Help with garage ventilation system needed

[Rich05]

i have a cnc with flood coolant and do some tig welding too, getting severe sinus issues from air in the shop

can someone reccomend best way to get air out through roof or side, i cant open the garage door, I am thinking of some kind of commercial exhaust fan, any reccomendations?? i really need to get the air much better.

[diyengineer]

If you want fresh air then you will need a fresh air intake, as well as a exhaust fan. Cut a whole, mount a all weather duct and metal exhaust fan from any local home depot, and wire it accordingly.

If you dont wanna rip into anything and want an easier way, you can do what my friend did. He opened up his garage door about 2", made a custom duct that fits under the garage door, and used cheap box fans from home depot to force air in, as well as blow air out. works AMAZING! When he is not using it he can just slip it out from under the door, and simply remove it. Just needs an extension cord.

[Rich05]

Thanks for the advise,

the solution with the best venting possible would be for me, I dont mind cutting a hole in the roof or whatever it takes, can I vent from under the eves or do i need to go through the roof.

how about some light industrial exhuast fans? I looked at the home depot stuff it looks a bit small. any good sources, I will have to find something cheap maybe there is some surplus warehouse stuff out there, the other thing though... I have an HOA here, home owners association so i dont want to bring too much attention if i put a huge stack on top of the garage it will raise flags, thats why i keep the door down pretty much..

[Ed from NY]

How big is the area you have to vent and what is the climate like where you are. On the CNC side if it is fully enclosed you probably can hook an exhaust directly to it and create a bit of negative pressure. A 8" inline fan should be plenty even with the enclosure door open and many are variable speed. On the welding, not sure how bad the sinus problem is, but... can you just capture/exhaust the fumes at the highest point in the garage with some makeup air coming from below -- ie crack in the door?

[diyengineer]

What is the length x width x height of the entire shop? You need to know how many cubic feet you have. Then you an choose a proper fan. From a few things i have read, being able to cycle the air 20 times an hour is a good start.

thus a 20x20x10 foot shop has a 4000 cubic foot max. A fan that has 1000CFM can cycle up to 60,000 cubic feet an hour max. Thus it can recycle almost 15 shops worth of air an hour. I heard shoot for 20 and you will be in a nice clean air shop.

You would need a 1333CFM fan in a 20x20x10 shop to circulate 80,000CFM an hour. Thus it would provide you with 20 shops worth of cubic air in an hour.

Anyways, hope that helps.

Look here for all your industrial fan needs/ducting.
Grainger Industrial Supply

[Rich05]

I would say my sinus problems are pretty bad, anything that sets them off can require me to take antibiotics or suffer for months and lose many days of work, though I am learning to work through it.

I have a standard size 20x20' garage in Southern CA, sometimes it gets warm but mostly the garage is moderate temperature.

Would like to maybe double whatever is reasonable for circulation? or more?, I use flood coolant that is not allways so great, when I weld I usually TIG aluminum or crome-moly (with a mask),

is it better to vent out the roof? does anyone have any good pictures or links as examples? What cost can I expect? is surplus a good route?

thank you !

[RedskinsJBS]

Beore you do anything with venting the shop, I would suggest that you go and buy a good respirator.

I use this mask from 3M and it has a really nice and comfortable fit. They make more expensive ones, but you can't beat the quality at this price.

3M Welding Respirator-6000 Series Half Mask

HTH,

Jay

[diyengineer]

Originally Posted by RedskinsJBS Beore you do anything with venting the shop, I would suggest that you go and buy a good respirator. I use this mask from 3M and it has a really nice and comfortable fit. They make more expensive ones, but you can't beat the quality at this price. 3M Welding Respirator-6000 Series Half Mask HTH, Jay

Agreed. I use that same respirator. Works like a charm and has many attachments. (carbon filters, hepa, etc.)

[diyengineer]

Originally Posted by Rich05 I would say my sinus problems are pretty bad, anything that sets them off can require me to take antibiotics or suffer for months and lose many days of work, though I am learning to work through it. I have a standard size 20x20' garage in Southern CA, sometimes it gets warm but mostly the garage is moderate temperature. Would like to maybe double whatever is reasonable for circulation? or more?, I use flood coolant that is not allways so great, when I weld I usually TIG aluminum or crome-moly (with a mask), is it better to vent out the roof? does anyone have any good pictures or links as examples? What cost can I expect? is surplus a good route? thank you !

Venting out, is venting out. I can't vent out the roof, since there is a room directly above my garage. I was going to make some custom vents that exhaust above my garage door, but under the roof overhang. This way they are totally out of site from the neighbors, and out of weather. I am also in a HOA, never open my garage door, etc.

[underthetire]

Just keep in mind, venting any coolant to the outside is against the EPA regulations. And coolant vapors will stick to everything, including your house, and piss off the neighbors. Might want to blow it through some cheap heater filters before it goes outside. That might help. Last thing you want is a neighbor complaining to some city inspector.

[handlewanker]

Bad sinuses huh?...better get a medi check up to find what damage if any you've sustained just to be on the safe side.

Getting bugs in your lungs can lead to old age problems like emphysema at 50, and that's nasty.

Cutting fluids are bad for you if the base is synthetic material as opposed to the old soluble oil/water type I always used in the old days.

If'n you've been Tig welding alluminium without extremely GOOD ventilation procedures.......get a check up NOW, don't put it off.

That recomendation to exhaust under a gap beneath the garage door sounds good, at least the fumes will stay at ground level and disipate probably along the ground outside, and you could, without attracting too much attention, draw air in from under the eaves.
Ian.