I know similar topics have been covered in prior threads (I’ve done my homework, honest!), but I’m seeking a little more input for my particular situation…
I have a two-car garage shop, unheated and uncooled, with no gas appliances (they’re in an adjacent closet, but it has its own air supply from the roof for combustion). I live in Lubbock, Texas, where it’s rarely too hot or cold to be out in the shop without heat or a/c — for me, at least — I’m pretty impervious to anything from 25-95 degrees.
I use a shop vac for “chip collection.” For the fine stuff I open the overhead garage door at the front and the pedestrian door at the back and set up a house fan to draw air from one and out the other, depending on which way the wind is blowing. (The wind is always blowing in Lubbock!). I also tend to sand outside, and I have a cannister HEPA air filter that I turn on if I need to keep one of the doors closed. (Sometimes it can be too windy: http://youtu.be/wfuDFEZYHTE).
So my question is, given these conditions, should I bother investing in a traditional dust collection system?
Here’s why I ask: Bill Pentz says that most dust collection systems don’t do that great a job for fine dust anyway, and I think my air actually might be cleaner coming from the outside. And it seems like my situation, fortunately, just happens to avoid many of the pitfalls of exhausting dust outside (heat loss, possible asphyxiation from gas appliances, etc.). I’d rather get the dust out of the shop rather than collect it in the shop, anyway. I don’t want to collect dust; I want to get rid of it!
I’ve also considered that the house fan probably isn’t all that efficient standing in an open garage door. (It does make a noticeable breeze throught the shop, although of course its strongest directly in line with the fan.) So I’m thinking about knocking a hole in the back wall and putting in a 1600 CFM ventilation fan along these lines: http://tinyurl.com/bjpmewz
Thoughts?
Miles
Replies
Collecting Dust
People collect all sorts of things - figurines, art, guns, etc. I've never understood the concept behind collecting dust, however. ;-)
My situation is similar to yours, in that I don't have an officially-sanctioned dust-collection system. I have an old Craftsman shop vac that I use on the router table, and a Festool (HEPA) vac that I use with with those tools. Beyond that, I use gravity to collect the leftover dust on the floor, and a broom to move it around, as needed. Once a year, I might actually vacuum the floor, whether it needs it or not. My house is not equipped with a female humanoid unit, however, so a little dust tracked in from the garage-shop is not an issue for me.
My tolerance for cold, however, is not as well developed as yours. I insulated my metal garage door, and try to warm the shop up into at least the 40s in the winter. I'm in Rio Rancho, NM, at an elevation of about 5,500 feet, so winter days can start in the single digits, or low teens - a little too crisp for my old bones. We also have a fairly consistent breeze here (we don't call it "wind" until it gets above 40mph), so that often helps to clear the air, if needed. If that is too cold for me, I can always wear a dust mask and stay warm(er).
I'm not sure that the in-wall, high-volume fan is a good solution, though. While it might shorten the "clearing" time, it also provides a path for wind-driven rain, snow, etc. to enter the shop. Hanging the box fan in the passage door, or getting a higher-volume reciprocating fan on a stand might be a better solution, allowing you to decide when you want fresh outside air flowing through the shop.
Another consideration to mull is the social issue of a wood-dust haboob emenating from your shop door. Each female neighbor will assume that all of that dust will enter their home, as opposed to going elsewhere.
good point on the hole in the wall
Ralph, you're right -- I can see how I might end up regretting a hole in the wall. So prototype idea #2 would be the wall fan plus one of these on the outside: http://www.amazon.com/433-Automatic-Shutter-Powered-Ventilator/dp/B001E6DMEK/ref=pd_cp_hi_0
And maybe some kind of door on the inside to close up the hole when the fan's not needed ...
As to sending the dust out into the neighborhood, this is Lubbock -- who'd notice? In other places the clue that someone has mowed the lawn is that fresh-cut grass smell. Here, it's the lingering dust cloud!
Miles
Lawn?
I live in New Mexico. What is a lawn? ;-)
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