Anyone consider running the exhaust into a ceiling fan? I have a half-bath roughed in with a completed ceiling fan that I’m not using as a bathroom. I was thinking that would make a perfect way of venting the Glowforge – am I insane for thinking this or has anyone got some practical advice for how to make that work?
as long as it vents to the outside and not just into the attic
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Yes – it vents outside
I expect this would work well, and probably do a great job to dispersing odors outside so as to be completely unnoticeable, as well.
I have rigged mine to vent out of my fireplace and it works fine, so I don’t see why that wouldn’t work well.
You can expect a loss of venting efficiency with a really long run, and the ceiling fan is likely nowhere near enough draw to match what the gf is shoving out. It’ll probably work but it’s probably not ideal without a proper booster fan.
the other consideration is that when they vent a bathroom, they’re probably not as anal about making sure every inch is sealed. so you may have some leakage along the way which may contribute to some odors.
@shop …leaks of potentially toxic fumes…
I worry about the likely build-up of residue and having to clean it out.
@nancielaing Is the residue a fire hazard like creosote would be? I wonder if the stuff lights.
In short, I would be more likely to give it a separate path.
Had to read down a bunch of responses before I got the image of a “ceiling fan” out of my head!
Not even the mention of the bathroom removed the image of whirling wood blades.
I should clearly get back to work, I don’t have the brain power to be here 
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Haha! Perfect! 
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I don’t think it will push enough air to handle what the glowforge puts out. My guess is that the average bathroom vent fan only moves about 1/4 of what the glowforge puts out.
If you could seal it fully, it might work.
The moooorrrre you knowwwwwww… 
Also make sure it’s actually vented to the outside–many horror stories of bathroom fans just being run into the attic space and not to the outside… cheap contractors or homeowners taking short cuts (also lived in a house once w/ it done that way until it got fixed).
My kitchen hood vented to the attic when I bought the house. So lazy, it was the first thing I fixed.
Actually what are the specs for the air volume that the Glowforge pushes through?
Bunch of discussion and info about CFM linked here:
Mine is set up that way. It’s in a closet that formerly served as my grandson’s temporary nursery while the kids were living with us, and my SIL installed a vent in it that ties into the bathroom vent system so they could put a free-standing AC in there in the summer. So my GF now vents through the bathroom vent system, and it works fine.
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