Another inexpensive fume hood

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I wanted a fume extraction system but felt that the standard bathroom fan from the home improvement stores wasnt strong enough.All of these parts are off the shelf at Home Depot, for a total cost of about $80 or so, all found in the ductwork area of the store.The taped up area on the left has an inline duct booster fan, which is plugged into a receptacle which is controlled by the switch in the picture.The pull is adequate for rising smoke but gentle enough to not disturb the argon or argon/CO2 for tig or mig welding. It seems to work well enough to make welding relatively odor free (and presumably free enough of manganese, using stainless rod). I still try to wear the paper respirators under my hood when I use stainless.I havent tried this set up for stick or flux core but dont think it is strong enough for these, but for what I need it seems to be good enough-and cheap.Note the Harbor Freight fiberglass welding blanket, pulled back to show the wiring, and the cement board in front of the welding table. Safety first! Attached Images
Reply:nice does it work good that's a poor man fume extractionMILLERMATIC 212 AUTOSETMILLER BOBCAT 250MILLER DIALARC HFMILLER 15A SPOOLGUNMILLER S32P WIRE FEEDERTHERMAL ARC 186 AC/DCPAKMASTER 100XL PLUS
Reply:Is there a fan in there?miller xmt 304 w/ 22a feederdynasty 200dx tig runnerspeedglas 9100xvictor journeymen O/Aesab shadow 5000 shape cutterClausing Drill Press setAVIA d.r.o. milling machine ercolina ercobender 76baileigh hsp-66mJD2 notchmaster
Reply:Yes, an inline duct fan. They come in several sizes and run about $25-40 or so.Longevity Tigweld 200SXHobart 135 MigOxy acetylene rig,Victor journeyman torches
Reply:Nice & easy, works and it's cheap, good job. I would however, take a quick look at that exposed romex. Although it looks like you do mostly Tig welding. Any splattery process (Mig, stick) could potentially burn through the insulation and short circut. Other problem is if sparks burn most of the way through the insulation and cause arcing through the night and a potential fire while you're catching a few zzzzz's. Get some BX armour cladding (it's cheap) and slip it over the exposed romex, youre done in no time and you've covered your yazz. Not aware if that electrical situation is against code there but it sure is against code here. Insurance agencies will use the most meager of excuses to deny payouts, this really looks like that kind of situation to me, please take no offense. One last suggestion, the ducting is hanging off of the light fixture and if the wiring goes askew inside the fixture, it has the potential of energizing the duct, creating a potential hazard Throw a piece of rope or chain over the joist to hang it from, don't forget about or old 'friend', Murphy. Is that a piece of cloth or a welding screen there?  Keep up the good work! Last edited by bearston; 03-16-2013 at 06:47 PM.When a welder tells you to "stick it", what do they really mean?"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
Reply:Great suggestion about metal cladding for the romex. The cloth is fiberglass welding screen and the wires are actually behind it but I'm sure this isnt up to code. No stick welding or flux core mig either just for the reason you mentioned-too many sparks. Also good point about energizing the duct. Cheap shouldnt mean dangerous!Longevity Tigweld 200SXHobart 135 MigOxy acetylene rig,Victor journeyman torches