Shop Exhaust/Vent Fan

 
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windyhill4.2
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Tue. Nov. 22, 2016 8:39 pm

I work on lots of carburetors & many of them stink like varnish when opened up. In the summer time,with doors open there generally is no issue with the fumes in the shop. With it cold outside keeping the doors closed is naturally the best way to keep the shop warm. Having the doors closed builds up the terrible fumes from gasoline,especially bad when it is old gas. I have struggled with this issue for all the 12+ yrs I am in business at this location & have always wished for some kind of exhaust/vent fan to pull fresh air into the shop & exhaust the fumes. I have opened the overhead door & a window,but that only seems to be effective in making the shop cold.Just today,this afternoon in fact, I was working on a snowblower,opened up the carb & will likely still smell that carb tomorrow when I open shop. I'm not looking for a fan to suck the tools off the floor,just a fan that will keep a bit of air flowing thru. Maybe even a bathroom exhaust fan ?? I figured I would post this issue on here as there are many more out there in internet land with ideas that may lead me to a decision on a fan .


 
grumpy
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Post by grumpy » Tue. Nov. 22, 2016 8:50 pm

Maybe one or more of those house fresh air fans that also work as a heat exchanger.. prolly not cost effective thou. or something like a range hood to pull the fumes out of your work space.. like over your work bench..

 
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windyhill4.2
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Tue. Nov. 22, 2016 8:56 pm

grumpy wrote:Maybe one or more of those house fresh air fans that also work as a heat exchanger.. prolly not cost effective thou. or something like a range hood to pull the fumes out of your work space.. like over your work bench..
I never thought of a range hood,i wouldn't want it directly over my work bench tho,it would block lite & my carb repair bench is in the middle of the room. I could just mount a used range hood on the wall & let it do it's thing from there. I was thinking to possibly have a flex hose to move around to different areas.

 
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Post by grumpy » Tue. Nov. 22, 2016 9:00 pm

Put lights in the hood..??

 
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windyhill4.2
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Tue. Nov. 22, 2016 9:11 pm

grumpy wrote:Put lights in the hood..??
Could be done,but I was thinking since your 1st post about a range hood
I think it would be better to have the fan stationary like on the wall or ceiling & have a flex hose to move around.
Having a hood fan in the middle of the room would require a hose from the fan to the outside.
I think I would prefer the fan near the exhaust exit point & then stretch the hose to wherever.
Or maybe just a exhaust fan with no hose ?

 
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Post by Rob R. » Wed. Nov. 23, 2016 5:43 am

How hard would it be to move the carb bench to an outside wall? The range hood seems like a reasonable solution since it can easily be turned off an on, and should have minimal drafts when not in use.

My brother's shop has a what looks like a small barn fan in one of the windows. Not sure where he got it, but they use it when welding in the shop and really keeps a flow of fresh air going through.

 
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Post by Sunny Boy » Wed. Nov. 23, 2016 8:01 am

Dave,
I work on rebuilding old carbs, too. Carbs older than we are. :shock: Some with gas that's decades old. Just the fumes of that old gas can make me sick. Plus, I use solvent soak-tanks to loosen the old gas varnish. Breathing the solvent cleaners isn't safe, either.

Went the bathroom exhaust fan/range hood route in my first shop. It worked better than nothing, but wasn't as affective at removing the fumes as you'd think.

The biggest worry was that there was always the risk of an explosion if the fumes got to the right ratio of fumes to air being sucked past the motor and wiring connections.

When I built my present shop, I built a 23 x 14 side-draft paint booth (room), with exhaust duct work along one side of the room. That duct work leads to a 16 inch explosion-proof exhaust fan in one corner. The duct work also has one opening at head height, just above a parts washing tank in a corner of the room. The on/off switch is outside the door to the paint room so that there's no spark created within that room. The insides of the duct work are painted with a special anti-static paint to prevent sparks.

You don't have to get that elaborate, but you should be using an explosion proof motor, with sealed electrical connections, and the on/off switch located where the fumes can't get to it, or, use a sealed, explosion-proof switch. They do make smaller fans that pull less air so that your not heating the great outdoors as much.

Ordered the motor from a local electric motor rebuilding shop. You can order them on line now.

