Venting with windows that have a crank open outward.. and Winter is coming

Hi,

Just bought Glowforge and understand that I can vent temporarily using my window open but I will need a more permanent solution soon as winter is coming.
Anyone have options on how to either vent with the types of windows that are opened vertically and to the outside (with a crank/lever to turn). My only other option is I have a sliding window but that is in my basement and when snow comes it will get buried…
Also how do you keep the cold from coming in your Glowforge and “breaking it” ?

Thanks for your help

It’s that time of year.

These discussions happen each winter, as you might imagine. I’m not sure what search terms to direct you toward here, but I might try “too cold” and go from there.

https://community.glowforge.com/search?context=topic&context_id=44386&q=%22Too%20cold%22&skip_context=true

There are solutions to be had but they boil down to “keep the GF open (and thus room temperature) when you’re not using it” and if you’re really in a cold cold area even making an exhaust quick disconnect so you can decouple entirely from the outside can be a necessary step.

As for venting solutions: if it’s at all possible cut a dryer vent hole and be done with it. Windows are always a bit of a compromise, a dedicated vent is best if you can swing it.

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Welcome to the forum.
There are lots of different solutions to venting here, and you might utilitze the search function to see several examples.

I have crank out windows and my solution was to use an extra screen for the window so that I could switch it in and out quickly. I cut foam floor mats to fit in the screen frame and taped all edges and seams. I cut a hole through the matting and screen large enough to accommodate a dryer flapper vent. This was taped securely as well. I then attached the vent hose to the flapper piece. In the winter, I crank open the window about 6" (to accommodate the flapper vent), remove the regular screen and switch to the screen that has the vent hose and mat. The mat material works pretty well to keep the cold air out and I have done no permanent damage to anything except a spare screen.

Other people have cut plexiglass to fit and build other ingenious solutions. Using the search tool will return lots of different examples of user solutions.

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I think that if you had a piece of acrylic that covered all the window that opened and put a 4" hole in that and a louvered exhaust if you can fit it between the acrylic and the closed window. Then if you open the window just while the Glowforge is cutting the acrylic will keep the cold air out, then when the window is closed it will keep the cold air out of the Glowforge.

If you cannot find a good enough exhaust, the bottom of a quart sized V-8 or similar makes an excellent connector for both ends of the exhaust hose.

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Yeah. Go to Home Depot and get yourself a large sheet of 1/4" Lexan. Bring it home and cut it to fit the opening in the window. Get a 4" hole saw and cut a hole in the lexan and run the vent through the hole (or get a dryer vent and attach the vent hose from the inside to that).

My GF is in my basement. I have casement windows that tilt open inward and not very much. Happily, a couple of weeks before I got my GF I smashed one of the windows with a weed wacker. At the time, I cut a sheet of lexan to fit the opening since I had some laying around. But when my GF showed up I ran my ceiling-light-pot hole saw (4") through the plastic and viola! I have a dryer vent going through the lexan. And since this was a basement casement window I just squirted a bunch of insulating foam around the edges to seal it. The way it’s mounted is reasonably secure. You can get it out but not with less effort than it’d take to smash a window. I subsequently cut a piece of insulating foam to also fit tightly in the window opening behind the lexan to give it a little more insulation since the installation is permanent. For a window like you describe, I’d make the panel so it’s easy to install and remove and isn’t permanent.

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Venting, since each case is a little different it is your first quiz.

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I have casement windows, but wanted better insulation (and lower cost) than a transparent material. I bought a big inexpensive sheet of pink foam insulation (the stuff with the pink panther on it) from Home Depot. It blocks the light from that particular window, and as a bonus shields my GF from direct sunlight.

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