I recent built a 30 by 50 pole barn with a full second floor. The upstairs will be an office/living space and I'm concerned about exhaust fumes when starting up trucks in the morning to let them warm up if someone is upstairs. Has anyone installed exhaust fans in there garages? Or is this just ridiculous?
Exhaust fans
- Thread starter Rich24
- Start date
dave67fd
Well-known member
What kind of opening do you have to the upstairs?
Will it always be open or do you plan to seal (insulate/sheetrock etc..) it off at some point?
Most people will open the doors before they start their vehicle to minimize but for that size garage you will need some serious CFM if you want to clear it quickly. You will have to hang around and wait to shut the fan off or you could put on a timer. In cold weather it might tend to **** out your upstairs heat if it isin't sealed off well.
Will it always be open or do you plan to seal (insulate/sheetrock etc..) it off at some point?
Most people will open the doors before they start their vehicle to minimize but for that size garage you will need some serious CFM if you want to clear it quickly. You will have to hang around and wait to shut the fan off or you could put on a timer. In cold weather it might tend to **** out your upstairs heat if it isin't sealed off well.
I service the HVAC equipment at a county rescue, they have about a dozen ambulances in the garage and they hook up a vent right to the exhaust pipe. It's held in place with a magnet and its on a track it follows the truck till it exits. I'm not sure on the brand or a whole lot of anything about it, I service the heaters in the shop not the exhaust sucker, but I'm sure google can find you something.
BreeStephany
ALLIANCE MEMBER
They are a bit on the more expensive side, but I have set up a few shops and garages which have a series of inlet and outlet powered louvers which are controlled by a CO sensor or set of CO sensors in the shop.
Once the CO level gets above a preset level, the louvers open up and turn on exhaust fans, once it drops below a lower preset level, the louvers close and the exhaust fans turn off.
For a shop that was 80 x 140, we had 4 48" x 48" louvers on either side of the shop... I I imagine 4 36" louvers w/ exhaust fans would be sufficient for the purpose of your shop, though it would definitely be more expensive than just hooking up exhaust vents.
Once the CO level gets above a preset level, the louvers open up and turn on exhaust fans, once it drops below a lower preset level, the louvers close and the exhaust fans turn off.
For a shop that was 80 x 140, we had 4 48" x 48" louvers on either side of the shop... I I imagine 4 36" louvers w/ exhaust fans would be sufficient for the purpose of your shop, though it would definitely be more expensive than just hooking up exhaust vents.
Thanks for the ideas guys. Dave, i will start by saying that the garage you built is pretty amazing. Very nice. The second floor in my shop is has open joists right now, I have thought about insulating and doing a ceiling mainly to help with noise. Maybe that would help seal out the fumes? I have a similar set up with stairs that go to a landing in the back corner then a 90 and up to the second floor. My plan was to frame in the opening upstairs with a door to seal it off from the shop.
P.s garage doors are coming today! Feel like I have been waiting forever
P.s garage doors are coming today! Feel like I have been waiting forever
DPelletier
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2012
- Messages
- 170
OK,
first off, you need to ensure that your residential space is completely sealed off from the shop/garage and you should have an automatic closure on the outside rated connecting door. There should also be a fire rating between
Next; you shouldn't run your vehicles inside the garage (or any enclosed space) unless you have a CO removal system. Such a system can be a general exhaust fan coupled with a CO monitor drawing air from an intake louvre with a backdraft damper (fan needs to be sized to ensure adequate ventilation - ASHRAE minimum for a repair shop is 1CFM per sq. ft.) OR you can use a fancy source CO extraction system such as the Nederman hose reel systems we install in many repair shops or maintenance bays. http://www.nederman.com/products/exhaust-extraction/vehicle-exhaust-extraction/865-exhaust-hose-reel
2 cents,
Dave
first off, you need to ensure that your residential space is completely sealed off from the shop/garage and you should have an automatic closure on the outside rated connecting door. There should also be a fire rating between
Next; you shouldn't run your vehicles inside the garage (or any enclosed space) unless you have a CO removal system. Such a system can be a general exhaust fan coupled with a CO monitor drawing air from an intake louvre with a backdraft damper (fan needs to be sized to ensure adequate ventilation - ASHRAE minimum for a repair shop is 1CFM per sq. ft.) OR you can use a fancy source CO extraction system such as the Nederman hose reel systems we install in many repair shops or maintenance bays. http://www.nederman.com/products/exhaust-extraction/vehicle-exhaust-extraction/865-exhaust-hose-reel
2 cents,
Dave
pseudorealityx
Well-known member
IMC states 1.5 cfm/sq ft for automotive repair shops. That's for a commercial application, and not meant for fume removal, but general ventilation.
DPelletier
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2012
- Messages
- 170
pseudorealityx
Well-known member
Yep, when in doubt check with your resident Mechanical Engineer!
Dave
Ha. I know one side of this stuff pretty well. Doesn't mean I don't learn a lot from the guys who actually install/repair the stuff day to day.