I have over 30’ of duct and a 6" inline fan (the economical Vivosun, not the overpriced Inifity) and you could almost poke a pencil thru the gaps I have in my window insert, and I get no fumes or smoke in my house (except for when I forget or don’t bother to turn it on.) Nothing is taped up, just decent clamps.
I wonder if you got a bad fan.
It’s pulling the exhaust through…the tubing puffs up a bit and I can see the smoke being pulled to the back corner. I’m so so frustrated. I want to make some acrylic products but I’ve been avoiding it since it was overwhelming the first time I tried. Birch is bad enough.
Is there any other way I’d know if my fan was bad?
Does it smell during cutting or just after?
If it’s a lingering smell after the cut let it run a min before lifting the lid and keep it running for a bit after you lift up the parts so it’ll suck out the smoke that gets trapped underneath.
Only other thing is maybe that tube run itself just isn’t air tight and it’s leaking all over.
It smells during and after cutting. I keep the Infinity running the whole time. I usually wait a bit when it’s done cutting and then keep the fan going when I open it and pick up the cut pieces. I have turned off lights and used a flashlight to check for leaks and can’t detect anything. I have felt around the joints of the S6 and all around the hoses and feel no air leak either. I really need to cut some acrylic but it’s not bearable. I am cutting only birch right now and it is a strong enough smell that I don’t want to try anything else.
Edited to add: I’m so sorry, I was repeating a lot of what I already said. I used the “reply to email” feature thinking I was actually replying to GF support who hadn’t referenced all my details. 
No problem. Is it possible you have one of those super sniffers that can pick up whiffs others miss? I’ve only ever tossed the hose out the window and yes, acrylic stank for about a day in the house but was only bad for the first few hours. The wood is barely detectable, but I find it pleasant. I’ve got an in-line nearly set up. Just have to cut a hole through the insulated styrofoam layers I glued together for the window. Also using an insulated(not insulted) 4” hose duct.
I’ll be starting a new thread when I do get it going properly.
What did you do to tick it off??
Called it a hose.
Thanks for the reply. I think I messed up my notifications when I was messing around with them. I had no idea anyone replied. I’ll check out the fan you linked. My GF sits right next to the window, but I think I’m losing my hearing from the sound. 
I might have a slightly sensitive nose, who knows. (Nose? lol) My son says it’s pretty strong too, but he could be sensitive too.
I emailed GF support and they suggest that I take the inline fan out to see what it does. I haven’t tried this yet simply because it is heavily taped to the fan and the window vent. I’ll see if maybe I have extra hose so I don’t have to completely undo all my taping work. But they suggested that my GF might not be expelling enough air in my current configuration. Isn’t that the point of the inline fan? To boost it? I feel like I’m going crazy trying to figure this out. A friend of mine is an engineer and took a look at it briefly the other day (though we didn’t get time to actually cut something) and he said everything looked good. He fixed an issue with my window vent and I honestly thought that was the whole issue. (I had left the heavy metal flap on, thinking there was enough air flow to push it open…but we removed it. I was literally feeling an idiot thinking this was 100% of the problem and what an easy fix it was and how I overlooked it! But no, it didn’t fix it all, though I think it helped.)
It also helps if the fan is the last right before the window, that way if there are any pinholes the fan sucks them into the hose, rather than push through hose then outside.
Edit not my picture, my drawings was waaaay to ugly to post
No tube between the fan and the window? I’m trying to picture that. (I’m impressed with the straight line of this pic, whoever it belongs to!)
So I felt the outside of my vent while running the machine and it gave a STRONG air feel. That’s a good sign that the S6 is working, right? I know that doesn’t necessarily mean the fumes are being pulled from the machine, but it’s hopefully one good sign.
I need to bite the bullet and pull off some tape to take the fan out. GF wants me to test that first.
Mine looks pretty much like the picture currently, (but not as orderly or without a mess)
with the modification the fan will be right on the wall and the hose will connect to it.
I’m gonna have to make some sort or support to be able to hold the fan.
Not to worry I have a 
I ordered this fan yesterday. It is a black Friday special on Amazon, so I got it for 52.
I’m sure you all have gotten the email about the buy one/get one half off for the air filters. I’m tempted because I just never had all this smell with my Compact filter and maybe I can keep it on standby for acrylic especially. I hate hate hate to spend the money after all the money put into my current set up, but then again, my Compact filter is a $900 brick in my garage right now…
I had no interest in the filter. When I first saw the concept, it was a picture of a piece that sat under the GF. I thought that was cool. But when they released that small one, I didn’t want it. I don’t mind venting out a window, though some day, the neighbors will probably hate me. 
I actually went outside yesterday while I was cutting and I couldn’t smell a thing even though I was 5 feet away from where I vent from. But it was very windy.
Well, I finally unhooked the S6 to vent straight from the machine to the window. GF support asked me to test that out. It’s just as bad. I honestly can’t figure this out and don’t have a clue what to do next. I bought a Coway air purifier (not a super $$$$ one, but it still had some decent reviews for smoke fumes, etc.) and it reads red for air quality pretty quickly after starting to cut. Just waiting to hear back from support now that I’ve vented the supported way and it still is too strong. 
Does Glowforge have a phone number for support? I am not getting very prompt, thorough or helpful replies through their email support. I have multiple orders to make and nothing is helping. I have tried a million setups and adjustments. I was going to just break down and order a new filter for my Compact Filter to buy me some time but they are sold out. How do people who rely on those vent? Are they sold anywhere else?
No to that. There is a corporate number but it’s answering machine only. They specify there will be no return call or support.
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