DokDream

Thanks for the heads up. I listened to the podcast. Son-of-a-gun! I think I can help. I mentioned my base concept. Today I will work on the mask further. If you don't mind, where are you? I'm in North Hills, CA (and when the weather clears and when travel bans are lifted, at Fawnskin, CA, North Shore of Big Bear Lake). Name is Jay.

I don't know your home set-up. If you have central HVAC, you can install electrostatic air filters which will collect ash particles pretty well. While I understand your concept, I'm just wondering if the power consumption won't put a strain on your electric bill. The ionizers, by the way, typically cause charged dusts to settle on adjacent surfaces, like cloth, walls, etc. Perhaps really good masks is a better idea? I'm on a Prepper website and a fellow showed his design for a safety mask. It was one version, and I began toying around with another. I'm seeking a design that people can throw together quickly using available materials, is effective and cheap. My first iteration worked -- but it needed improvement. What I have now is a 2-gallon zip-lock bag with inlet filters made of disposable water bottles. I haven't made an exhaust valve yet. The water bottles are cut to hold paper towel. By lightly spraying with cooking oil, and by providing layers, particles have to go through a labrynth so particulate matter will tend to impinge on the oil surface and be taken out even if indivdual fibers are otherwise to widely spaced to stop them. In essence, this is a depth-filter. What I'm not satisfied with is that the bags are not sufficiently clear to provide undistorted vision. I think some of the clear, polypropylene bags used for candy or bread, or a clear plastic bottle that I can cut to the right shape would work. These plastics can all be fused to each other so no glue or tape is needed and the seal is rather good. I need a little more work, then I can send it to a lab for efficiency testing. If it passes, I'll publicize it so people can improve their level of safety. Also, it is very portable.

Neat! What I really like about the video is that as the carbon fiber ablates, more is exposed. When you get down to the sleeve, you can just toss it and make a new one. Regardless of the material you use, ESPs will collect smoke particles and are fairly energy efficient; high voltage, low current. As to rock wool v. DE, rock wool is less dense. I suppose that translates to more fluid capacity. I don't know if the low density is due to it being "fluffy" or not. If it is, then you probably will have fuel that can spill out, potentially a fire hazard. I like your idea of DE, so long as spilling out is not a problem. The only question I have about its use is if the fuel:DE surface tension is stronger than the potential for capillary action/evaporation to bring the fuel to the burner. If "yes," then you would likely be leaving fuel behind. If "no," then the DE is not actually being "wetted" and it is not clear if it is an advantage as compared to cotton packing. As to charring, I've had a little browning of the packing, but nothing that would make me change to some other media.

I think that all of us with JON-E warmers, or at least those that work fairly well, like Peacock, feel similarly. I also thought about carbon fiber. It will oxidize at elevated temperatures (like 400 degrees) so I don't think it is a good choice. I have had experience with silica fiber and asbestos. While hazard from asbestos is next to nil, it has such a bad reputation these days that I wouldn't consider using it in any application. There are articles and patents on use of carbon fibers in air purification. The fibers are conductors and are loaded with metalic particles. I don't know if "spark-over" shortens the life of the apparatus or not. But whether you are using carbon fiber or steel wire, with collecting plates, the priniciple remains the same. It is electrostatic precipitation. For more information, look up the Cotrell precipitator. It describles how the concept was first embodied. These days, electronic controls are use to prevent arcing as much as possible. Smoke from a brush or forest fire, or from a fireplace for that matter, will have alkaline particles that can successfully be captured by an electrostatic precipitator. If you would like to build a model (not hard) go to https://www.instructables.com/id/Electrostatic-Smoke-Precipitation/ There are other sources too, of course. Diatomaceous earth has a bulk density of 16 lb/cu. ft. so it can well be a great choice for warmer packing. I wonder if the fuel vaporization rate would be too great for the burner to handle, however, leading to less efficiency. Maybe you can answer that. As for absorbing odor, I don't see how DE would do anything; you are dealing with a vapor, after all. Importantly, the cotton/felt packing is intended to prevent spillage. If the DE does the same thing, then no worries. Palladium is a lot cheaper than platinum, which is what the Zippo warmer may use. If I am correct, I think it may be a poorer catalyst than Pt, which could be responsible for the poor reviews of the Zippo. Anyhow, like I wrote, I'm thinking of getting some Pt wire and seeing if I can make Pt(IV)Cl from it, which I would then distribute onto silica fiber cord. If this works, I post. By the way, I almost forgot. I removed a JON-E burner from its housing and inserted it into a coil of copper wire. I left the ends of the wire long enough to reach the bottom of the warmer fuel reservoir. When i lit the wick, the wire transmitted heat to the reservoir, preheating and vaporizing the fuel. This helped keep the warmer working under conditions where the unmodified device fell below the required catalytic temperature.

I see no one has posted in almost 6 years. I love the Jon-e warmer, and I have a bunch. The one I'm using this cold winter doesn't like to lay down. Also, I'm using a felt bag to hold it; the flannel bag always allowed over heating, but more O2. Anyhow, I do get it that the catalytic combuster may get fouled --- eventually. I went back to the original patent (2,670,728) to see what I could do about it. Possibly baking the element at a high temperature would help. Otherwise, I can make new burners with silica fiber cord and silica fiber (or fiberglass) woven tubes. Then I need to buy platinum chloride or palladium chloride. Soak the cord in the solution, then heat to 1400 F to make elemental Pt or Pd. Palladium chloride costs ~$50/g on ebay; Platinum chloride is ..... unavailable. But I think I can make it from platinum wire and bleach. Stay tuned. If it works, and doesn't kill me, I'll repost.