Do it yourself exhaust system

[Bday]

Looking for do it yourself ideas on exhausting welding fumes out of the shop without loosing all of my heat. Any ideas from you guys would be appreciated! Thanks!

[Shield Arc]

I never really thought about exhaust systems until retiring, because I worked outside all my life. I have two large exhaust fans in my shop, one over the CNC plasma table, and the other over the welding table.

But in your case, how about a shop vac with a hose that goes outside?
Here are some ideas Lincoln has.
Portable Weld Fume Control Units | Lincoln Electric

[vwnotrunning]

You could run your exhaust through an air to air heat exchanger with the make-up air. This could recover 40-80 % of your heat, depending on sizing. The heat exchangers are not cheap and most likely not economical unless it is to operate every day. Something localized like a shop vac like Shield Arc mentioned may be the best option.

[pedalstomper78]

The thing is with exhaust sytems, it's not about moving lots of air, it's just about moving 'enough' air. Also, you want to make sure that you're not sucking so hard that you're moving your welding gasses away from the material too quickly.

A shop vac would be good, but I would make it so that the hose is a fairly wide diameter at the workspace. That way, you can pull from a wider area.
Heat exchanger isn't a terrible idea...but Not sure how effective it'll be with the smaller area. Loads to think about here.

What am I saying with all of this? I'm subscribing in the hopes that someone with more knowledge than I comes along. LOL

[yomax4]

I knew a guy who used a shop vac and a garbage can lid. believe it or not, It worked pretty well..he fastened a strip of tinted welding curtain around it giving it about 8" of drop. Hung it a couple feet above his bench..
I'm sure he still uses it.

[Bday]

My shop is 20x40 with 11' ceiling.I thought maybe a squirrel cage with an intake duct up high, then duct into a weather proof vent to the outside. You couldn't vent into attic because of condensation. I think just pulling smoke from up high would make a huge difference.

[ericher69]

Looking for do it yourself ideas on exhausting welding fumes out of the shop without loosing all of my heat. Any ideas from you guys would be appreciated! Thanks!

Funny you posted this now as I just received a rigid 6.5 HP shop vac for Christmas...

I was thinking the day I assembled it that I would get a sheet metal hood fabricated (20x20)? With a neck down to the hose diameter.

I will purchase the accessory hose kit (comes with 2x 7' lengths and fittings) attach this to exhaust port of the vacuum and send it out the window.

Was thinking of attaching the hood to a spring loaded reading lamp/light.

Will post pics when I do it.

[ericher69]

Double post edited

[Gary Fowler]

Shop vac certainly over $3K cheaper than the Lincoln shop vac with the special filters, likely just carbon filter but charging about 2900 bucks for it. For home use, I dont think you would need the EPA filter to exhaust welding fumes. I like the round garbage can lid trick for the vent hood. Light, about the right size and when attached to a spring loaded mechanism like the lamp stand it would be perfect.

[RBA50]

Source capture is much more effective than general room air cleaning. Get it while it is concentrated at the weld site,and you will help protect your lungs, as well as keep your shop cleaner.The shop vac idea is good, ( but shop vacs are noisy), or make yourself a downdraft table, ducted outside. The more airflow the better, but balance it against heat/cooling loss. A source of makeup air is a good idea too, if your shop is reasonably tight.

The Lincoln unit uses several paper/cloth filters to capture different size particles, then a final HEPA filter before discharge back into the room. There is an option for charcoal filtering as well. With this system, there is no need to discharge outside, the harmful stuff is taken out by the filter.