Blower in the middle of the exhaust pipe

[Mike Troncalli]

Ok, let me see if I can explain this correctly. Right now my setup has my exhaust pipe attached to my laser. My exhaust unit (bilge blower for boat) sits on the window ledge behind the laser and vents out the window. . Of course it is quite noisy.

I was given a very nice enclosed 6' long counter with doors and shelves. All nice heavy MDF construction. My thought was to sit the laser on top of the counter (duh).. drill a hole in the back of the unit and run a short length of exhaust pipe down into the cabinet. I want to place the blower unit INSIDE of the cabinet and then use another short run of exhaust pipe back out through my window setup. My thoughts are that having the exhaust unit inside the cabinet would really cut down on the noise level.

My question is do you think having the blower fan in the MIDDLE of the exhaust pipe run would be less, more or about the same effeciency as having it at the end of the run as I do now. Right now the exhaust works very well for me. Hardly any fumes at all when running the laser.

Thanks

[Dan Hintz]

Any change in efficiency would be negligible, but make sure the piping after the blower is sealed tight... leaks there are how you get stinky stuff in your workshop.

[Mike Troncalli]

Any change in efficiency would be negligible, but make sure the piping after the blower is sealed tight... leaks there are how you get stinky stuff in your workshop.

Are you kiddin me?? Duct tape is my middle name :-)

Thanks Dan.. I kind of figured that it wouldn't be a problem but hey.. Here is the forum with a lot of expertise, why not ask..

[Dave Sheldrake]

Try to minimise direction changes Mike, corners, curves and bends all affect flow rates. If possible smooth plastic ducting is far better than the coil hose that comes supplied with most machines (the rings in coil duct cause all sorts of eddys and flow reduction)

cheers

Dave

[Joe Hillmann]

I would suggest using metal foil tape. Which is designed for sealing ductwork rather than duct tape which isn't air tight and starts to fail after a short time.

[Mike Troncalli]

Joe and Dave,

Thanks both of you. I currently have the ridged dryer vent now, I am going to go and get smooth once it gets moved. I also do have the metal tape you are talking about.. Guess the packing tape won't work anymore :-)

[Phil Thien]

Just make sure the blower's motor doesn't overheat. Most blower motors use the ambient air to circulate cooling air over the motor. If you put the motor into a small (relative to the room) cabinet, it may warm up the air in that cabinet quite a bit, especially if run for any length of time.

Not saying not to do this, just watch the motor temp. the first few times you use it.

[Mike Troncalli]

Phil, good point... I use a bilge blower which the air flow blows right through the middle of the motor so that helps keep it cool.

[walter hofmann]

Hi mike you should not have the blower and pipes below the laser always up never down because if you have them below then dust and little pieces will stuck there.greetingswaltfl

[Dan Hintz]

Hi mike you should not have the blower and pipes below the laser always up never down because if you have them below then dust and little pieces will stuck there.greetingswaltfl

If you have dust and other things getting stuck simply because the blower is lower in the chain, you have way too little airflow... not to mention all of that junk would hang around in your machine if the blower was the highest point in the chain.