Cheap Ventilation System?

go mike

go mike

Joined
Dec 5, 2008
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I tried searching through everything I could find, and have not found an answer to this (thus, I ask here).
Does anyone have cheap suggestions on ways to get rid of fumes? I will get a respirator soon, but I feel that that is not enough, because I don't want fumes throughout my house. My workshop is in my basement, and I do not want harmful fumes throughout my house. I do not have access to a window in the room, but if the only option was to put a bathroom-style fan to the outside, I could do that.


Any help is appreciated :)
 
I have a unit from Ridgid that I picked up at Home Depot. Not the most fantastic but it does work pretty well. Looks like one of the old subwoofer tube setups, about 15" in diameter, 3' long. Air sucked in on one end, blows out the other. Filters are okay, definitely not HEPA rated. Has a sponge type pre-filter and then an inner cotton "bag" style catcher that you can just vacuum out to clean. I couldn't find a pic / part number online, it may have been discontinued.
 
I have a 20" box fan with a furnace filter on the back of it. I keep it directly above me while working. I don't think it will work for your situation but helps in my garage.
 
I picked up a cheap squirl cage type blower and ran a hose out of my window. Those things really move some air and has greatly helped in reducing the fumes.
Just my two cents!
Jason
 
Look at the photo posted by "Padrig" on the post titled "Dust collection stem intake". That system is beautiful in it's simplicity and construction.
The shorter your runs are and the least number of turns the more efficient the system will be.
I used a furnace blower, but any squirrel cage blower of ample capacity is the cheapest way to go. Most bath fans have a very small blower, really not enough capacity to ventilate dust and fumes, just farts.

Have fun
Alden
 
go mike said:
This thread?
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=616205
Click to expand...

Yes. That one. I don't know how to post a link.
That system is barebones and probably highly efficient. There is no reason to capture the dust for what we do. On my system I have a water trap to catch sparks at the grinder. Without it you need to make sure to avoid buildup of sawdust. Do not be tempted to use plastic piping as it can be a fire hazard.
Look for an old furnace fan for a cheap large fan. Or go to Grainger to purchase a new one. They have many sizes.

Have fun, be safe
Alden
 
Alden, just open the thread you wnat to post and copy the adress in the adress bar of your browser and and paste to your post. It becomes a link automatically.

Back on the subject, I am worried about the spark thing. Any pics of your water trap?

Pad
 
Padrig said:
Alden, just open the thread you wnat to post and copy the adress in the adress bar of your browser and and paste to your post. It becomes a link automatically.

Back on the subject, I am worried about the spark thing. Any pics of your water trap?

Pad
Click to expand...

Thank you Pad.
I just took these pics. I hope you can see what we're talking about. It's kind of crowded in that part of the shop. It's kind of a large contraption. As you grind the sparks and debris shoot down into the trap, there is 3 or 4 inches of water in the bottom. The air is pulled from the back of the unit behind a baffle that extends down to within an inch of the water. The debris usually cannot make a sharp enough turn to avoid the water, so consequentually most particles are trapped in the water.
I thought about this for a long time. If you were to force all of the air to bubble through the water would require a very large fan, and would require frequent additions of water. I believe this is a good compromise.
My fan is outside the shop area to operate more quietly, and exhausts straight outside with no additional filters. That setup is actually in a soffit under a porch type roof.
I also included a photo depicting how I covered a rough edge of a quench tank with the stuff that comes on bandsaw blades. The edge on the trap I "hemmed', that is folded it over and flattened it.
I hope this information is of some value.
Thanks
Alden
 

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What kinds of filters could I mod up to the blower to remove fumes? Would charcoal filters work, do you think? I'm thinking of getting a fan setup with a hose that I hold near my work, close enough to catch the air around it, but not the sparks. I'll make a quick pic and post it in a minute.

99978052xb0.png

This setup would have the grinder on the table (smiling :)) then sparks (orange) falling into a bucket of water, then the vacuum sucking the fumes (green) through the charcoal type filter, then having clean air (purple) circulate back into the room. Think it would work?
 
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It isn't really fumes you're after, it is particulates. The easiest way is to vent them out. I think it would have to be a very large and well designed system to vent right back into the room.
That's my thoughts.

Alden
 
I was just thinking, carbon filters are supposed to remove most dust particles in the air, and so if you ran it through a filter of some sort, you could have the air circulate again... Every time I look for cheap carbon filters, I find weed making sites :P
 
Im not sure, but i think you need an exahust fan that exahust out side istead of a filter.

I like the drawing!
 
Thanks again for taking tome to take and post pics Alden, much appreciated.
I'll see if I can adapt something like this to mine. Although I have some serious suction going there and I am not sure I can prevent some sparks from escaping. I might just do the woodworking on a separate system to be sure, we'll see.

Thanks again.

Pad
 
That's really slick Alden!

I want to build something similar. The good 'ol fashion wood working collectors just aren't suited to what we do.

Thanks for the pics Alden... you've got my wheels turning :)
 
NickWheeler said:
That's really slick Alden!

I want to build something similar. The good 'ol fashion wood working collectors just aren't suited to what we do.

Thanks for the pics Alden... you've got my wheels turning :)
Click to expand...

Nick, Next time you're passing through stop and check out all of my equipment and shop. A far cry from the little workshop in the basement. I should start a few posts to show some of my stuff and my oddball thinking.
I am glad to be of some value even if it to show what not to do.

Thanks
Alden
 
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