Quote:
Originally Posted by Mary K
I looked at the facebook page of all those torch stations set up side by side with the tube style vents. I can only imagine the air quality in there. I would not feel safe working there. I value my lungs, and my health for that matter. The fumes from the torch just don't know they are supposed to go up there, some do I 'm sure, but most just circulates thru the room. In my oppinion, a hood or funnel to capture the fume equipped with an appropriate fan and ducting are the only way to protect yourself as much as you can. I torch 5 to 6 days a week, and proper ventilation is very important to me.
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Mary you are referring to the facebook page with my ventilation system. And I agree just using the tubes to catch the fumes would fail. But as you can read in the text (and now see in the picture gallery on facebook) I use a really strong fan (1,200 m³ 42.000 ft³).
There are a few advantages of this setup
- Tube opening is placed as close to the flame as possible, this ensures that fumes are not spread wide before
- It guides the hot air upwards where it would go naturally (It's a kind of a small hood)
- Air is mixed minimal with fresh air, which reduces required power
- The wider the entry is (funnel or hood) the more turbulence you get which results in mixing fresh air with fumes. Cooler mix might not tend upwards that much any more. As described you need a stronger fan to get the same result
I know the setup can be enhanced i.e. using tubes rather than the flex ones. I could reduce the power needed for the fan.
I think we all agree that the fumes are hot (otherwise all hoods etc. would fail). This means so simple as it sounds using the hands as temperature detector can show where the fumes are going. You have to make sure to test it with and without fan and with a bead etc. in the flame as well as without. If you can distinguish where the hot air goes and where the fresh air begins you can place whatever ventilation (hood, funnel, tube etc.) best. You need to test all combinations above with different torch settings.
This is no guarantee and no scientific proof. If you have any symptoms as described by several users trust them more than any of our proposals here. I had them really bad before I installed my ventilation and I'm sure this is not healthy.
But now I do classes with 6 torches for 7 hours and none of the attendees ever complained (I explicitly asked)!
Make sure your health is the most important thing in your hobby, you only got one.
PerlenFlo