carbon monoxide

[eddy merckx]

I am wondering if anyone has tried exhausting their dust collector outside. I read on Bill Pentz's site that doing so could draw carbon monoxide out of the furnace and into the room. I do have to share the garage with an oil furnace although it does not draw or vent air into/ out of the garage. This is just an idea I was kicking around but it would really eliminate alot of filtering problems.

[LarryG]

This question comes up fairly often. Biggest downside is that if you heat/cool your shop, you'll be venting all your expensively-conditioned air to atmo.

Also, I have read that in some areas, doing this is illegal (I think Pentz says that somewhere on his site).

If neither of these issues is a concern, it's the way to go IMO. I have a vague plan, for when I build my new shop in a few more years, to set things up so that I have the option to vent the DC directly to outside air during those times when the shop is neither heated nor cooled.

[IBBugsy]

I do have to share the garage with an oil furnace although it does not draw or vent air into/ out of the garage.

It sounds like the furnace is piped to pull in outside air (instead of garage air) for combustion. If so, then a DC in the garage shouldn't be a problem. The furnace is "sealed" from the garage air. Still, the DC will pull air into the garage from the easiest spot (typically around a door or window). If your furnace has some "holes" or cracks, then it might be the easiest spot. Wouldn't hurt to crack a window slightly so you know where the air is coming from....

[MilDoc]

Just to be safe get a CO detector. It only takes 1% CO concentration in the air to kill, and you won't even know you're getting sick until pretty close to the end.

[Tom Miller]

Wouldn't hurt to crack a window slightly so you know where the air is coming from....

I'd go so far as to say this is an absolute necessity. At the very least, you should open a door or window wide, if you expect to make up >500 cfm.

Regards,
Tom

[LarryG]

Despite the thread title of "Carbon Monoxide," I somehow managed to miss the full implications of what Eddy was asking.

It sounds like the furnace is piped to pull in outside air (instead of garage air) for combustion. If so, then a DC in the garage shouldn't be a problem.

One possible exception: if the furnace does get its combusion air from outside, and the DC is vented to outside too, there needs to be some separation between the two so dust-laden air won't be drawn back into the furnace. How much separation is required, I don't know. Things like range hoods and bathroom fans are supposedly to exhaust at least 10' from an intake, but the main concern there is drawing odors back into the building. For dust-laden air, more separation is probably in order.

[Tom Miller]

Despite the thread title of "Carbon Monoxide," I somehow managed to miss the full implications of what Eddy was asking.

Oops, me too. Good catch, Larry!

So, if you open a door/window for supply air to your garage, make sure you're not pulling in exhaust gases from your furnace, etc.

Regards,
Tom

[eddy merckx]

Thanks guys. I was thinking of making a little air tight room around the furnace with a sealed door. It would give me more wall space for shelves, etc anyway. The Co detector is a great idea. Is there anybody out there who actually does vent outside? I would be interested to know how much mess it makes.

[JamesDad]

Reduce the mess outside

If you are worried about the mess it will make by venting it outside, you can create a water trap and vent all air so that it has to bubble through the water trap [similar to a plumbing trap]. The water collects most of the particulate matter [just dust - won't do ashes or plaster]. You would then just need to change the water periodically when it becomes loaded with dust. There are expensive commercial vacuum cleaners made using this design to eliminate any dust blown back into the air. I searched online using Yahoo and found one described at http://www.totalvac.com/rainbowvacuu...OVMTC=advanced
There are other types of secondary dust filtration that use electricity instead of water described at http://www.filterwiz.com/dust-collector.html


That would also eliminate the problem mentioned by others regarding distance to fresh air intakes [use secondary filtration to clean the air you are blowing outside]. And, if you design the system such that the secondary filtered air is returned back inside, you then also eliminate the concern about venting out all your cooled or heated air. You also help to equalize the air pressure so you don't worry about creating negative pressure in your work area, drawing in unwanted dangerous gases.

OSHA has a nice section for woodworkers at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/wood..._wooddust.html that talks about wood dust hazards and solutions. You would also benefit from looking at the links there on wood tool vibrations, electrical hazards, noise hazards, and fire/explosion hazards [dust can explode under the right circumstances].

Also, take a look at http://www.osha.gov/dts/hib/hib_data/hib19970502.html
It is a Hazard Information Bulletin1) Improper Installation of Wood Dust Collectors in the Woodworking Industry. This is meant for people who generate a lot of dust, not just a person doing woodworking for a hobby. You did not mention the volume of dust you generate.
Good luck. I've got to go. JamesDad is here and wants to surf BT3.
JamesDad's wife

[eddy merckx]

Wow. Great idea about the water bubbler system. I wonder how much water volume would be required and how much drop in static pressure you'd get from the resistance. For instance, would you need a 50 gallon barrel of water or just enough water to get spashed around and attract the dust. Hmm.