Dave, are these fans “vented” to the outdoors?
Hi, yeah, I forgot to mention! I have had a couple questions
about this so I’ll elaborate. These fans aren’t the only
ventilation in my studio, but I’m still planning on improving
anyway!
I’m pasting in some additional info I already emailed privately
to Mollie (slightly edited):
I have installed vents, actually foundation vents from Home
Depot, in the eaves of my studio. There are horizontal bracing
studs about an inch below the vents. One of the fans sits on
the stud, in front of the vent, above my soldering area, blowing
exhaust out the vent. I don’t have any hood or duct work.
The other fan is affixed to a stand, about 2.5’ tall. I move
that around the studio on an as-needed basis. In these colder
Winter months, I usually set up above and behind my heater to
circulate the warm air throughout the studio. In the hotter
months I usually have it set up to blow across me at the bench,
to keep me cool. Other times I’ll set it up in front of a
window to either provide additional exhaust or pump in fresh
air.
I also have a commercial fan I bought, that sits in one of my
Windows on all but the coldest days. It has two side-by-side
“turbo” fans in one frame. I can switch them to either exhaust
or provide fresh air. This sits in the window immediately
(3-4’) to the right of my soldering area. Got it at Lowe’s Home
Center.
If I’m soldering in my soldering area, I configure the fans for
maximum exhaust, with the fan on the stand blowing from my back
toward the exhaust fans. If I’m just working at my bench or
whatever, I keep the eave fan on exhaust and configure the
others for comfort. I always wear eye protection and a
respirator when buffing or using cratex wheels, either on the
flexshaft or buffer.
Wm. Mason, who is also on Orchid, was visiting me and helping me
set up some lapidary equipment. He cautioned me that my
ventilation is still not adequate. I suspect he’s right,
although it’s probably the best ventilation I have ever had
while doing jewelry work. When I think about what I used to do
in ignorance (plus I smoke), it’s amazing my lungs haven’t filed
for divorce!
The ventilation around my soldering area could be more direct
and positive suction. I’m just not sure at this point what I’m
going to do about it. I’m afraid a stove hood would block out
my lighting. I don’t know about a dryer hose running down the
wall and laying in the back of the soldering area (already
crowded), but that may be a solution.
About finding these fans: There are a lot of old broken copiers
around that won’t ever be fixed. Try a salvage place, friend’s
garages, small independent copier dealers, junkyards? I got
mine several years ago, in California, from a friend who was an
independent copier repair guy. I held on to them for a long
time, knowing I would be able to use them in a studio, once I
built it. Let your fingers do the walking?
Hope this helps,
Dave
Dave Sebaste
Sebaste Studio
Charlotte, NC (USA)
dave@sebaste.com