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John Branam
07-14-2005, 11:11 AM
I am going to convert a small room in my basement, that is just off my shop space, to adedicated finishing room. The room is located under my front porch and has a window that is close to the ceiling and is about 30"x24" . I want to use that as my ventilation point but my concerns are keeping it weather proof (keep cold out in winer, heat out in summer)? Has anyone done something simular to this before?:confused:

Steve Clardy
07-14-2005, 2:03 PM
Usually vent fans have the optional shutters on them. Mine does in my spray room.
Winter weather. I have plans to build a box on the inside, covering the fan, with a sliding piece of plywood inserted, to seal out the cold air when the fan isn't running. I have done this before in another shop, and it worked well. Now to get this one done. Lol
Just think about a drawer bottom, and the four sides. That's bacisally what I am going to build. Make the fourth side narrower so the plwood cover will slide up or down.

John Branam
07-14-2005, 3:18 PM
Thanks for the info. I posted this in the general forum thinking it would get more responses. Where did you get the fan from tat you used?

Steve Clardy
07-14-2005, 6:57 PM
W.W. Grainger. !8" fan with shutters, plus an extra speed control for the motor.

Slightly less than $200.00, last years prices.
Steve

Norman Hitt
07-17-2005, 4:30 PM
John, is this window mounted fan going to be an "Exhaust Fan", or a fan to bring in fresh air to the finish room?

If it is to be the exhaust fan, unless you will NEVER shoot anything except waterbourne finishes, BE SURE to get a fan that has an "Explosion Proof" Motor.

After mounting the fan in the window, just make a box frame about 5" deep that will mount up flush against the face of the fan assembly, and snugly inside the window frame opening. I would suggest that you then place a cheap AC filter inside this and up against the fan, which will catch a lot of the "finish particles" as they exit the room, which would otherwise collect on the fan itself over time, greatly degrading its effeciency, (and they are a REAL PAIN to clean up at that point) :( .

When the fan is not in use, you can place an "Insulation Plug" into the Frame opening to seal off any heat or cold that might otherwise intrude. Make the plug from two pieces of 2" thick rigid foam insulation laminated together with contact cement, and just slightly smaller than the box frame opening, so you can glue on some foam weather stripping around the edges of the rigid foam to act as a seal, And hold the plug in place. If you want a more solid method to lock the plug in place for security measures, etc, then glue a piece of 1/4" plywood to the plug on the side that that will be inside the room, and make it overhang the rigid foam enough to overlap the face of the box frame and it can be held in place with latches, or wingnuts threaded onto small lagbolts set into the face edges of the box frame.

Good luck, a separate finish room sure is a nice luxury. :D

Bill Neely
07-18-2005, 1:35 AM
Can anyone think of a reason an attic/gable fan couldn't be used as long as only waterborne finishes are used?

Norman Hitt
07-18-2005, 3:59 AM
Can anyone think of a reason an attic/gable fan couldn't be used as long as only waterborne finishes are used?

Bill, using only waterbourne finishes, it should work fine, as I've seen every type of fan imaginable used in paint shop applications, (with the motor changed though because of the flammable type finishes being used). You should, as mentioned in my post above, use some type of cheap filter in front of the fan though to keep the finish particles off the fan blades, AND definitely OUT OF the Motor, because this buildup on and inside the motor will cause it to overheat and fail. Since Most attic/gable fans are fairly large, just be sure that you account for that CFM volume with another window or opening of the appropriate size for makeup air, (same as with a DC system that is vented outside).