DIY exhaust ideas

D

DannyDiablo

Joined
Mar 18, 2008
Messages
176
Well I do all of my work in my basement, and I was wondering what the best setup would be for a diy exhaust system. I Was thinking of maybe using an old furnace blower and just building an enclosure for it but I'm not sure. Has anyone built their own??? Thanks Dan
 
If you mean clean air exchange exhaust, then a furnace blower in a box, with flex-duct to the outside will work fine. Make sure there is a larger intake vent than the exhaust vent for proper air exchange and pressure.

If you mean a dust collector, the blower/box will work, but you need a spark trap in the line at the grinder. If you are venting it outside, and the area of the vent is not a problem, you don't need a filter.

It really all depends on the CFM of the blower.
 
Thanks Bladsmth.I appreciate the input. I was referring to clean air exchange..I kinda figured the furnace blower would work, I was just worried it might have been overkill. I'm gonna go for it, I guess as long as it doesn't suck the hat off my head when i turn it on I'll be alright :D
 
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I have one of these (6" HO) http://www.canfilters.com/fan_metal_home.html with 392 CFM (nominal) on the ceiling of a little 4x8 grinding room (3 walls only). The 6" duct reduces to 4" and blows out through a dryer vent. Works great. Note this is exhaust (i.e. removes airborne particles) NOT dust collection - I still wear a mask while grinding.
 
Note:
It is very important to allow as much air in return from a separate vent as you remove. Negative air pressure can be a problem.
 
Thanks Patrick that's a good option for me because my ceiling is low..looks like that might fit right in between the joists and be out of my way....And Stacy, I imagine that as long as I have a small window open down there I shouldn't have a problem equalizing??
 
Don't know if you've thought about adding a dust collector also. But I think a complete system would exchange the air and have a dust collector (they're like this Delta dust collector) with ducts at each machine that creates dust, such as grinders, saws, etc. Of course your grinder will need a spark arrestor on the duct, but those are easy enough to make from a five gallon bucket.
 
Those dust collectors are a lot more inexpensive than I thought they would be...I figured I would go for my lungs (no pun intended) to have one...Thanks for the great info guys

Dan
 
DannyDiablo said:
Those dust collectors are a lot more inexpensive than I thought they would be...I figured I would go for my lungs (no pun intended) to have one...Thanks for the great info guys

Dan
Click to expand...

A few of the guys over here have gone for the cyclonic collectors. Amazingly efficient at removing dust and has easily tripled the life of other filters (such as the HEPA filters on the vacuum cleaner) The kit is around £90- over here, but it is sourced from the US, so you guys should be able to get it much much cheaper.
 
Make sure you have enough make-up air to avoid causing
a negative draft on your homes furnace or other heating
appliances. It's possible to draw CO in if you have a
negative air differential or "back draft". Had to put a larger
air inlet in my shop due to the dust collector which vents
outside to avoid getting oil burner fumes where I work.

Bull
 
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