DYI fume extractor ideas

[grsthegreat]

errr....are those fire proof. welding gives off a heck of alot of sparks.

 

[GeneV]

errr....are those fire proof. welding gives off a heck of alot of sparks.

Yeh they're fine. First off they're cotton, and second of all I'm not welding near them. They're not lining that part of the wall.

 

[GeneV]

I salvaged the mondo squirrel cage fan out of my attic air handler when I had my central HVAC replaced, with the intention of making a fume extractor. I haven't used it yet so I can't say how well it works, but I imagine it moves at least 400cfm.

But before I got that, my plan was to use an electric leaf blower. I did that before for some purpose I can't remember, but it worked well, whatever it was. I think it was... maybe, the dust evacuation for my DIY sandblasting cabinet? IDK but I made some sort of shroud/flange to couple a pipe to the intake of the leaf blower, and then powered it from harbor freight's "router speed controller" (very handy, get one, I put that ship on everything) for variable speed/suction.

The leaf blower was a $30 job from home depot. Coincidentally, I just found that HF has a leaf blower for $39 with, wait for it... suction mode! Eureka! 375CFM, 230MPH, should evacuate a small weld envelope lickety split. Coupled with the router speed control you should be able to dial it in so that it doesnt pump all your heated air to the outside.

The only drawback I remember is that it's loud. Really loud. Like nearly as loud as ... a leaf blower. But dang effective. It's a bit quieter with pipes on both intake and outlet, and with it turned down by the speed control, but still loud. That's what left me with the desire to find something else and I saved the squirrel cage. But if your budget is $200 I think this gets you there with bucks to spare.

Note: that router speed control works for brushed ("universal") motors. Routers, leaf blowers, shop vacs, blenders, (some) washer/dryer motors, (some) cheap compressor motors, corded drills, corded angle grinders, corded circular saws, etc. Will NOT work for induction motors like that duct fan, my squirrel cage fan, any decent compressor, etc.

The idea is awesome, but the noise though.

 

[grsthegreat]

Yeh they're fine. First off they're cotton, and second of all I'm not welding near them. They're not lining that part of the wall.

Ok, just wondering. One time i wasn't paying attention and was welding near a cardboard box. It was pretty far away, but after awhile i smelled something,
And then noticed it was smoldering. Pushed it outside shop and doused with water. Since then i keep fire extinguishers handy and have welding blankets available. Also, i take a look around welding bench for trash.

 

[Industrial Toys]

It's not uncommon for me to have welded during the day and gotten up in the middle of the night to do a fire check. All kinds of crap ends up under my work bench. Been meaning to put a 4X4 under there. Helps too when dropping something that always has to end up as far in as possible.

 

[Big Barn]

With COVID issues and horrid air quality due to West Coast wildfires a little smoke from my Mig is probably the equivalent of an asthma puffer ATM.

 

[dragoneggs]

Ok, just wondering. One time i wasn't paying attention and was welding near a cardboard box. It was pretty far away, but after awhile i smelled something,
And then noticed it was smoldering. Pushed it outside shop and doused with water. Since then i keep fire extinguishers handy and have welding blankets available. Also, i take a look around welding bench for trash.

For fire reasons and also metal contamination on wood projects, I hate having a mixed metal/wood shop. I scrapped plans recently to build a new shop with dedicated areas due to economics of the project.

I continue to strive to arrange my garage/shop to segregate the two but limited space makes it pretty much impossible.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I try and weld outside the door but MIG has this aversion to wind!

It doesn't help that there is always at least one rag, sopping up some oil spill within spark distance!

 

[MF RED in MT]

KC, that looks like a good deal on a powerful fan.

I'm thinking I could do ok with 200 cfm since it's a small space with a short run for the duct. Here's the one I ordered: VIVOSUN 6 inch Inline Duct Fan 24 CFM, HVAC Exhaust Intake Fan, Low Noise & Extra Long 5.5' Grounded Power Cord - - Amazon.com

Cheaper than a 6" duct fan from Home Depot, and the fan blades are metal.

Note: I don't know why TBN always redirects my amazon links to an ebay address. I got it on Amazon, $20.

You did good Gene, the 6" fan like what you purchased: listed on my post #28 was $14.59 but with $16.41 shipping cost as the cheapest.

KC

 

[pmsmechanic]

Ok, just wondering. One time i wasn't paying attention and was welding near a cardboard box. It was pretty far away, but after awhile i smelled something,
And then noticed it was smoldering. Pushed it outside shop and doused with water. Since then i keep fire extinguishers handy and have welding blankets available. Also, i take a look around welding bench for trash.

My welding buddies tell me about the times they would fill an empty milk carton up with a mixture of acetylene and oxygen. This would be left conveniently under someones cutting area while they were cutting steel with a torch. For those that don't know this will explode with a loud bang when the sparks or cutting slag ignite it.