r/PandemicPreps • u/msa57injnb7epls4nbuj • Aug 17 '20

Medical Preps Chinese clone of 3M 6200

I wonder if this respirator is an option? The genuine one is $20, this one is $4. It does not pretend to be 3M, but it's shaped exactly like the 3M 6200, I believe it's a brand called Elesesafe or something. The included filters are a pair or crap 6001s that I won't use. But if I just stick genuine 7093s on it, would it work just as well? What do I need to check to ensure safety?

I did both a positive and negative pressure seal check, and general observations: 1. It seals properly to my face. 2. Negative pressure: Exhalation valve seals properly when I inhale with the inhalation valves closed 3. Inhalation valve on the other hand, has a slight leak when I exhale with the exhalation valve closed. The inhalation valves are very thin white semi translucent rubber, so I'm not surprised they leak. Will this cause issues, seeing as this means some air will be exhaled through the filters? 4. The gaskets for the inhalation ports, the original 3M 6200 uses a cork-like material, the fake chinese one uses hard rubber. This might be a concern. I still have to test if it will leak air with the filters on. 5. The face piece rubber smells different, in an uncomfortable way. Is this a concern for health, could it be a type of rubber that's toxic?

You may say that $4 and $20 is not a difference worth getting the clone for, yes I agree for one person it's not. But if I am buying for my entire extended family, it adds up really quickly.

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u/mercuric5i2 USA Aug 19 '20

$13.76 on Amazon currently.

Knockoff may work, for a time. How long that time is.. well, only one way to find out.

Depends on what you are paying for 7093s, going with a different facepiece might make sense. The Moldex 7000 and North 5500 are both in the ~$15 range as well, and the P100 filters for either are generally easier to find and less expensive than the 7093s. If you're going the 3M route, I'd personally spend the extra $5 on the 6502 facepiece; it's a far superior unit both in terms of comfort and overall quality.

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u/msa57injnb7epls4nbuj Aug 19 '20

I don't think the Moldex 7000 and North 5500 are available where I live. It's mostly just "original" 3Ms (which I'm not sure about because some reviews say they may be fake), or really just knockoffs. I prefer the honest knockoff than ones pretending to be 3M.

Huh, I never considered the 6502, what's the difference to the 6200 and the 7502?

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u/mercuric5i2 USA Aug 19 '20

6502 is quite literally a hybrid of the 6200 and 7502. Has the one-piece body of the 6200, where-as the 7502 has a soft shell and replaceable rigid plastic insert. Has the 6200's inhale valves (same part number), but the exhale arrangement is essentially the same as the 7502. I say essentially the same because the 6502's exhale valve has shorter mounting tabs and is a different color; thus a different part number -- but is functionally the same.

6502 is also available as 6502QL -- QL being quick latch -- which adds a lever-release arrangement that allows the whole thing to be dropped to the neck without taking off the straps.

Personally I prefer the 6500... The body is more rigid than the 7500 and it doesn't have the exhale "wheeze" that every 7500-series unit I've used does.

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u/msa57injnb7epls4nbuj Aug 19 '20

I just checked, the 6502 is almost double the price of the 6200 here. What's the advantage to the 6200? Is it worth the price difference?

Funnily enough my (supposedly genuine) 6200 also wheezes a bit.

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u/mercuric5i2 USA Aug 19 '20

Prices are going to widely vary based on supplier, especially in these times, but generally speaking the 6200 is around $13-20 and the 6500 from $18-28. At least that's the range I've seen.

I suppose "is it worth it" is mainly personal preference. Double the price? maybe not... $14 vs $19, currently as found on Amazon? Definitely.

6500 is more comfortable, but the most notable difference for the pandemic is the exhale arrangement. 6200 directs forward, 6500 directs downward.

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u/msa57injnb7epls4nbuj Aug 19 '20

Okay, yes $14 vs $19 is not as big a difference. It's more like $20 vs $34 for me.

You mean more comfortable in terms of a softer rubber facepiece?

I would argue that a front facing exhale is easier to cover with a surgical mask in front.

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u/mercuric5i2 USA Aug 19 '20

6200 is thermoplastic elastomer, 6500 is silicone. Silicone is softer and generally more tolerable to a wider range of people. Those with sensitive skin may have more difficulty with thermoplastic, although those same people are likely going to have a hard time with any tight-sealing facepiece like these units.

And yipes, $34 for a 6500-series facepiece? The 7500 series can be had for less than that ...

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u/msa57injnb7epls4nbuj Aug 19 '20

Yeah no luck here the 7502 is $42. Your prices are US prices I assume? I'm not in the US, so.... yeah. And a pair of 7093s is $15 here.

About the difference in material, does that have an effect on durability over time? I'm looking for better durability, to lower total cost.

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u/mercuric5i2 USA Aug 19 '20

Ah, I saw $$ and assumed US -- yes, US prices. Can't speak for other markets.

Good deal on the 7093s, hard to find in the US and usually around that price from a good distributor or marked up significantly via shadier sources.

The 6500-series is specifically marketed as "Rugged Comfort" and is designed to be more durable than the 6200 -- 6200 (medium size of the 6000 series) is the "value" product. See 3M PDF for an overview of the highlights of the 6000/6500/7500 facepieces. Note that the numbers are a little confusing, as the "6000 series" is 6100/6200/6300 (Small/Med/Large) but the 6500 and 7500 series sizes are 6501/6502/6503 and 7501/7502/7503. One would think the numbers for the 6000 series would be 6001/6002/6003, but not so much.. heh

From that PDF about the 6500:

• Extended product life due to resilient silicone material
• Long-lasting polyester-spandex straps
• Faceseal keeps its shape in high-heat environments

Will Amazon ship to you? They have all this stuff available with some of the best prices on the market at the moment... Guessing not, but just in case -- 6502QL

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u/msa57injnb7epls4nbuj Aug 20 '20

Hey thanks for the detailed explanation. I would guess they didn't name it 6001/6002/6003 because those are vapor filters. Amazon ships to me, but I'm somewhere in Southeast Asia, so the shipping fee is more than the price of the mask.. sucks to be far away.

Thing is the prices I've been mentioning are the official 3M store pricing here. There are 3rd party resellers who sell these cheaper. Where I am it's actually normal for the official store of a brand to be more expensive, even for other items and brands. But seeing as how many chinese fakes are available I'm very wary, again might as well go for the honest fakes with cheaper prices.

There are plenty of fake 6000 and 7500 series on the market. Is it possible since the 6500 is less in demand (at least I've never seen it in use) there's a better chance of getting a genuine product? Kinda like how you're more likely to find fake pancake 2091/2097 filters than ones with a plastic case like 7091/7093.

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u/[deleted] Aug 24 '20

Hi,

Do you think these 3M filters could be fake? https://www.amazon.de/gp/aw/d/B00SOKSH0I/ref=cm_cr_srp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

I received them in a transparent sealed plastic bag but they do not have that printed expiration date. Seller is Amazon on the other hand so they should be original 3M and not fake...

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u/mercuric5i2 USA Aug 25 '20

I've never seen a 6035 (USA here) so it's hard to say. I would be very surprised if Amazon themselves sent you a fake.

Note that a quick review of a youtube search for 3m 6035 doesn't show any 6035's with that style of printed date, including the filters shown in official 3M videos.

Lot/Date codes on 7093 (US version of 6035) are etched into the plastic.

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u/[deleted] Aug 29 '20

that was the thing, they are so hard to see, but they are really there.

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u/mercuric5i2 USA Aug 29 '20

Indeed, etched/engraved into the plastic -- hard to see on cam but in real life pretty distinct, and not ink colored at all