I just received my Compact Air Filter and it works great on removing fumes and dust. However, I am very surprised about the noise from it. I talked to support and measured sound levels and they said that 75 db was within the acceptable range. Still, it seems very loud. Has anyone found a way to mitigate the noise? Also, is there a way to install a pre-filter? I didn’t quite understand the discussion above on this point.
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Since that filter has an adjustable fan speed, I think you’ll find that you can start out with the fan going at the very lowest speed possible…and it’s much quieter.
Turn the knob slowly at first…mine works great at a point about three quarters of the way between zero and the first notch. You can actually adjust that while a job is running too.
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Wellllll, I waited and waited, but no cigar. So, I took my money out and thought I’d return as a paying customer with money in hand. Hopefully, GF would like to have some cash (decadent warmongering capitalist Americans, like me), so they’ll bump up production orders and make them available. I hope so anyway. Just want to know how to order. JM
Janet, it might help to share a picture of your setup. The most likely culprit is that the hose itself is rattling around - a short run with as few turns as possible is best. You can also bunch together extra hose length and tape it together to keep it shorter and tighter. I use mine in the home office and find the sound to be much less disruptive (quieter? lower pitch?) than my Glowforge used to be with the internal fan.
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We don’t have any standalone units for sale yet, but we’ll let everyone here know when we do!
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PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
Please be aware that your fan grate at the back of the machine will still get a large amount of dust trapped in that honeycomb and is still necessary to clean it out regularly, while having the filter equipped.
Cough cough cough, that is all
(And now I know)
Negative aside, I should have had the common sense up to this point to check it. Guess I got all excited finally being able to laser indoors in Minne-snow-tah. This thing is freaking awesome!
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I’ve been continuing to use my GF Compact Air Filter with my custom Pre-Filter. I had to go to a 3 setting, and decided to check my Pre-Filter. I have been cutting a bit of Baltic Birch as well as Walnut plywood (which has an MDF core).
It was pretty dusty, so I threw the Pre-Filter away and now I’m able to go back to a "high 2 " setting again without a significant odor. I am not sure if the Pre-Filter is making a ton of difference, but it does seem to help. Here is the one I am using. It is a 2 pack, for about $9 shipped from Amazon. I found them cheaper on clearance at my local Menards. I take them out and cut them down to size to fit and lay them right on top of the filter, side by side.
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I would like to buy a Compact Filter now. How can I get my order in for the Compact Filter. I bought the GF one, but cancelled it to get my money out about a month ago. Please advise! John Morgan at jl.order@yahoo.com.
The first post in this thread contains a link to a form to fill out if you want to buy one. 
I think that’s to swap. They cancelled the original and thus have nothing to swap out.
I believe @dan already advised in his direct response to you.
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I was going by what @Jules said about signing up to get on the list to buy one when they do become available.
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Aaaahhhh…pfft…500 posts in, details.
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Filed under “Careful what you wish for…”: We received a compact filter. Thanks! Ironically we don’t have a Glowforge to attach it to yet. 
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That would be the definition of irony. (Glad you finally got your filter though.)
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hah, well, i’m glad you finally got the filter you need. hopefully you can unfreeze your GF order and get that ASAP. i know you’ve been jonesing for a very long time waiting for a filter option.
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Yep. We’re really excited. Trying to tamp it down since there’s been no word on the forge itself.
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I really wish there was a good way to know how full your Compact Filter is / what to set it on. I’m considering buying a wind gauge and testing the flow every couple days just to have more than a guess behind it. Also there is still no public information on how much the replacement filters cost or how much life to expect.
I’m personally at around 25 hours of cutting/engraving baltic birch ply and have no idea if the filter is at half it’s life, almost dead, or what.
When it starts to fill up, you will see more smoke accumulate in the body of the machine, without being drawn out. You might start to smell a slight odor. At that point, you will need to dial up the fan speed and order a replacement filter. (You will likely be able to run a few more jobs at the higher fan speeds, but it does take time for the filter to arrive, so you’ll want to have it on hand.)
I think you can currently order a replacement filter by sending an email to support@glowforge.com.
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I find the odor to be a difficult indicator to use since even a piece or two of scrap material keeps the odor for quite a while. Smoke accumulation is a decent indicator, but eyeballing how well it’s flowing out is just an educated guess. Until it really starts backing up into the machine you won’t know for sure your filter is done.
I’ve sent them the email to at least find out pricing if not order another to have it on hand. I just wish they would put out more public information. It’s not like the filter life and price will be a secret for long anyway.
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They’re probably still thrashing out the details…they’re going to need to know how many to inventory, and they can likely get a discount with larger orders. (Lots of behind the scenes stuff goes on with this kind of decision.) Eventually it will all work out and they can give us some numbers and get the filters set up in the store front.
You’ll see it when it starts to fill up…visibility in there becomes very poor.
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