Heavy Duty Venting Advice

[mgerke]

Hi all! I’ve recently discovered inline fan upgrades and I’m ready to upgrade my system. Only problem is I’m moving to a new location soon where my only option to vent outside is 20+ feet up. I know I’m going with the AC Infinity fan I just can’t decide what size. Definitely no smaller than the 6” but I was wondering if the 8” would be more effective over this distance? Does anybody have experience or advice on a system like this?

I’ve also been reading about a larger vent tube diameter to give more room for airflow. Do any of you have advice on using a 6” (or 8” if I went with 8” fan) tubing? Do you think this will be more effective?

And bonus points on any advice on getting the fan up that high since I know you want the fan as close to the exit as possible.

Any and all advice on venting is appreciated! Thanks for your time!

[evansd2]

Hey welcome to the forum. You’re asking the right questions in the right place.

@dwardio?

This post is worth a read:

Re-vamped venting setup

For over a year, Trogdor and then Arges were ventilated with the tried-and-true dryer hose out the window method. My workshop is in the basement, so the only way to vent outside was out through a window well… [IMG_1363] For a variety of reasons, I wasn’t 100% satisfied with this setup. Do you know how hard it is to make an egress window air-tight?:tired_face: Over the past few months, I decided that exhausting out and up past our roofline was the way to go. Not only would it keep the exhaus…

I’ve always admired that setup. The basics are that air flows better in smoother passages that are larger in size. So yeah larger diameters are better for airflow,as is a smooth pathway, free of internal rough surfaces and curves.

As for larger fans? Generally they push more air, but also they can run at lower RPMs that are inherently quieter. If you go to 6 or 8” size ducting and fans the limiting factor for your airflow will likely become the 4” opening from your glowforge, as well as any internal fans/cooling systems (in the pro) that cause resistance.

HVAC pros will have a lot more knowledge, there are ways to calculate these things. Heck there may be an online calculator that will tell you your expected airflow these days, I haven’t looked in a while. Conventional wisdom says that anything up around 200 cfm for a performance model is adequate. More is generally better,

[eflyguy]

All I can offer is my experience, using the same setup for many years. A cheap (but near silent) vivosun 6” fan with 25’ of 4” duct taking a circuitous route to the fan, an adapter (that I made myself) up to 6”, then a 6” hose out the window. Worked great, no odors in the workroom, and my machine was noticeably cleaner as a result of the better evacuation of debris/smoke.. On that machine, I had remove the built-in exhaust fan when it failed, which was better than the duct fan alone, then eventually (after I was well out of warranty) cut away the restrictve grate that was on there leaving just a gaping hole.

[dwardio]

@evansd2

I’ve always admired that setup. The basics are that air flows better in smoother passages that are larger in size. So yeah larger diameters are better for airflow,as is a smooth pathway, free of internal rough surfaces and curves.

Yup! I’ve had that setup for over seven(!) years now and have never regretted it. It works so well that it now exhausts two lasers either singularly or simultaneously.