I have some questions that I could some opinions on…
1 is on exhaust fan and 1 is on operating temperature.
1- I bought the 6" Cloud exhaust fan with 4"-6" adapter, 6 " vent tubing, and 6" louvered vent to outside.
Question- How close can the exhaust fan be to GF. Can I connect directly it to the adapter (on GF) and then into tubing and out vent. (reason why is I have limited space)
2- I live in Las Vegas (hotter than hell here) and I have the GF in my shop (1800sq ft) to big for A/C unit inside.
So the first question mentions I don’t have enough space, let me explain.
The shop will get over 90-95 during summer so way out of range. So I have a storage room I built in the shop, I was thinking of using an A/C unit in the wall of the storage room to cool the room so that is why I have limited space.
Questions- Is a swamp cooler no go? Or is a regular A/C a better option? And I thought I read storing in higher than 81 is also not recommended. It is advised that I leave the A/C on all the time to keep temp within range?
As long as the humidity stays below 25-30% I think a swamp cooler would work in the summer, but in the winter going below 30 degrees long enough to form ice in the glass would be asking for a tragedy. Think of it as a pet. If you would be uncomfortable, it will be uncomfortable. If your garage would feel uncomfortable to live there 24/7 your Glowforge will not be either. I lived with a swamp cooler for several years in Tucson and while there would be days you could not run the Glowforge it would get a lot cooler at night. I also delivered newspapers in 19-degree weather and would never want a Glowforge subjected to that. Las Vegas of course is a lot cooler than Tucson.
The optimal placement for the fan would be at the end of the exhaust run. That way the entire length is being sucked through instead of pushed through. Any run downstream of the fan will be under pressure, so any leaks will push smoke out also. As long as the run is perfectly sealed you can put it where it works for your space.
I think an evaporative cooler will be fine, I have used one exclusively for almost 5 years here in Denver.
1- No matter where you place the fan, it’s no closer than the one you’re replacing on the back of the case. You won’t be too close, just remember to turn off the internal fan.
2- Your Glowforge is an indoor pet. It can’t tolerate extreme temperatures (<40F or >120F) or extreme humidity (<10% humidity or >75%), per the operating environment chapter of your user manual. Whatever kind of air conditioning keeps the humidity in that range is what you’ll want.
If you’re going to leave the machine hooked up to the ventilation permanently, you’ll want a blast gate to separate the indoor from outdoor air when the fan isn’t running. The louvred vent cap alone won’t do that job. You can print one using your Glowforge.