This is my second summer with my GF and currently, it’s located in my garage. With summer time here, (I’m in AZ) I know I won’t be using it in the hotter temps but I’m wondering if I need to bring it inside so it’s not just sitting in the garage. Last summer I used it inside my house but I’d like to avoid that since it does get pretty stinky. I have a cover for it so it helps keep it clean but I’m wondering about the heat and how it will effect it.
I’d love to get some sort of cooler for the time I’m in here working but it wont be on all day unless obvi I’m in here all day.
This can be fixed. Using an external booster fan installed at the end of the exhaust run has two big benefits, one is it’s so much quieter than the machine’s internal fan, and it will pull the smoke out instead of pushing it, so any leak will be drawing air in instead of pushing stink out.
You know what stinks we had one of those filters! We bought it when we got the gf but figured we’d rig up some sort of window thing so the hose can go outside. As blocked off as we had it, it still stunk. A lot /:
I’m curious if anyone has experience with the filter unit?
Also, thank you for the response! I appreciate it.
The official filter works really well, I wouldn’t call it a last resort at all. You do have to be careful about what you cut with it. Things like MDF make really sticky smoke and will clog it up fast. But acrylic, leather, glass engraving, real Baltic birch plywood, etc, you can easily go months and months on a single filter cartridge.
I am not sure where you are in AZ. I am in Phoenix. During the summer, any environment without air conditioning is way above the operating temperature of the Glowforge.
I mostly vent out the window, using an inline fan in place of the internal fan. It works well but, it can be challenging to get it all air-tight.
I also have a filter unit from Glowforge. I sometimes switch to using it when cutting acrylic (mostly so the neighbors don’t have to smell it). The smell is nearly undetectable when using the filter. You do need to be aware of the issue @eflyguy and @ekla mentioned if you don’t have a large budget for filter media.
You, fortunately, are not likely to see 75% humidity, but I have seen 0% humidity for weeks at a time. However, in an exposed garage, my biggest worry would be the cold in the winter as well below freezing can kill a GF even if you are not there. In Summer, even at night, I would think it hard to operate the Glowforge as getting under 80degrees just from residual heat in a garage would be a challenge.
Think of it as an indoor pet that you do not want to be uncomfortable.
we had one of those filters! We bought it when we got the gf but figured we’d rig up some sort of window thing so the hose can go outside. As blocked off as we had it, it still stunk. A lot /: