A Radically Better Fume Extractor

When you're soldering you can notice smoke rising from the solder as the iron melts the metal, as you might have guessed this is not at all good for you or your lungs. There already exists several DIY filtration systems on the internet, but these may only be about 5% effective at reducing the pollutants produced when soldering [1].

Watch the first 14 seconds of the project video to understand the problem.

In this project I'm showing you how to build a much better, still cheap and easy, filtration system. I'll also spend some time explaining the science of how to get rid of the problem in with the solder fumes.

I'm basing this explanation on lead free rosin core solder, which is the type most commonly used at home by hobbyists.

Click here to see the experimentation and development process for the project.

Here's my github repo with all files I developed for the project.

Sources used in the research stage

[1] https://blog.gotopac.com/2020/01/02/soldering-fans-vs-fume-extraction-units-vs-fume-absorbers/#Whats_In_Soldering_Fumes

[2] https://www.weller-tools.com/professional/USA/us/Top-Menu/Know+How+and+FAQ/Know-How+Filtration/Protect+yourself

[3] https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/particulate-matter-pm-basics

[4] https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0547.html

[5] https://www.sentryair.com/blog/industry-applications/electronics-technology/the-hazards-of-solder-fumes/

[6] https://safety.eng.cam.ac.uk/safe-working/copy_of_soldering-safety

[7] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/air-filtration

[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_filter

[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charcoal

[10] https://molekule.science/activated-carbon-air-filter/#:~:text=Activated%20carbon%20has%20special%20properties,particle%20pollution%20from%20the%20air.

[11] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activated_carbon

[12] https://www.sentryair.com/activated-carbon-adsorption.htm