Can you vent a spraybooth to charcoal filter and back into the room???

[VTBasser]

First post here. Do salt lures and spend most of my time at SOL but lurk around here and have gotten some great info.

My question is:

Using and airbrush and Createx paint - do you think you could vent a spray booth through a dryer hose to a pipe filled with something like aquarium filter charcoal and let that vent out into the room or would you just poison yourself and the house?

I am thinking about a pipe the same diameter as the dryer hose. How long do you think the charcoal filled pipe should be?

I hate the thought of pumping warm air out into the Vermont winter and what that will do to the heating bill.

Santa is bringing me an airbrush and that got the wheels a turning.

Thanks in advance for your wisdom.

[Vodkaman]

I know very little about ventilation, but I would have thought a dust filter would be more successful. A charcoal filter is more about smells etc. The particles of paint are just going to pass by.

I could be way off base with this, just makes more sense to me.

Dave

[jatman1988]

charcoal is a good biological fillter but you would want to use someting more like a hepafilter to catch over spray. I would always vent outside especially if you plan on using any solvent based paints and lacurs.

[VTBasser]

Ya - I'm not looking to spray anything with VOC inside. Was thinking the back or bottom of the booth would be a furnace filter to catch most of the particles of paint. Then vent to this homemade charcoal filter to reduce any smells and anything really fine that it could absorb. Then I was thinking some kind of sock filter at the end.

[VANNDALIZER]

If your painting water base paints alot of guys use a shop vac and an empty cardboard box. There may be a tutorial on here somewhere. I laquer and when you vent it back insde you still get the smell. Make sure to use an explosion proof motor on anything that is flamable!!! Good Luck, MAV

[Travis]

Don't mess with the charcoal filter not needed for what you are wanting. Additionally you would have to start to worry about air flow rates, surface area, etc... to figure out needed material. As mentioned a furnace filter will do fine.

I spent untold hours doing calculations, figuring out optimal air flow, effects of laminar flow on particulate collection etc... You know all that stuff that is needed to make lures.

After many late night sessions and consultations with experts in various fields I headed to my shop and designed the ultimate createx paint booth it worked flawlessly for two winters

In all seriousness this simple set up worked great no overspray was found on my wifes antique dining room set. I found the blower on clearance several years ago for somewhere around 10 dollars. It is a blower for a wood stove.

Edited December 9, 2008 by Travis

[mark poulson]

If all you're spraying is water based Createx, Travis' setup is perfect.

Just be sure you don't get tempted to try a little sovent based paints, like rattle cans. I know I'd be tempted, because I use pastel fixative between coats sometimes when I want to try something new for the next coat and I don't want to ruin what I've already painted.

If you spray clear Createx, heat set it well, and let it dry overnight, you can probably still do the same thing, but I think you'd have to be real quick deciding if you liked the experiment, so that you could still wipe off the experiment without messing up the previous paint.

[DUCBOS]

I only use water based paints, but a lot of solvents and D2T as welll as Etex. My booth uses a bathroom exaust fan ($ a flexable dryer tubing ($3) into a bag of charcoal. I use it in my graage with being able to vent to the outside. I have a small filter (6x6) over the fan. Works great - no odors or fumes. My whole booth set cost less than $15.

[DUCBOS]

By the way - I don't think I would do it with the charcoal bag if I used auto paints and a lot of lacqure spray paint.

[mark poulson]

I only use water based paints, but a lot of solvents and D2T as welll as Etex. My booth uses a bathroom exaust fan ($ a flexable dryer tubing ($3) into a bag of charcoal. I use it in my graage with being able to vent to the outside. I have a small filter (6x6) over the fan. Works great - no odors or fumes. My whole booth set cost less than $15.

Sounds like a great setup.

Pictures???