As I understand, they do have a shelf life. I recall Glowforge stating they were still determining what that will be, since they’re custom tubes.
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The gas charge leaking is the factor I think, which made me wonder if the charge is pressurized?
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I tried to do this with my previous laser – and that’s one of the reasons I got rid of it. The window is large – 5’ tall by 4’ wide. And it opens side to side like a sliding glass door. Installing and uninstalling a 5’ tall by 2’ wide replacement window/venting ensemble repeatedly (sometimes in the same day) didn’t work for me. Nor was it odor-proof. Plus every time I did that, I risked a $25 per day fine from the HOA.
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I didn’t realize there would be some confusion about the fact that I was venting. Nowhere in my post did I ask for help or advice. I’ve spent the last few months diligently looking for a replacement air filter solution that would work for me in my situation. There isn’t one – hence my frustration over having to delay receipt of the GF until the air filter arrives.
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When I post that I have no choice but to wait for the air filter because venting is not an option and someone comes in and asks me if I’m sure there isn’t a window or garage available, that question implies I’m too simple to have considered those options. Perhaps my perception is incorrect, but I found the question condescending. How could I not know if a window or garage was available? So what the question was really asking was for me to convince the readers that I’d searched all available options and reached the correct conclusion. As if the venting of my laser is somehow to be decided by forum consensus.
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Yes, I’ve seen that some people have done that. I’d have to remove both the washer and the dryer to vent through the dryer vent. Besides the problems this would create as far as no longer having a washer and dryer (not a viable option), the laundry area is on the first floor and my office and studio are on the second floor.
I don’t have a fireplace so there is no chimney. Having one installed is more than I bargained for when I purchased the GF. If I was willing to go to those lengths and that expense, I wouldn’t have waited 2+ years for the GF. One of the deciding factors for me on the GF was the air filter.
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I would venture that it is a permanent venting situation. what if you had to put in a Window AC unit?
Hmmm why not get a used window AC unit. take the housing off, and use that to disguise your vent?
In reality, I would think that venting only when you are using it is NOT the problem the HOA is trying to prevent.
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Those aren’t allowed either. But they’re not necessary. We have central a/c.
The HOA doesn’t want anything on the front of the house that detracts from the view from the street. And I agree with that rule.
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I do the same thing, but at the end of my wife venting, I usually start with “I’m sorry.” (Even if she is venting about something that happened at work or something that I was not in any way involved in). Then I give her the type of response she’s looking for.
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Well my cousin had terrible allergies when he was little, and they had a special AC unit for his room, so all of the allergens wouldn’t circulate through the whole house and pound him while he slept.
but Clearly you can’t use that “excuse”.
I would look at a rainbow machine as a way to handle your filter issues. they suck everything into a water bath which would take out everything from the Glowforge.
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Yes, your perception was very incorrect, but you don’t need to worry about it, because I’m not ever going to bother you again.
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Mine too. But I had to adapt. Sorry about not picking up on the vent only post. Probably one of the many reasons I am single.
Best of luck to you whatever you decide.
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Unpossible, the HOA prohibits venting.
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Our old HOA fined us if we opened our front facing blinds. Lol. They had to be white, plantation style, and closed.
They also fined us for having a dead tree (it was a foreclosed house, so the tree had been dead for a long time and looked terrible) and then fined us for removing the dead tree (“altering the landscape”) without permission.
Some HOAs do not mess around. They probably would have excommunicated us if we had tried to put in a window AC unit.
The neighborhood wasnt even that nice, either.
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Big advantages to actually owning your land.
You can put a huge GO AWAY sign at the front of your driveway and mean it. Plus you can paint your house fire engine red (or any other shade that gives you a tingle).
Had to comment because of that blinds statement. Just so over reaching it is ludicrous. They put windows on the front of a house for a purpose, not because it looks good.
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Your comment made me giggle, and it also reminded me of a chance encounter with the fellow who owns this place in Jerome, AZ (it’s an old bordello turned art gallery):
When we asked him about his unusual decor, he said
“I don’t trust people who keep neat yards. You’ve gotta have some individuality. People live in these places where they want to tell you how tall your house can be and what colors you’re supposed to paint it, and it makes them small. When you live in a place where everything looks the same, everyone starts to think the same too. Soon, you just stop living cause you’re so busy worrying about who has a bigger car or a better house.”
Words to live by, IMO 
And no offense or judgement to the OP. Our last place had an uptight HOA, their rules/attitude made me crazy.
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There are many filter systems out there for laser use, but none of them are at the price point of the GF filter unfortunately.
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to be fair, that goes both ways. the HOA can protect you from your neighbor parking cars on blocks next door, leaving old toilets on his porch, and painting his whole house bright purple and green, thus killing your property value when you sell.
the problem with HOAs is when they go overboard and the ridiculously inane rules get put in place by crazy people. in and of themselves, they’re not all bad. it’s the people involved who make them so.
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CLOSED always? why did they bother putting windows on the fronts of the homes.
I wouldn’t do well in a place like that.
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The rainbow venting sounds intriguing. I consulted Google for instructions on how to do that but didn’t find an actual rainbow vacuum being used. How does it work? What kind of connections would I need?
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