Does a battery powered blower really make respirators work better? I finally got chance to test a powered respirator thanks to Flan, who supplied a 3M 6800 Powerflow Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) for testing.
Putting a blower on a respirator not only means you no longer have to work hard to suck air through the filters, the positive air pressure from the blower also helps reduce leaks. The air wants to blow out of the mask rather than in, making it harder for contaminated air to get in around the seal of the mask. But I wanted to know for myself just how much the positive air pressure helps.
There are different kinds of PAPRs. This is one of the simplest designs. It it is a standard 3M 6800 with the nose cup removed and a special adapter added to attach the blower and filter. The battery goes on your belt, which is a good thing because the battery weighs almost a kilo.
Noise is a big consideration outside of industrial uses of this mask. On the video you can hear the loudness relative to my voice. And it feels a bit louder than that when wearing the mask because the blower is attached to the mask, which conducts sound right to your skull in addition to the sound transmitted through the air.
A big thank you to Flan for this opportunity.
00:00 Start
01:15 Talking wearing the 6800PF without the blower
02:18 Testing the 6800PF in negative pressure mode without the blower
03:11 6800PF in negative pressure mode - results
05:23 Talking in the 6800PF with the blower on
05:50 Testing the 6800PF with the blower on
06:44 Testing the 6800PF with the blower on - results
07:05 Comparison table
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In the video I'm using a PortaCount mask fit testing machine that gives scores in "Fit Factor". Fit factor is the the concentration of ambient particles outside the mask divided by the concentration inside the mask. So if there were 1000 particles outside and 10 inside, 1000 divided by 10 is 100, so the air inside the mask is 100 times cleaner and the fit factor is 100. The PortaCount counts particles from .02 to 1 micron in size.
To pass a fit test, a normal half mask, such as an N95, has to pass with a fit factor of 100, meaning the air is 100x cleaner inside the mask. For a regular full face mask the fit factor required varies depending on the standard being used, but 500 is common. The full face 6800PFF respirator in this test was well over 500 in all exercises, both with and without the blower on.
If you have questions about masks, please leave a comment.
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