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Marc Beaupre
11-28-2012, 9:13 PM
Has anyone modified their laser cabinet with an outside air duct?
When my blower is running the warm air in my shop is sucked right out and cold air
replaces it. Heat costs are high and I thought about a direct vent from outside into the cabinet.
Would it be too cold for the laser?
I have a Jamieson 60watt laser and am very happy with it.

Marc

Joe Pelonio
11-28-2012, 9:36 PM
Read your manual to see the operating temperature range, it's most likely supposed to be at least 60F or so. I just leave a window cracked open across the room and it doesn't seem to affect the room temperature much even when down below 20F outside, but my shop is in the house, in a "bonus room" above the garage.

Dan Hintz
11-29-2012, 6:20 AM
This should help...
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?143725-DIY-air-filtration-unit-for-lt-200&highlight=filter+%26lt%3B%24200

Mike Null
11-29-2012, 6:22 AM
You are probably running a blower with more cfm than you need. See if you can scale it back or use a partially closed blast gate or build a filter. There are some plans listed on this forum so a search will turn up a couple.

Marc Beaupre
11-29-2012, 10:47 AM
Thanks alot, I will try to build the filter and cut down on the air flow.

Michael Hunter
11-29-2012, 1:39 PM
I'm considering fitting a shower curtain over the front of my Epilog, to make it suck the exhaust air from floor level rather than extracting the warmer air at waist height.
This won't really help the cold feet problem though.

When it is really cold (below ~5 degrees C), I find that a 2KW fan heater just about manages to keep the workshop warm enough when the exhaust fan is running.
(The laser, computer and UPS add about 1KW to the heating).

Since I aim to make around £60 per hour on average and the electricity costs are about 55p per hour, I'm not over-worried about the heating costs.

David Rust
11-29-2012, 7:45 PM
I considered hooking up an external air source for the inlet, however I think that condensation may become and issue in my neck of the woods, which is also your neck of the woods. In January it can easily down near zero or below. Cold air on the inside and nice warm moist air on the outside will make my Helix sweat like a cold beer on a humid day. Probably not too good for it. I crack a window and deal with it. If you come up with a solution let me know!!

I haven't tried Dan's idea yet. It will solve the issue. I wonder how long the carbon lasts between changes. Is it good for acrylic fumes?

Dan Hintz
11-29-2012, 8:58 PM
I haven't tried Dan's idea yet. It will solve the issue. I wonder how long the carbon lasts between changes. Is it good for acrylic fumes?

Depending upon what I'm working on, I can get anywhere from a month (lots of wood) to 6+ months (more plastics, glass, etc.) between changes. Depends upon your work load and type of work. Acrylic and wood fumes are what I built it for in the first place, and so far it has worked as intended.