Ventilation through a wall - does this look good?

Hi. I recently got my glowforge pro and absolutely loving it. Currently I’ve been venting out the window using the 4” exhaust hose I received with the machine.

I’ve been researching about permanent ventilation through wall in my home office on second floor.

I plan on adding a 4 to 6” adapter to printer exhaust and from there everything will be 6” i.e., exhaust hose (8ft), 6” AC infinity fan, AC infinity backdraft damper, vent duct connector | wall | 6” dryer vent hood.

Going with all 6” for better exhaust.

Do I still need a blast gate? Or backdraft damper would be enough? I live in Seattle and I am worried about colder months since we get snow every year now. (I looked at getting a plug for hole in wall option but it looked complicated taking it out every time using the printer.)

I liked this blast gate idea Glowforge mounted blast gate @DaveStruve

Looking forward to suggestions… Thanks!

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Blast gates are leaky. I’d go with a louvered vent.

Like this:

Livtor Plastic Louvered 6 Inches Dryer Vent Cover Outdoor(Total Unit Size 8 Inches x 8 Inches) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08B4QPWDC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_8RYRYX7TAX8BQ4JY75N0

On the absolute coldest nights you can leave the front door of your glowforge open, then your machine will stay room temp.

The louvers will prevent back flow. I’ve had a setup like this for 4 years and it’s great.

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Thank you for your reply and sharing the link.

  1. Do you think backdraft damper is not necessary with louvered vent then?

  2. No issues with rain water with this kind of louvered vent?

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Nope and not that I’ve seen. If you put it in direct downpour maybe it’s be an issue but most walls have overhangs that prevent direct hits like that, yeah?

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Heh

Louvers are leaky. I’d go with a blast gate. :stuck_out_tongue:

Honestly, having the blast gate on the back of your machine is easy to open/close and it along with a louvered vent means you’re doubly protected.

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You can get something that opens / closes with air pressure (I have one) but they need to be cleaned monthly or they jam. (from the soot)

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I have both a vent with a flap and a blast gate. I am more concerned with the humidity in the summer when it is 90 degrees and 90% humidity outside and 70 degrees and 45% humidity in my basement. Without the blast gate, i am concerned about condensation inside the fan and GF when the hot humid air hits equipment.

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My 2¢ is to use both. The flaps will keep out birds and most bugs, and the blast gate will keep out the rest.

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If you add a bend into your system you can ignore rain in pretty much any non-flooding situation, and the total run length you’re looking at the bend would be largely irrelevant from an airflow-restriction point of view.

Just bend down a couple inches before going into the wall, make sure the wall penetration has a slight slope to the exterior (to avoid water pooling at the elbow) and no rational amount of rain will reach the GF.

…heck, even just adding the slight slope would suffice in most (all?) cases (and is a good idea in any case) but I am generally a fan of pointless over-engineering so why not go for the gusto and add a bend.

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Thank you so much for your replies. I sure was losing my mind overthinking about ventilation :smile:

This is the hood vent I’ve finalized on

Once everything is installed, I will cut out the blast gate and try it out!

Will share a final setup picture too :slight_smile:

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put a sign on your start button reminding you to 'open the blast gate" :stuck_out_tongue:

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Yes for sure! Lol