Have you tried using the MSA 900 for more than half an hour? I get enormous amounts of moisture build up quickly. I actually managed to completely block the filters due to moisture. The larger fluffy P100 filters on the MSA 900 don’t seem to have the same moisture blockage problem due to their surface area, but the inside of the mask still gets really moist and has water dripping out of it after 30+ minutes of use. My usual source control strategy has been to use double sided foam and material from a KN95 mask. Where I’m at, less than 10% of people are masking so source control isn’t something I worry about as much anymore. (Only once did someone question whether I had source control - the check in person at the Apple Store was verifying proper masking…)
All of my source control elastomerics have condensation build up. But I haven't quantified which is worse. The Dentec fits me better than the MSA so I haven't worn the MSA for longer than a few hours at a time.
I have a couple of dentec NxMD masks, so I wound up punching a hole in one of the masks and porting it in the breathing zone between my nose and mouth. Fortunately, I was able to get a number of dentech NXMDs cheaply back when they were first released, and even now they aren't as expensive as boutique respirators like the ElastoMask Pro or AirBoss 100, which I also had to probe by attaching an N95 probe to the mask body. The N95 filter cartridges are so weak in terms of holding the filter into the pinch seal at the edges, that I wouldn't trust trying to port one of the N95 filters. And you can't plead a pleated filter such as the p100 cartridges. Plus, when you port a filter cartridge, it's best practice is to then run an additional tube from the filter cartridge into the mask body into the breathing zone between the nose and the mouth. So it's not necessarily quite as simple as just punching a hole in the filter and using a TSI probe made for N95s. Probing the filter in the cartridge is potentially doable since it's not a valved mask. But it can give you an artificially good fit factor because it's right next to the filter. There are fit test adapters that can fit between the NXMD and the filter cartridges, however, there are a lot more expensive than the actual masks, so for my personal testing it was cheaper just to port a mask than to buy the fit test adapter.
@@gerardhughes Thank you! That's what I figured - looking for a fit adapter for the Dentec turns up one >$500 kit which doesn't make sense (for me) when the respirator itself is $36.
Thanks for the video. Recently released Airboss 100 is NIOSH approved and has source control. It's advertised for HCW. Wondering if you would consider a review of that one too. Also any feedback on Flomask, Envo mask, Draeger x-plore 2100?
Thanks for the feedback. I had heard about the Airboss 100 NIOSH approval in the past and tried to track one down but they don't seem to have actually been released. I've only ever found press releases and other promotional material, never a "Buy" button. I'd love to review FloMask and the Envo - but elastomerics are expensive, and boutique elastomerics like those two even more so. I'm not really a fan of the fit of quarter masks (the front of face instead of under the chin style of mask), so I'd be spending money on masks I wouldn't use myself. I'm interested in the Drager, but it is not a source control mask. And so far I've been prioritizing source control elastomerics.
Depends on which cartridges you have. The N95 cartridges have replaceable filter pads. The p100 cartridges are permanently closed and need to be replaced in their entirety. If you do replace the filter pads in the N95 cartridges, use a strong backlight, such as a flashlight, to make sure that the pads extend all the way out to the edges of the cartridges once you have sealed cartridge back up.
I bought the GVS about 4 years ago and liked it for both fit and effectiveness, but suddenly it began to break down chemically. It also started to split at the bottom (chin) of the face seal. So much for That garbage. Next was the Honeywell 7700, a pure silicone facepiece. Much better quality, but it often leaks at the left side of my nose and Nothing I can do about adjusting it will keep it sealed for more than a few minutes. What I really want is to be able to get parts for my Survivair Blue 2000, which fits me perfectly and is incredibly comfy for indefinite periods, but Honeywell bought that company out and discontinued the entire line. I might try a Dentec and see what happens.
3M 604 Exhalation Valve Filters www.rshughes.com/p/3M-604-Exhalation-Valve-Filter-638060-43195/638060_43195/ (Maxed out the character limit in the description.)
Depends on the manufacturers instructions. Typically they need to be replaced when they are too hard to breathe through, which is an understandable standard for filters used in dusty industrial conditions, but kind of vague for covid use. I'm going to replace mine if hard to breathe through, visibly soiled or damaged, or within a year.
I ordered the retainer attachment (product #14879) that hold p100 pre-filters (product #14494) to clip on top of these p100 filters. For added protection and to extend their usage.
Have you tried using the MSA 900 for more than half an hour? I get enormous amounts of moisture build up quickly. I actually managed to completely block the filters due to moisture. The larger fluffy P100 filters on the MSA 900 don’t seem to have the same moisture blockage problem due to their surface area, but the inside of the mask still gets really moist and has water dripping out of it after 30+ minutes of use.
