Mist Away or Haas Mist Collector

DethloffMfg · Oct 15, 2018

For comparable pricing, and being able to toss the Haas unit in with the machine purchase,these seem like noticeably different designs. Very different filter configurations and the MistAway looks like it uses metal mesh and particulate filters vs the Haas using only metal mesh. The MistAway is a little cheaper and can have a HEPA filter added directly, but looks a little more expensive when the current sensing controller is added on. The Haas unit comes from the factory ready to work with the machine and runs when the spindle is on.

Does anyone here have a preference between the two? I’m working out of a 2-car garage and think this might be pretty necessary with a 50/50 mix of steel and aluminum.

Can the Haas unit be timed through the control to stay on another X seconds after the spindle turns off?

pmack · Oct 15, 2018

I can't speak to the MistAway, but the Haas enclosure exhaust was inadequate for my VM-3. It is a 12k rpm machine and creates too much mist for Haas unit when using TSC. If you plan to run high RPM and TSC, I would look at another unit or plan to port the Haas unit outside. I replaced mine last week with a Royal filtermist, and switched the Haas unit to my lathe. Untested on the ST-20 at this point, as I finished the install today. The Haas unit stays on for a period of time after the spindle shuts down(2-3 minutes if I had to guess).

wheelieking71 · Oct 16, 2018

The MistAways work really well. But, the non-cleanable filters are pricey. And, don't last forever.

This is the filter for the 1200cfm unit: Merv 14 Final Filter 12-4

All but that one (and the carbon filter which is cheap) can be cleaned.

I can not speak for the HAAS unit, no experience. But, I will not hesitate to buy another MistAway if I need another mist collector.

DethloffMfg · Oct 16, 2018

For general use, light/medium cutting, is a filtration necessary in a garage setting? Is there enough mist or evaporation to warrant caring for it?

wheelieking71 · Oct 16, 2018

DethloffMfg said:
For general use, light/medium cutting, is a filtration necessary in a garage setting? Is there enough mist or evaporation to warrant caring for it?

What is the max spindle speed of your mill? Your max too diameter? And, at what rpm will you run it?

I personally will never run without a mist collector again.

Matt@RFR · Oct 16, 2018

DethloffMfg said:
For general use, light/medium cutting, is a filtration necessary in a garage setting? Is there enough mist or evaporation to warrant caring for it?

100% yes, you absolutely need a mist collector in a garage. The smaller the space, the worse the problem gets. I moved my business from my garage not long ago.

DavidScott · Oct 16, 2018

I got a mist collector with my last used machine. I took it off the machine and mounted it on the back wall with ducting to all my machines. I then ran the exhaust from the mist collector through a heat recovery unit and then outside. After 20 minutes of haveing the mist collector running in the morning my shop air is better than that in my home. I wouldn't think of doing it any other way now. A good test if you mist collector is working is how clean your glasses are at the end of the day. Mine almost never have any coolant mist on them now and only in the winter when I have the air volume turned down to help keep it warm in the shop.

DethloffMfg · Oct 16, 2018

Will be a TM-1P. 6000RPM, max tool is maybe a 2.5-3" face mill, almost everything I will be doing is end mill and drill/tap work. I think the steel work will be a lot of dry cutting and there may be some oil on the material that vaporizes (milling a lot of DOM tubing). Do units like the Mist Away collect oil vapor like you'd get from burning cutting oil off of a part, the same as they do coolant mist? Same ball game?

DethloffMfg · Oct 16, 2018

Matt@RFR said:
100% yes, you absolutely need a mist collector in a garage. The smaller the space, the worse the problem gets. I moved my business from my garage not long ago.

That's what I was thinking, it's a small space! I don't know how much mist the flood coolant makes on tools like end mills.

Kingbob · Oct 17, 2018

DethloffMfg said:
Will be a TM-1P. 6000RPM, max tool is maybe a 2.5-3" face mill, almost everything I will be doing is end mill and drill/tap work. I think the steel work will be a lot of dry cutting and there may be some oil on the material that vaporizes (milling a lot of DOM tubing). Do units like the Mist Away collect oil vapor like you'd get from burning cutting oil off of a part, the same as they do coolant mist? Same ball game?

I used to run an old non enclosed tm1. Not having any experience with the haas mist collectors I would assume it will keep up nicely. You are not going to make much mist with a tm-1.

CPM2014 · Oct 17, 2018

I put the Haas filter on the build sheet of my new VF2SS as a test hoping to retrofit all my other machines with it if it worked. It doesn’t.
Go with mist away

D.D.Machine · Oct 17, 2018

I use two mist away units and there great ,,, on the vf2 size machine they work better than the vf4 size but they still get the job done . as for the filters that say not to wash them but I have and they still work good ... about 3 years and have not had to buy new filters yet .. I just plug them into the wall and let them run all day ,, it makes in nice when you open the doors to swap parts to have them on.

Haas has a hole in the top that is like 10" round and well mist away tells you to cut a bigger hole I just use the stock hole and it works fine ,, you do need to seal around the base if the mist away so the drips go back into the machine and not on the roof of the machine .

I found the best price on Ebay then got the owner at mist away to match it ,, he is Super nice guy

triumph406 · Oct 17, 2018

Kingbob said:
I used to run an old non enclosed tm1. Not having any experience with the haas mist collectors I would assume it will keep up nicely. You are not going to make much mist with a tm-1.

I have a non-enclosed Makino RMC55, there were/are occasions were I would misdirect the coolant and get coolant everywhere but in the machine.

