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I've been recently trying to set up a soldering station at home and am still in the research phase. I haven't been able to find one cheaper than the FA-430. It's weird as you can get a nice air purifier with a HEPA filter in it for much cheaper than the FA-430. I don't plan on soldering all that much, and so had been looking at the FA-400. I was assuming it was better than nothing.

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My belief is that people who review the FA-400 positively would be as well served by a regular fan (and even better served by a box fan with a decent furnace filter in front of it). Possibly they are infrequent users or just not sensitive to flux fumes like I am. My understanding is that activated carbon filters like in the FA-400 rapidly lose effectiveness when exposed to the air.

It's probably possible to DIY something as effective as the FA-430 by adapting an existing purifier or fan, as long as you carefully seal the pre-filter path. Since I use the extractor every day in a workshop with coworkers, I need something durable and idiotproof with parts and filters easily available. So it made sense for us to shell out for the FA-430.

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