The First Portable Welding Fume Extractor With a Full-Size 10-Foot Capture Arm.
The Filtrabox Nomad is a 1,154 CFM portable welding fume extractor that weighs just 154 lbs — over 100 lbs lighter than typical units — rolls on all-terrain pneumatic wheels, fits through a 30-inch doorway, and runs on a standard 120V/15A outlet.
For mobile welders, field service crews, and on-site fabricators who need professional fume extraction capability wherever the job takes them, the Nomad is the first unit engineered specifically for how they actually work.
What Made a "Portable" Welding Fume Extractor a Compromise — Until Now
The welding fume extractor market offered two options before the Nomad: fixed or semi-portable units (typically 250+ lbs, requiring dollies, lifts, or multiple people to move) or compact portable units (genuinely lightweight and mobile, but with short extraction arms of 4–6 feet that can't maintain OSHA-compliant capture velocity at realistic working distances).
Nomad focuses on three main objectives: true portability, a full-size capture arm with effortless maneuverability, and high filtration efficiency. It's the first portable welding fume extractor with a full-size 10-ft capture arm, and it's over 100 lbs lighter than typical units.
The combination that didn't previously exist: full-size 10-foot arm plus genuine one-person portability in a single machine. That's what the Nomad is.
Built to Go Wherever You Weld
The Nomad's mobility features were designed around real field and on-site welding conditions — not a smooth factory floor:
10-inch all-terrain pneumatic wheels handle the transition from pavement to gravel to grass to concrete without tipping or binding. The same wheels that roll smoothly across a warehouse floor roll over the uneven ground of a job site without needing a hard surface.
30-inch doorway clearance — the Nomad's 29-inch width fits through standard 30-inch doorways. Tight hallways, narrow equipment rooms, and constrained mechanical spaces are accessible. Most portable welding fume extractors are wider than this and physically cannot get to where field welding often happens.
120V / 15A standard outlet — no generator, no industrial power circuit, no voltage transformer. Every garage, workshop, commercial building, and job site trailer has a standard 15A outlet. The 15-foot power cord gives you reach from the outlet to the work area.
Tool and cord storage compartment — the built-in storage keeps the power cord contained and provides a compartment for small tools, so the Nomad arrives at the job fully equipped and organized.
Stowable arm locks securely — the 10-foot extraction arm stows and locks into the unit for transport, so it doesn't flop around in the truck bed or catch on doorframes during movement.
1,154 CFM. OSHA Compliant. At Any Work Position the Arm Can Reach.
Extraction capacity numbers on a spec sheet only matter if the arm can deliver that airflow to where the weld is actually happening — and maintain it at OSHA-required capture velocities across a realistic working distance.
Nomad maintains 100 fpm in the welding zone as required by OSHA 1910.252(c)(3)(i).
At 1,154 CFM through the 6-inch diameter arm, the Nomad maintains the 100 feet-per-minute capture velocity at the hood that OSHA specifies for welding fume capture — across the full 10-foot reach of the arm, at any angle the precision-balanced arm can achieve.
The arm's precision balancing is what makes this practical in real-world use. The precision-balanced extraction arm delivers effortless maneuverability, superior control, and no sagging. An arm that requires constant re-tensioning or that drifts from position during a weld is a safety problem dressed as a convenience problem — it means the hood gradually moves away from the fume source while the welder's attention is on the joint, not the arm.
The Nomad's arm sets itself and holds. No adjustment between weld passes.
F9 Standard. HEPA Optional. The Right Filter for Your Materials.
Nomad comes standard with an oversized 22 m² F9 filter (MERV 16 equivalent) and an integrated steel mesh spark arrestor.
The 22 m² filter area is significantly larger than typical portable extractor filter media — which is what allows the Nomad to maintain 1,154 CFM at compliant capture velocities without the filter loading rapidly and reducing performance between jobs.
Standard F9 (MERV 16 equivalent): The right configuration for mild steel, carbon steel, and general fabrication MIG/TIG/Stick welding. High efficiency for the coarser particle profile of standard arc welding fume.
Optional HEPA upgrade (99.995% @ 0.3 microns): The HEPA upgrade is for stainless steel and other toxic metals. The PAO integrity test validated design holds up in critical environments.
For welders who regularly work with stainless steel — which generates hexavalent chromium, a confirmed carcinogen with very low permissible exposure limits — the HEPA upgrade is the appropriate configuration. OSHA's hexavalent chromium standard (29 CFR 1910.1026) requires control measures that the HEPA-equipped Nomad is designed to support.
The integrated steel mesh spark arrestor (16 × 27 in.) sits in front of the filter stage, stopping sparks and embers before they can reach the filter media — critical for grinding operations, Stick welding, and any high-energy process that generates significant spark load.
Integrated pressure gauge — confirms filter integrity and loading status at a glance, without opening the unit.
Who the Nomad Is Built For
Nomad handles laser, MIG, TIG, stick, and flux-core welding.
Mobile welders: Every job is at a different location. The Nomad fits in the back of a pickup or trailer, rolls across whatever surface exists at the job, and is operational within minutes of arrival. You show up fully equipped — which means you can genuinely offer fume-safe welding as a service, rather than relying on the client's ventilation or a cracked window.
Field service crews: Maintenance welding happens wherever the equipment breaks — inside buildings, in mechanical rooms, on production floors, in environments with constrained access and no industrial ventilation. The Nomad's 30-inch doorway clearance and standard outlet requirement make it the only professional fume extraction option for these environments.
On-site repair and fabrication: Structural, pipeline, automotive, and infrastructure welding often happens outdoors or in non-ventilated environments. The Nomad provides professional source capture fume control on-site.
