There’s actually plexi-glass–eighth inch thick–in the window frame, between us and the open window. It fits the entire window area and sits where the screen typically screen sits and has silver tape all around the edges. It’s just hard to see in the photo.
Honestly the first thing I’d do is run the same tests next to a fireplace or circular saw. I’m guessing you’ll see similar numbers. Then run them in the hall outside your spare bedroom, I’m betting they’ll be barely noticeable.
If you can smell/taste it I’d worry, but unless you’re running it full time we constantly do things that put bad air into our houses, but we also let clean air happen so it’s a balance.
If you are running it constantly then it may be time to add in the cost of constant filtering, but as draftboard is the dirtiest thing you can cut that’s gonna be pricey.
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I have an extended exhaust run and started out with the aluminum tape, but couldn’t kill the odor. Ended up sealing every joint and seam in the 4" metal vent pipe with a bead of caulk instead. every wrinkle in the tape is a potential source. I found I had to seal the booster housing as well like you did.
Took me almost a month after getting the machine to finally nail it. Zero smell now when operating.
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I agree with you, @deirdrebeth, in the sense that we’re not using it nearly enough to worry too much. But it does smell some (and certainly the numbers are worse than they are even in our garage which can get pretty dusty), and it is aggravating, given how much I’ve done already to try to get things right. I’ll probably keep at it, maybe doing some caulking as per @PrintToLaser’s suggestion, including around the window frame itself, which may be part of the problem. Ultimately, I may have to replace the window to a simple double-hung, which will simplify things considerably. From what I’ve read it sounds like it takes most people some time to get it right, so I’ll just keep plugging away at it. I’m pretty sure I’ve solved harder problems eventually! Thanks for the support!
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Hi Dan! I was wondering if you would mind sharing how you set your window up for venting? I will be getting my first glowforge here shortly and would like to get a pretty seamless setup the first go around.
The sample materials that came with my Glowforge included 2 sheets of clear acrylic.
- I glued them together to match the width of my window.
- I spray painted one side white, to make it better match the white plastic window trim.
- I laser cut a hole in one side of the acrylic sheets to match the size of a louvred vent cap (probably from Home Depot or Lowes, I forget), which I then glued into the hole.
- I put my new “window insert” into the window, and shut the window on top of it.
- I connected the dryer vent hose to the vent cap in the window with the clamp that came with the Glowforge.
That’s what’s shown in my photo.
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Thank you so much!!
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