I purchased a Glowforge and expect it to arrive in a week. Super excited! I plan to keep it 20 feet from the nearest window. I realize I will need to purchase more 4" exhaust line but am wondering if I need an in-line fan due to the length.
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Thereâs lots of discussion of inline fans throughout the forum with great information and even product selections. Youâll find an inline fan greatly improves the quality of life around your Glowforge while itâs operating; you can turn off the built-in fan through a GUI option and the inline fan is much quieter.
I ended up upgrading from a 4-in fan to a 6-in fan so I could move more air and have less smoke hanging around inside my Glowforge during operation.
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Yes, the built in fan has a hard time with exhaust runs more than 6â long. Youâll definitely love the bonus quieter operation @timjedwards talks about.
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Even if you were right next to the window, I would recommend an inline fan. Just to reduce the noise. The 6 inch models work well for most people.
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I agree with Mark and the others, you do need one with that exhaust length but the noise reduction is amazing. Put the fan as close to the building exit as possible, that way the entire length of the run is under negative pressure and any leak will be sucking air instead of blowing smoke. Welcome to the funhouse! 
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There are numerous posts here in the forum that in a nutshell say 'why didnât I do this sooner?" in regards to an inline fan. Get a good 6".
Search âinline fanâ.
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Or wait for your brother to upgrade his 4" to 6", and grab his leftover 4". Right, @timjedwards? 
Iâm perfectly happy with my hand-me-down 4", so donât fret if you canât afford the bigger one.
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I purchased the gf filter with the GFU but only recently installed it in a closed shop area. Greatly helped the noise and smoke issues as I was cutting both proofgrade and box store plywood. Unfortunately after about 20 hours of cutting the filter âfilledâ and ceased to evacuate as expected and needed in a closed environment. I built a pre-filter ahead of the GF filter to help reduce the amount of residue entering the GF filter which helped alot. The prefilter was much less expensive but requires replacement every few hours of printing but it definitely extends the life of the expensive filter required for the GF Filter unit. In addition I installed an inline fan with approximately 190 cfm air flow and vented in directly outside by installing a âclothes dryerâ duct through the wall for all of my general printing. I am reserving the GF Filter for important and toxic cuts. The cost of the Compact filter and replacement cartridges ($~250) must be considered in the use of the GFU . I now have the best of both worlds but hesitated to install the dryer duct as it compromised the exterior of my building. Glad I did it.
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