Tight spaces: Anywhere a 250+ lb extractor can't go — the Nomad goes.
The Maker's Chest Difference
The Filtrabox Nomad is available from Filtrabox directly and through other distributors. Here's what changes when you order through The Maker's Chest:
- 🛡️ 75-day returns — significantly longer than most distributor windows. Enough time to take the Nomad to real job sites, evaluate it under field conditions, and confirm it performs for your specific applications before you're committed
- 🇺🇸 Expert USA-based technical support — our team can help with filter configuration guidance (F9 vs. HEPA for your materials), arm and positioning questions, and any issues that arise after delivery
- 📞 Dual lines of support — phone and email, so when you're on a job site and need a real answer, you have a direct path to a knowledgeable person
- 🔧 Straight pre-sale guidance — not sure if the Nomad is the right configuration for your specific use case versus a fixed portable unit like the Fume Dog PT or the Filtrabox Weld-R? Talk to us before ordering. We'll give you an honest answer based on how you actually work.
Frequently Asked Questions about Filtrabox Nomad Portable Welding Fume Extractor
Q: How is the Nomad different from other portable welding fume extractors?
A: The Nomad is the first portable welding fume extractor with a full-size 10-ft capture arm, and it's over 100 lbs lighter than typical units. Most portable extractors with full-size arms weigh 250+ lbs — genuinely difficult for one person to handle, load into a vehicle, or navigate through tight spaces. Compact portables that weigh less use shortened 4–6 foot arms that can't maintain OSHA-compliant capture velocities at real working distances. The Nomad combines a full-size 10-foot arm with 154 lbs and 30-inch doorway clearance — a combination that previously didn't exist.
Q: Is the Nomad OSHA compliant for welding fume extraction?
A: The Nomad maintains 100 fpm in the welding zone as required by OSHA 1910.252(c)(3)(i) — the airflow velocity standard for welding fume source capture. For stainless steel welding and hexavalent chromium control under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1026, the HEPA upgrade configuration with 99.995% efficiency at 0.3 microns is the appropriate choice. For compliance documentation requirements in specific workplace environments, contact our team for guidance.
Q: What power does it require?
A: 120V / 15A standard outlet — the same electrical specification as a standard US wall outlet. The Nomad draws only 4 amps at 120V — an extremely low draw for a 1,154 CFM unit, which is what allows it to run on a standard 15A circuit without tripping breakers even on older wiring. The 15-foot power cord provides reach from the outlet to the work area.
Q: What processes does it handle?
A: Laser, MIG, TIG, stick, and flux-core welding. With the F9 filter standard, it handles all of these for mild and carbon steel applications. For stainless steel, titanium, chrome-containing alloys, and other metals where OSHA permissible exposure limits are more stringent, the HEPA upgrade (99.995% @ 0.3 microns) is the appropriate configuration.
Q: What's the difference between the F9 standard filter and the HEPA upgrade?
A: The F9 filter (MERV 16 equivalent) provides high efficiency for the coarser particle profile of standard arc welding fume from mild and carbon steel — appropriate for the majority of MIG, TIG, Stick, and flux-core welding applications. The HEPA upgrade (99.995% @ 0.3 microns) is specified for materials that generate finer toxic particles — stainless steel (hexavalent chromium), chrome-containing alloys, and other metals with lower permissible exposure limits. The PAO integrity test validated design holds up in critical environments. If you regularly weld stainless or specialty alloys, the HEPA configuration is the professional standard.
Q: How does the precision-balanced arm work?
A: The precision-balanced arm delivers effortless maneuverability, superior control, and no sagging. The arm's counterbalance design means it holds whatever angle and position you set it in without spring-loading, tension bolts, or continuous readjustment. This is what allows a welder to set the arm near the weld zone at the start of a seam and trust it's still in position at the end — without looking up to check between passes.
Q: Does it fit through standard doorways?
A: Yes. At 29 inches wide, the Nomad fits through standard 30-inch doorways — the most common minimum door width in commercial and industrial buildings. This is a deliberate design specification: most full-size welding fume extractors are wider and physically cannot navigate standard doorway clearances, limiting where they can go on a job site.
Q: Can it be transported in a pickup truck?
A: Yes — the Nomad is designed to throw in the back of your pickup or trailer. At 154 lbs, it can be loaded by two people without equipment. The 10-inch all-terrain pneumatic wheels handle the transition from the truck bed to uneven job site terrain. The stowable arm locks securely in place for transport.
Q: How is this different from the Filtrabox Weld-R?
A: Both are portable welding fume extractors with high-efficiency filtration. The Weld-R is a shop-based portable unit — heavy-duty casters for moving between fixed workstations, optimized for indoor shop environments with consistent access to standard outlets. The Nomad is engineered for field deployment — true vehicle-portable at 154 lbs, all-terrain wheels for rough surfaces, 30-inch doorway clearance for access, and a standard 15A outlet requirement for job site compatibility. If your welding happens primarily in a fixed shop, the Weld-R or a wall-mount Vert-X is the right tool. If your work takes you to different locations, the Nomad is built for that.
Q: Why buy from The Maker's Chest instead of directly from Filtrabox?
A: Our 75-day return window gives you real field evaluation time — enough to take the Nomad to multiple job sites, evaluate it under actual working conditions, and confirm it performs for your specific applications. Our USA-based expert support team is reachable by phone and email for filter configuration guidance, technical questions, and any post-delivery issues. If the Nomad's configuration isn't quite right for your specific materials or use case, we'll help you sort it out.
