Glasscraft Vent Hood is coming! Yahoo! Have a couple questions???

[Glassygal]

Yeah! I just got an email that my new custom Glasscraft hood is arriving from Santa on the 20th. I am so fricken excited! I was a good girl this year and Santa ordered me a Large Glasscraft vent hood with two fans in it so I can use both my torches at the same time with it.

We are planning on hanging it over my workbench that sits in front of the window. I work in a garage that has a large garage door, a side window and a door beside the window that leads out to the back of the house.

Our plan was to hang it over the table, and vent the hood out the window. We were going to cut a piece of plexi glass with two holes for each tube. Then fit the plexi glass in the window and keep the screen in place to protect from bugs.

Does this sound like it will be ok?

How low do I need to hang the hood?

Do I need to keep the side door open for "make up" air or can I just use a ocilating fan?

I would like to be able to work with the garage door closed. Is this possible?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.. I am so fricken excited!

[BioImage]

You will definitely need to keep a door (hopefully away from your vent port) for make up air. An oscilating fan just stirs air around - it won't replace the air moved outside by your exhaust hood. I made a cover for my exhaust port that cna be move to cover the pipe when I'm not working. It helps control passive air flow and keeps bugs out. I think you'll find that a screen will slow your airflow noticeably. My hood sits about 24 inches above the table top for better draw. Don't hang it much higher than that or you won't pull air from behind you to keep you face clear of the torch exhaust plume, especially with 2 torches running.

Robert S

[Glassygal]

You will definitely need to keep a door (hopefully away from your vent port)

Ok.. this confused me a little. What is my vent port? My door is about 2-3 feet to the side of the window that I am going to run the vents out of.

[Cheng076]

If I read your description correctly you will not get good flow from the setup you described. Reason; the makeup air is comming from very near the hood and from the side. That hood setup will have enough volumn of flow but it will flow into the hood (which serves to concentrate and direct the flow ) bypassing you and the torch. The make up air should come from behind and around you so you get first crack at the clean air, then over the torch and up the hood. How far from the window or wall is your torch? Remember that plexiglass softens with heat and may not hold up. It's also more expensive than other less flamable materials such as cement board which doesn't transmit light unfortunately;-)
BTW - congrats on the hood; they are nice units. I would really like to see you using 2 torches at the same time..... way cool!! But I guess DH does glass also;-))
PJH

[BioImage]

The vent port (as I used the word) means where your duct from you hood passes out through the window. When an exhaust hood is running it is pulling air out of your work space. You need to have an equal amount of fresh air coming into the space to 'make up' the volume. Preferably this air will come from behind you so that all of the combustion gasses from your torch will be pulled up and way from you and blown out the window. You need to be sure that the window where the duct from your hood exhausts is not right next to the window for make up air. You don't want to pull the same stuff back into your room. I have used plexiglas baffles on the sides of my hood to improve air flow, but use a piece of sheet metal suspended directly in front of the torch. All of these can be attached to the sided of your hood with small bolt/nut combinations. They will help direct the air flow into the hood from the side where you are sitting and will improve the draw away from you and your torch.

Robert S