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Safely Removing Solder Fumes ...and other pollutants We review the Hakko FA-430 fume extractor: what a clever little sucker! T hese days, with OHS regulations backing up the natural desire for a safe workplace, removal of the fumes from soldering and other operations is not just desirable, it’s essential. Fume extractors have been around for quite a while – but the ones we usually see are not much more than toys. The Hakko FA-430 is most certainly no toy! For a start, it’s big. No, let’s rephrase that. It’s BIG! At 330 x 366 x 343mm and weighing in at a hefty 7.5kg, it puts to shame those little desk-bound sniffers. But size means nothing if it isn’t backed by performance. We’ll look at this in a bit more detail shortly but the FA-430 is capable of drawing more than four cubic metres of air (and their particulates) through its filters each minute. 32  Silicon Chip But it does it quietly. You’d expect this amount of suction to have noise not too far short of an A-380 at takeoff – but the FA-430 has a maximum noise level of just 53dB(A) – that’s just 3dB more than the “yardstick” quiet office measurement of 50dB(A). In fact, the FA-430 has three levels of suction – on the lowest setting it measures just 44dB(A) while moving 2.8m3 per minute. On medium, that increases to 50dB(A) and 3.7m3 while the high setting, as mentioned above, is 43dB(A) and 4.7m3. But all that doesn’t mean much if it lacked in the filtration stakes. Needless to say, it doesn’t! Have a look at the graph shown on the opposite page. As you can see, with an amazing 99.97% by Ross Tester minimum efficiency, the FA-430 filters particles down to just 0.3m. That takes in just about all solder smoke and oily smoke, most cigarette smoke, pollens, cloud/mist, airborne dust and significant other airborne pollutants. It will even filter out bacteria from the airflow – though unfortunately not viruses, which are very much smaller. Powerful brushless motor It does all this with a very quiet 120W brushless motor powering the fan which pulls the fumes through a two-stage filter. The motor provides 1500Pa of static pressure which is basically stable under all conditions. The filters have automatic notification when they need changing. This is actually a very clever part of the story in itself: the sensors count the number of fan revolutions to detersiliconchip.com.au The Hakko FA-430 air-purifying fume extractor, shown here with its two-stage filter removed. There are two inlet ducts on the top of the unit; you can use both or one depending on your requirements. mine how long the extractor has been in use – but also senses the airflow through the filters in case they’ve been prematurely clogged. The first stage filter eliminates 65% of particles 0.3m or larger while the main filter eliminates 99.97%. We said there’s a two-stage filter. In a way, it’s actually a three-stage because if you look carefully at the photo opposite, you’ll see a very fine “hair net” over the duct inlet which stops the FA-430 “vacuuming” anything off you workbench! Ducting The FA-430 is sold without the ducting shown opposite because every work situation is different; therefore every customer will want to make up their own minds about the ducting to be fitted. Ducts can be lengthened, bent into different shapes (and will maintain that length or shape) to allow them to be placed exactly where they are required. Hakko recommend the duct end be placed on the work bench alongside the work for maximum efficiency and siliconchip.com.au Another option is the use of a benchtop hood which stops smoke escaping upwards. In use minimum chance of the air conditioning interfering with the airflow. As you can see on the top of the unit in the photo above, there are two inlet “ports” – you can choose to have one or both of these in use. Maximum airflow is achieved when both ports are used. A cap is provided to block one port off should it not be required. A single duct reduces the maximum capacity slightly – to 4.1m3 per minute. It doesn’t take any time at all to set up and even less time to get going. And it is quiet! You’ll barely notice it over background noise from more than a few metres away. We never got to the stage of requiring filter replacement but we were assured that it was also very easy and very quick. If you’re at all worried about solder fumes (leaded or not!) or any of the other fumes that you might experience in the workshop (whether business or advanced hobbyist), or you’d simply like to keep the air as clean as possible around you, the Hakko FA-430 would be a very good investment. SC Where from, how much? Please contact HK Wentworth Pty Ltd for further information Tel [02] 9938 1566, email sales<at>hkwentworth.com.au The FA-430 has a recommended retail price of $1280.00 Hakko soldering equipment is available through distributors in Australia and New Zealand. August 2011  33