My usual source control strategy has been to use double sided foam and material from a KN95 mask. Where I’m at, less than 10% of people are masking so source control isn’t something I worry about as much anymore. (Only once did someone question whether I had source control - the check in person at the Apple Store was verifying proper masking…)
All of my source control elastomerics have condensation build up. But I haven't quantified which is worse.
The Dentec fits me better than the MSA so I haven't worn the MSA for longer than a few hours at a time.
How have you been able to do quantitative fit testing on the Dentec? Do you have to sacrifice one to punch through with an N95 adapter?
I have a couple of dentec NxMD masks, so I wound up punching a hole in one of the masks and porting it in the breathing zone between my nose and mouth. Fortunately, I was able to get a number of dentech NXMDs cheaply back when they were first released, and even now they aren't as expensive as boutique respirators like the ElastoMask Pro or AirBoss 100, which I also had to probe by attaching an N95 probe to the mask body.
The N95 filter cartridges are so weak in terms of holding the filter into the pinch seal at the edges, that I wouldn't trust trying to port one of the N95 filters. And you can't plead a pleated filter such as the p100 cartridges. Plus, when you port a filter cartridge, it's best practice is to then run an additional tube from the filter cartridge into the mask body into the breathing zone between the nose and the mouth. So it's not necessarily quite as simple as just punching a hole in the filter and using a TSI probe made for N95s. Probing the filter in the cartridge is potentially doable since it's not a valved mask. But it can give you an artificially good fit factor because it's right next to the filter.
There are fit test adapters that can fit between the NXMD and the filter cartridges, however, there are a lot more expensive than the actual masks, so for my personal testing it was cheaper just to port a mask than to buy the fit test adapter.
@@gerardhughes Thank you! That's what I figured - looking for a fit adapter for the Dentec turns up one >$500 kit which doesn't make sense (for me) when the respirator itself is $36.
Thanks for the video. Recently released Airboss 100 is NIOSH approved and has source control. It's advertised for HCW. Wondering if you would consider a review of that one too.
Also any feedback on Flomask, Envo mask, Draeger x-plore 2100?
Thanks for the feedback.
I had heard about the Airboss 100 NIOSH approval in the past and tried to track one down but they don't seem to have actually been released. I've only ever found press releases and other promotional material, never a "Buy" button.
I'd love to review FloMask and the Envo - but elastomerics are expensive, and boutique elastomerics like those two even more so. I'm not really a fan of the fit of quarter masks (the front of face instead of under the chin style of mask), so I'd be spending money on masks I wouldn't use myself.
I'm interested in the Drager, but it is not a source control mask. And so far I've been prioritizing source control elastomerics.
I have this mask. Do we need to replace the filters inside of the cartridges??
Depends on which cartridges you have. The N95 cartridges have replaceable filter pads. The p100 cartridges are permanently closed and need to be replaced in their entirety.
If you do replace the filter pads in the N95 cartridges, use a strong backlight, such as a flashlight, to make sure that the pads extend all the way out to the edges of the cartridges once you have sealed cartridge back up.
Great video. Can you show how they look on your face? Also where is a good place to buy dentec or msa model? Thanks!
I bought the GVS about 4 years ago and liked it for both fit and effectiveness, but suddenly it began to break down chemically.
It also started to split at the bottom (chin) of the face seal. So much for That garbage.
Next was the Honeywell 7700, a pure silicone facepiece. Much better quality, but it often leaks at the left side of my nose
and Nothing I can do about adjusting it will keep it sealed for more than a few minutes.
What I really want is to be able to get parts for my Survivair Blue 2000, which fits me perfectly and is incredibly comfy
for indefinite periods, but Honeywell bought that company out and discontinued the entire line.
I might try a Dentec and see what happens.
3M 604 Exhalation Valve Filters
www.rshughes.com/p/3M-604-Exhalation-Valve-Filter-638060-43195/638060_43195/
(Maxed out the character limit in the description.)
How long do P100 filters last/how often do you have to change them? Thanks!
Depends on the manufacturers instructions. Typically they need to be replaced when they are too hard to breathe through, which is an understandable standard for filters used in dusty industrial conditions, but kind of vague for covid use. I'm going to replace mine if hard to breathe through, visibly soiled or damaged, or within a year.
I ordered the retainer attachment (product #14879) that hold p100 pre-filters (product #14494) to clip on top of these p100 filters. For added protection and to extend their usage.
@@gerardhughes Thanks!!