DIY weld fumes extractor

[toofart]

Last winter I did a few projects where the amount of smoke and dust in the shop felt unsafe, so I knew I needed something. In the summer months I work with the doors open, but when it's cold I don't want to lose all the heat.

So I made my own fumes extractor with scrap I had lying around. I used an old bathroom fan which is rated 130cfm.

The head is a standard 4" household elbow, which I can pivot in any direction, and attach a variety of 4" adapters or even a length of flex pipe if I need to extract fumes for farther away.

Home made pivots using scrap metal and cheap bolts and a bit of grease. Works great.

I closed up all the doors, cracked a window, turned it on and welded for a few minutes without any noticeable smoke in the shop. Total money spent is about $70.

 

[mo2872]

Well done!

 

[gorilla]

Nice job. Smart of you to extract the welding fumes at the table level and not **** fumes past the breathing zone.

 

[Zeke]

Very good. How about something with a wider mouth feeding into the flex?

 

[srmofo]

Does it pull shielding gas away if you get too close?

 

[toofart]

Nice job. Smart of you to extract the welding fumes at the table level and not **** fumes past the breathing zone.

Thanks.. That's what I was going for.

Very good. How about something with a wider mouth feeding into the flex?

Yep. The advantage of using household 4" duct is the wide range of inexpensive "adapters" I can attach.

 

[toofart]

Does it pull shielding gas away if you get too close?

I would assume so, but if I place the head 10" up in the path of the fumes I think it's OK. I think the smoke rises but the shielding gas does not.

 

[tarbellb]

Looks good, and for $70 your a fraction of a pre made setup.

Question: did you do anything on the outside to push the fumes/smoke away from the building?
I wonder what the local codes call out for something like this? Probably something ridiculous and expensive?

 

[fnieto]

I would assume so, but if I place the head 10" up in the path of the fumes I think it's OK. I think the smoke rises but the shielding gas does not.

Nice job,
Most if not all noble gasses ( shielding gasses) are way denser than air so it should work great for you.
As far as the discharge, I don't think your set up pose issues with neighbors.
I own a professional Arecology fume extractor (roll around) that works great but it has a large Donaldson type filter so no need to plumb outside.

 

[toofart]

Looks good, and for $70 your a fraction of a pre made setup.

Question: did you do anything on the outside to push the fumes/smoke away from the building?

I did nothing on the outside. My neighborhood is 1 acre lots, so neighbors are not close by. I only weld occasionally in the winter, so I don't think this will bother anyone.

With a more powerful blower I suppose one could filter the air before it escapes to the atmosphere, but I'd assume the micro filters capable of cleaning the toxic junk would be expensive. I just needed to vent

 

[Beemer533]

Very nice! I may be missing it, but what is keeping the arm in place? Is it just tightening the bolts at the joints or something else?

 

[toofart]

The arm is held in place by the friction of the bolts. I put some chassis grease on the joints and snugged them up good.

 

[ADSR]

That's a great DIY setup!

Well done!

 

[toofart]

Thanks!

 

[e30bradley]

nice job! I've been thinking about building something like this.

 

[Guster]

Well done!

 

[jkherd]

Great Idea, I like it!

 

[penca]

well done man !

 

[toofart]

Thanks gents!

 

[Hephaestus29]

In the summer time a simple fan blowing out a window or even set up in the overhead doorway or entry door would work.

I have a blower motor from a furnace I hang in the window that works real well.

 

[dave from downunder]

I have a dust extractor that i have not really used at all.... as yet. you have given me a great idea all you guys and thanks.

 

[toofart]

I have a dust extractor that i have not really used at all.... as yet. you have given me a great idea all you guys and thanks.

Post up pics when you're done. I'm interested in others' ideas.

 

[Grinder Bill]

I installed a vent hood above the welding table. It's also a great place to hang lights...

 

[toofart]

I was originally thinking about a hood as well. That's a great setup you have.

The cold season is slowly creeping upon us, so I'll be testing out my contraption soon enough.

 

[larry4406]

Here is a link for similar arm

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=180522&showall=1

 

[sirweldalot]

That does look very good for the budget. I guess I need to get started on mine.

 

[toofart]

It works real good for work I do on the bench but otherwise I'd need an extension or a wheeled unit.

Nonetheless it works at creating ventalation even if it's not exactly over the fumes.

 

[n2ocamaro]

Great idea. I want to do something like that over my welding table.

 

[youngnstudly]

I installed a vent hood above the welding table. It's also a great place to hang lights...

That's just like the setup we had at my previous employers HVAC shop, and it worked excellent! I keep wondering about using a kitchen hood with my little work bench setup, since a few members on several welding forums suggest using a kitchen hood.

The main problem is the cost of a decent 48" setup new (with the light and variable speed options I want). Might have to hit the local recycler up one of these days.

Andy

 

[Nermal43]

Great timing. It has been freezing here and I have been welding with the doors of the shop open. Not fun.

 

[toofart]

I hear you... I'll be starting a new trailer build soon, and with the weather in the 5*F range ain't nobody going to weld with the doors open.

 

[BukitCase]

Subtle first post... ... Steve

 

[toofart]

Yeah, really.