If I'm carefull with the nozzle direction and flow and add a few pieces of Lexan to prevent coolant spray I can prevent coolant spray from leaving the machine.

Despite all of this in a typical day I'm still refilling 5+ gallons of coolant, so although I'm preventing the obvious loss of coolant where I can, it's still making plenty of mist that escapes the machine.

Kingbob · Oct 17, 2018

triumph406 said:
I have a non-enclosed Makino RMC55, there were/are occasions were I would misdirect the coolant and get coolant everywhere but in the machine.

If I'm carefull with the nozzle direction and flow and add a few pieces of Lexan to prevent coolant spray I can prevent coolant spray from leaving the machine.

Despite all of this in a typical day I'm still refilling 5+ gallons of coolant, so although I'm preventing the obvious loss of coolant where I can, it's still making plenty of mist that escapes the machine.

I am sure you do, my comment was more a critique of the tm-1s horse power. It barely has enough hp run a 1/2 endmill to capacity let alone make extra energy to get the coolant hot

. In all seriousness I used to mess with the haas sales man by running the spindle at about 50 rpm and squeezing the rotating tool with my hand, I could get the load meter up to about 40% this way. She was woefully under powered but I made a lot of good parts with that machine, and to all you safety susans - I was a much younger and dumber man then and I certainly wouldn't recommend performing this spindle power "test".

DethloffMfg · Oct 17, 2018

Neither me, nor my budget, has any qualms with a TM-1 not being the beaver of the metal world. I'm an OEM, not a job shop, there's likely going to be a lot of time the spindle is off and I'm working on something else. I do want it to run proven programs while I'm running a tubing bender or welder, and I don't want the inside of my shop to feel like Florida in August :popcorn:

Having a 6,000RPM spindle (and maybe the 10,000 for little tools), and not shoving the thing hard enough to be steaming much coolant, I was really curious how much of that coolant got in the air.

I ran a ProtoTrak for a while with a mist coolant on it and a few of us got respiratory infections. Open machine spraying mist, that was fun. I don't know what to expect an enclosed machine with flood coolant to be like inside of a small sealed space like that.

YdnaD · Oct 17, 2018

Haas' "exhaust" hardware really is just that...it's a fan with a pair of filters attached that sucks out particles from the work envelope. But it doesn't provide any useful filtering or scrubbing, in fact it seems like it's suited for you to install your own ductwork and redirect the dirty air elsewhere. I think it would be much more useful in a steel-cutting environment where you can get bona-fide smoke and soot buildup in the air.

Anyway, myself I find there's a few situations that create coolant mist, one is when the coolant nozzles are pointed directly at the toolholder itself (especially serrated areas like a collet nut or a keyless drill chuck), or a large tool like an insert cutter. The other situation is when the machine is in continuous use for hours on end, with the doors constantly closed. Naturally higher RPM will have an effect on things too, but there's definitely some other factors aside from sheer speed that create mist.

FWIW i have a couple Mistaways too, and I recommend them. I won't go into comparisons of them with pricier units, I'll just say they do their job fine and are worth their price compared to the more expensive alternatives.

JFettig · Oct 18, 2018

The MistAway unit works really well, I have two of them now, they don't get a ton of use though. My understanding is that the electronic filter units will last longer and be cheaper to maintain but I don't expect to need to change filters very often.

They're also not very loud, it's more like a white noise. I install router speed controllers on them like you get from Harbor Freight which will knock the sound down even farther if you turn them down.

wheelieking71 · Oct 18, 2018

DethloffMfg said:
Neither me, nor my budget, has any qualms with a TM-1 not being the beaver of the metal world. I'm an OEM, not a job shop, there's likely going to be a lot of time the spindle is off and I'm working on something else. I do want it to run proven programs while I'm running a tubing bender or welder, and I don't want the inside of my shop to feel like Florida in August

Having a 6,000RPM spindle (and maybe the 10,000 for little tools), and not shoving the thing hard enough to be steaming much coolant, I was really curious how much of that coolant got in the air.

I ran a ProtoTrak for a while with a mist coolant on it and a few of us got respiratory infections. Open machine spraying mist, that was fun. I don't know what to expect an enclosed machine with flood coolant to be like inside of a small sealed space like that.

Pop for the 10k spindle! And, get the MistAway.
I can not even imagine being crippled with a 6k spindle with any tool smaller than about 3/8". In any material.

Speedie · Oct 22, 2018

The Haas unit is for ducting to another mist system. It even barfed out ton of smoke during the demo on youtube. The hands down best unit for coolant and oil mist is made by LNS. You do not absolutely need a mist buster in your garage. It depends on the work you do. Nice thing about small spaces....easy to vent, cheap to heat.

HuFlungDung · Oct 23, 2018

I've never noticed any appreciable fog coming out of my VF3 (max 7500 rpm). Any face mill turns the inside of the machine into a dishwasher, but it's very coarse droplets, still not sufficient air to make much, if any, fog. I still like to run a vent fan to bring in some fresh air. The lost coolant does turn into water vapor, and the mist collectors don't really capture and condense that, otherwise we'd be using them as dehumidifiers.

Lathes can be far worse with chuck jaws serving as a fan.

Mist Away or Haas Mist Collector

Cast Iron

Cast Iron

Diamond

Cast Iron

Diamond

Titanium

Diamond

Cast Iron

Cast Iron

Stainless

Cast Iron

Stainless

Diamond

Stainless

Cast Iron

Aluminum

Aluminum

Diamond

Stainless

Diamond

Similar threads