Introducing... myself, myself.

[Elliott Gerso]

Hey everyone,

My company recently invested in an Epilog Mini 24 30w. I have read just about every post on the first 5 pages and I want to thank everyone for sharing your knowledge so freely. You all have helped me hone my ideas and have given me a lot of inspiration on my own projects. I plan on sticking around and joining in where I can, as I gain more experience. I will also have plenty of questions along the way as well. Here goes my first:

With my current Epilog Mini 24 30w, I have the exhaust blower right beneath the unit on a shelf, with the hose venting out the window located about a foot away. Now...I am setting up a dedicated woodworking/laser area about 30-40 feet away from this window, and I would like to continue utilizing the same window to vent. My questions is, do you think my blower is strong enough to make this distance? http://www.pennstateind.com/store/DC3XX.html

Thanks!

[Gary Hair]

The blower will lose some efficiency at that distance bit will probably work. I had mine almost 20 feet away and it worked fine. An easy test is to cut some 1/4" wood, that will generate lots of smoke, and watch what the smoke does inside the cabinet - does it drift around and then go out or does it go directly out from the cutting area? One piece of advice - leave the blower at the window and have it draw the exhaust out instead of having it at the laser and pushing the exhaust out - leaks will simply dilute the exhausted air (and make it a bit less efficient) if you are drawing it, pushing it will force the exhause through the leaks and into your work area.

Gary

[Elliott Gerso]

Thanks for the helpful tip. I'm going to give it a shot tomorrow.

[Dee Gallo]

Welcome to the Creek, Elliott!

You started out doing the right thing, reading posts - these people are the most knowledgeable, helpful and creative thinkers around and FUN too!

Have fun with your new toy, you're going to love playing with it.

cheers, dee

[Elliott Gerso]

Thanks Dee. Glad to see some people from NY here. I am going to work on a retail candle box tomorrow and I'm headed to Dyke's Lumber (here in Brooklyn) to get some 1/8" ply. Do you have any recommendations on something a little "classier" than luan but not quite the price of mahogany?

[Dan Hintz]

Gary is right about "pulling" the air for as much of the distance as possible to avoid pushing any dirty air back into the environment.

That said, in your case you could always go with an oversized exhaust duct (6"+) and "push" most of the way, which will reduce your efficiency losses. Seal it up tight and you should be okay. The bigger the exhaust duct, the more it will appear as if you're back right next to the window.