduced the power consumption from 58-60 watts to 48-50 watts, increased the air flow, and reduced the sound levels it produces. Power demands have been reduced enough that we can move from the 90watt motor to testing of a 50 watt motor. I am now re-manufacturing the motors bearing system to improve their ability to support the rotors weight as it is many times heaver then the pump impeller that the motor was designed for. Next we will be creating replacements for the units out being tested by our associates.
Just in time. The Sacramento Smog is getting dense up here in the Northstate …pg
GREAT NEWS!!!!
The wonders of rapid prototyping- and knowing what your doing;).
Robin will be thrilled as the dry season has started up here too. We had our first grass fire about 3 miles due north of us earlier in the week. Luckily for us the light wind was blowing from the south west.
We heard from PG&E that their preemptive power shut off plans now include de-energizing high voltage transmission lines too. The fire was only 12 acres in size and it was under control pretty fast which was a good thing as the high voltage lines coming from the hydro stations were rather close as a crow flies and those lines feed into the two substations that use to feed our town.
Congratulations once again on pushing the envelope.
We just made a fast trip to Grass Valley to pick up 50 used solar panels. I hope to set up an independent power system a bit at a time to reduce our grid needs and increase our ability to function without help from Public Graft & Extortion. Their contractors are supposed to clear the right of way later this year. Many big trees to be felled and left to rot. Trees that the county and state wouldn’t let us log a few years back because they were too near the streams. Bureaucrats have got to be the dumbest creatures on the face of the earth.
We don’t need them…pg
I traveled down to Fresno to pick up some 5 year old Mitsubishi 170 watt panels to have just in case I need a replacement or two as they are existing the market.
It was hard to believe that the non profit I got the panels from got them from a commercial site that had finished depreciating them and taken all the tax credits they could get out of their original project and gave the panels to the non profit so they could they tap into another round of tax credits, etc…….
Its not like the tax code doesn’t have perverse incentives…
Speaking of incentives your favorite utility informed me at a recent meeting that they are aware that many of there customers have found the recent changes in the rate schedules to be a bit painful to deal with cash flow wise. They let me know that they are processing medical baseline requests rather quickly these days. The benefit of an approved medical baseline is that it will add an additional 500 kWh a month at Tier 1 price levels. They indicated that the Air washer I took to the meeting would be classified as an approved medical device for folks that COP, etc..
“Our Airwasher is a medical device that could reduce your cost of electrical power!”
What a sales line. LOL At 50wh = 1.2Kwh a day or 36Kwh a month max @ $.40 per = $14.40 a month power cost. Go to tier 1 for 500 Kwh and the thing makes you money ($25-$50 a month) even if you don’t use it!.
Actually I once promo-ed to a hospital with our earlier models about their medical application, during discussions they remarked that it had to be “Nurse Proofed” and have a special grade of electrical plug that added nearly $10 to the cost of production. The plug I could do but the Nurse proofing was a bridge too far.
The upgrades to the Airwasher will be incorporated in a new scrubhead I will send to you, boxed so that you can return one of yours for reworking. I think that rotating and rebuilding the test units is the best way to continue the R&D at this point. We are trying to get 5 printers up and running just encase people want to try using our Airwashers for their needs.
I just got my PV panels from a non-proflt in Grass Valley, $40 per, 10 year old 200watt Sanyos, also from a depreciated out commercial site that was being rebuilt. Now I need to create a generation system from them. The Sanyo panels were warranted for 90% at 10 years and 80% at 20, I can live with that. Now to find power management modules to add to them and build racks to put them on. I am going for ground mounts as roof ones Always develop leaks and ground mounts are easier to service.
While a big Battery backup UPS is great for my critical needs, the big stuff would be best served from the grid or from fueled generator so some kind of gridtie seems best for the PV system…pg
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A year has past , the west coast is on fire and we are inundated in heavy smoke. 17 Airwashers are out cleaning the air for a few lucky people. Quite a difference to walk from inside clean air to outside smoke. 2 airwashers can nearly keep up with the smoke being pushed in by our Swamp cooler. Turn it off and the smell is gone in less then an hour.! New improvements still being added.
This “Manufacturing on my Kitchen Table” still amazes me. If I can draw it in Acad, the printer can make it, with few restrictions. This inexpensive 3D printer must be tuned for optimum production, a kind of science and magic to get all the parameters right, before quality, dependable production is achieved and it is SLOW ! Over Two days of printing to make the parts for 1 Airwasher, but, that can be dealt with by bring more printers on line. A good reason to keep all the printers the same so that all the print files are all the same. Different printers would require different print files for each part to achieve like parts…pg
Hey there, I’m a fellow Forest Rancher and interested in your scrubbers.
Could you please give me a call at your convenience.
Tom Morgan
530 774 4043
@Tom Morgan; called you and left my number….. phone tag, you are it!
or we can converse here 😎