I finally got around to documenting how I got handled fume extraction from a garage without cutting holes in anything or losing heat or A/C.
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Great setup! A lot of great ideas too!
Pretty cool setup, but that blower does suck your A/C or Heat out pretty fast, but probably much less than having the garage door wide open. Mine is in a climate controlled room and venting outside. The room is seal pretty good and you can feel the air gushing in from around the door jams and stuff. For every CFM you blow outside, you will have to replace it with air from the outside by letting it back in somewhere.
It does, but it draws air from inside the house which is a bonus.
Now that it’s winter I updated the system with a rectangular metal tunnel under the door (with connectors on both ends), and the door is only open an inch on the bottom so it can be connected “permanently” and the door is perfectly sealed so no heat escapes the garage. Suction suffers, but the extractor fan is overpowered so it still performs as it should.
I’m definitely thinking about adding a fresh air duct to mine, so it mainly sucks in outside air, grabs the smoke then sends it back outside. I know I can’t totally seal the laser box off, but it’s bound to help some.
Where is the extractor fan?
If the extractor is at the very end (mine is outside in a box at the side of the house) then there is only negative pressure in the pipes wherever the smoke is, including inside the laser enclosure. Leaks will leak into the ventilation pipe.
Any pipes after the extractor will have a positive pressure and leaks will spew smoke and fumes out (into the room if the extractor fan is in the room).
Thx, I do understand that.
On a typical install, the blower sucks air from the laser and blows it outside. The air in the laser is replaced with climate controlled air from the room. $$$$
If you install a fresh air duct, then the make up air to the laser is outside air.
That means your HVAC system is having to heat or cool air that’s being pumped outside.
So, with the fresh air duct as I described, even if you have a few leaks on the cabinet of the laser, they will only be sucking a minimum amount of climate controlled air. The leaks on the cabinet isn’t a danger issue, because it’s sucking, but the less leaks you have the less climate controlled air you’re pumping outside.