As I said, the kitchen range hood doesn't work as well as you'd expect....... unless you have a heat source like a stove causing upward convection currents. Gas fumes being heavier than air don't always want to go where you want them to. A "fume hood" is far better...The difference being is that a fume hood has sides so that only air and fumes can be pulled from where your standing. And some even have a clear plastic shield that covers the front from about chest height on up, to shield your face from any possibility of fumes tossed around by any air turbulence, plus any splash while working. A fume hood being just a simple opened front box can be easily build sitting on top of a work bench. And it's much better at keeping the stink away from your nose and lungs ! ;)

Paul


 
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Wed. Nov. 23, 2016 8:26 am

To all who shared ideas,thank you for sharing. SB,thanks for the info from personal experience.
I have noticed that when I wipe up gas spills & throw the rag into an open garbage can,i rarely ever smell it again.
Gasoline fumes concentrate in the bottom 18" of a closure & my experience with the rag in the garbage can helps to prove that.
I think I will just go with a wall mounted exhaust fan with a hose or duct going down to near the floor.
This will also be beneficial for removing carbon monoxide from engines running while bringing them into the shop or when running them to get equipment out of the shop.
I will just have to figure what fan to get,where to get it,& try not to go too high on the price for one.

I do not have great windows which means that fresh air is always sneaking into my shop.
I have never had any explosions so obviously the fumes have never built to dangerous levels, I would like to breath less fumes & more fresh air while doing my work.

 
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Post by Sunny Boy » Wed. Nov. 23, 2016 8:51 am

Dave,
Keep in mind that while your working, if you don't force the air to move where you want, you'll cause convection currents just with body heat that draws the fumes to you.

Proof is every time you peal onions. I'm sure you've stood at a kitchen counter and pealed onions and within a short time your eyes watered. The onion fumes get pulled past your face by your body warming the air around you and causing updrafts we're rarely aware of until onion fumes, or smoke, or whatever other stink gets in our eyes/nose.

The floor level hose may not be enough to prevent the fumes at work bench height from being pulled up past your face by your own body heat caused convection currents. And if your using solvents to clean the carb varnish, some are lighter than air. When they mix with gasoline fumes they can become lighter and both may then be raised by your body heat convection ???

Paul

 
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Post by waldo lemieux » Wed. Nov. 23, 2016 9:06 am

Dave,

A dust collector assy. for a wood shop moves a lot of air. They can be mounted outside piped inside and use a flex hose to move from place to place. The motor is separate from the fan so explosion risk is minimized. I see them on craigslist for cheap all the time. You could build several hoods around and then just move the flex hose from place to place. :?:

 
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Wed. Nov. 23, 2016 9:11 am

SB, sounds like the moveable flex hose is my best defense,i will be able to move it to the exact spot I want air to move from.

### I do not peel onions,i am very allergic to the oil even floating thru the air & getting into my eyes,i get severe knife stabbing pain in my gut & then a near death experience with diarrhea. So ,i don't peel them,i stay out of the house when they are being peeled,cooked or otherwise worked with. I also do not eat them raw or cooked,no onion powder,no food that was cut with the same knife as the onion was. :sick:

After 12+ yrs of having no exhaust fan,if I set up a fan,surely the air quality will be better than it has been .

Waldo,just saw your post as I was submitting mine.
Thanks for that info ,i will have to see what I can find on CL,certainly sounds like a very good possible solution.

 
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Post by CapeCoaler » Wed. Nov. 23, 2016 9:17 am

Heat recovery ventilator...
HRV for short...
DIY short money...
https://www.wildsnow.com/17884/how-to-build-air-cross-flow-heat-exchanger-budget/

 
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Post by Rick 386 » Fri. Dec. 02, 2016 9:39 am

Windy,

This is probably what you need.

http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/tubeaxial-belt-driven-fans-one-phase-fans-p-22556.aspx

I use something very similar here in my spray booth. It is mounted on the inside wall above the booth and has self closing louvers on the outside of the wall.

Rick

 
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Fri. Dec. 02, 2016 11:27 am

Rick 386 wrote:Windy,

This is probably what you need.

http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/tubeaxial-belt-driven-fans-one-phase-fans-p-22556.aspx

I use something very similar here in my spray booth. It is mounted on the inside wall above the booth and has self closing louvers on the outside of the wall.
Rick

Rick,1 of those would certainly vent a lot of air,but I am thinking that for my needs,i just want a little bit of air exchange ,more like what a bathroom exhaust fan is capable of. I can see that 1 of that style would work great when doing a smokey welding job,but my main concern is to move fresh air in & move some gasoline vapors out.

 
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Post by top top » Sat. Dec. 10, 2016 9:37 am

Just saw your post, have you looked at an actual duct fan? These are available in various sizes from about 4" on up and do exactly as you described. A fan mounted on the wall, a flexible hose on each side. My coal stove is in a room with high ceilings, the adjacent rooms are much lower so the heat doesn't circulate very well. I use two of these with the intake hose connected to a trim ring near the ceiling in that room, the discharge side to a trim ring near the floor in the adjacent rooms.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Suncourt-Inductor-4-in-Corded-In- ... pkw__pmt_e_


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