Exhaust - and not being a bad neighbor

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My Glowforge arrived last night and this has been me since I got the shipping email yesterday morning:

But now I am realizing that I did not fully think through the exhaust issue. Glowforge is going to live in our first floor office and my current plan is to have an HVAC guy install a dryer vent to send it directly outside.

Am I going to be the worst neighbor ever if the exhaust goes into the 8’ space between our house and our neighbor’s? Or is that enough space for the exhaust to dissipate and not pose a smell/health problem?

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I run mine at ground level right out of the front window. The plume goes about 2 or 3 feet and dissipates really quickly, even with no wind.

And my cats typically lounge around a few feet away, so it’s not bothering them - even with the noise from the fan.

You can smell a little something if you’re standing right over it, but it’s pretty minimal.

So you’re probably okay.

And Congratulations! :sparkler::heart::tada::confetti_ball::tanabata_tree::grin:

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If your vents (dryer, heater and A/C) and theirs are in that same 8 foot area, it probably won’t be noticed that much.

If they have windows/doors that open up in the space, they will definitely notice.

If you own your house, the HVAC guy can extend the vent up to help put some distance and it will disperse easier.

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Thanks much. And, um, yeah, their kitchen is directly across from where the exhaust would be, which is why I’m particularly concerned.

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Congrats BTW!!!

I am so excited to see people getting their GF :glowforge: and joining in the forums…

Now if only my Pro would ship out (oh wait … I need the golden ticket/email first :persevere: )

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The smell dissipates pretty quickly outside… most of the time. I gotta say, long acrylic engraves do seem to linger in the air quite a bit longer.

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You are doing them a favor, most people spend a lot on a good smoker.

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Oh lord yes…forgot to say…avoid Extruded Acrylics at all cost. Go with Cast. The extruded are the exception to the “it’s not so bad” rule. :sneezing_face:

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I am also getting worried about annoying my neighbors.
When I had my beta unit it was just parked in my office with exhaust out a window into the back yard.
Now that I have my production unit I am moving it into its home in the basement. I plan to exhaust into the median between us and a neighbor that is maybe 12’- 16’ (never actually measured). Within the last month some new people have moved in to that house, and not only do we actually like them, but they have a 2 YO whose bedroom window is right above the ground level exhaust spot. :frowning:

I was testing some wool felt last night and I went outside to give it the sniff test. Yuck.

Now I am researching a straight forward DIY filter using off-the-shelf parts loosely based on this one Fume Coffin.

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It would all depend upon what might trigger your neighbor’s ire. One never knows. What bugs some people are absolutely ignored or not even noticed by others. They might not be particularly aware of a smell, but a high pitched whine that seems to linger in the background for an hour or so at a time might be an issue. When I have been outside near my exhaust, I haven’t particularly noticed smell. More so the sound. Here’s hoping that it isn’t a problem for you and you can just exhaust straight out.

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Ha! Guess I’ll stick to cutting wood only then so they can make the most of it.

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Thanks much! I have been a consistent lurker on the forums with the occasional post… but with good reason to be more active now!

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I can smell my glowforge down the street, and hear it too…

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You and I both but, hey chalk up another $20 certificate/voucher for waiting = more supplies so not so bad, although I really would like my Pro to arrive.

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I don’t like my neighbor on one side so guess where I exhaust? :smiley: #passiveaggressive #culdesaclife #hopetheymove

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Hahaha! A favorite quote - “If you have a neighbor who’s an asshole, chances are he does too.”

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Ha that’s great

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Now that we’re a good chunk of time in with having our babies, have any of you ended up having neighbor issues? I do a LOT of acrylic and my neighbor complained just as I was happening to order a BOFA filter in March. Fast forward to yesterday, I found an inspection notice on my front door from the city. The carbon in my BOFA croaked unusually fast (should have lasted ~1 year) and my neighbor called the city on me. The new carbon module comes Monday and the inspector is coming a week later so I’m not too concerned, as it was just a temporary thing anyways and now I’m going to keep an extra carbon module on-hand in case it happens again. I know I certainly wouldn’t want to smell that either.

But I’m curious if any others have had neighbor issues. It really makes me wish we lived in the middle of nowhere. I don’t really want to be “THAT” neighbor…

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if your neighbors are complaining about the smell while you’re using a BOFA indoors, how bad has it been indoors for you?

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Haha! I guess I missed a detail. The BOFA by default exhausts into the room. So I bought the spigot attachment to vent scrubbed air outside to minimize heat in the room. So unfortunately my neighbor was smelling it but I wasn’t. I’d say that as-is, the BOFA is killing about 60% of the smell. I do feel bad - like I said…I wouldn’t want to smell that either! Now I have it venting right in my garage. I hit the button & don’t linger, and the smell is gone in a couple of hours.

When the BOFA was new my first cut was a big project with black acrylic. Zero odor coming out of it. Excited for the new carbon module to show up Monday.