Paint booth venting solution

[CANicoll]

Hi folks,

I've had a few folks in my local hobby club ask me about venting spray booths outside so I thought I would share something I came up with the vent those noxious fumes we don't like.

My spray booth is from MicroMark (the smaller one) with the exhaust out the back.  There are four basic elements to the solution: some insulation foam board, 1" thick (pink seems to be the color at most DIY/home improvement stores), some flexible dryer vent hose, a flexible metal joint and finally, a dryer vent.

This started out when I was trying to vent out of a window that opened horizontally - that is, opened bottom to top.  I'd stick the dryer vent into the window opening and stuff the rest of the opening with a towel.  It worked great, until I moved and now my window opens left to right, so the opening space is vertical.  Hence the addition of the foam board.

Here is the hose set-up.  The metal flange attached to the white dryer vent was needed as the flexible hose would not stay firmly attached to the dryer vent.  Now it fits pretty tight.

I took the flaps out of the dryer vent as I usually put this into a window that has a screen in it which prevents the flaps from opening when the spray booth fan is on.  I think pretty much everyone has done something similar to this.

The next problem to solve was how to block up the open window when I have dryer vent installed.  I've tried a few different things, but this is what I have settled on - using the insulation foam board.  But a single piece of board would not go easily into the gap, so I crafted a three-piece solution (but two pieces would work just find, too).  This way I can "unfold" the board into the window frame grooves top and bottom.  The flange from the dryer vent fits perfectly into one of the window frame grooves, while the foam board fits into the gap where the window would normally close into.  This keeps the board very stable once the window is closed. 

The pieces are taped together with packing tape which seems to stick better than regular tape, and is also impervious to the weather (yes, I spray in all weather and temps!)

To strengthen the joints, it is a good idea to tape the other side as well:

This also helps make the joint wind-proof.  When this is in the window, there is very little air infiltration coming in unless the wind is REALLY blowing outside.  The extra piece also makes the set-up fold up a bit smaller making it a bit easier to store when not in use (see the first picture).  So far this has been pretty durable - it has been in use for 3 years now. 

Hope this is helpful for anyone who is finding it challenging venting their spray booths out a window, and needs a solution that is portable and does not keep the window open the whole time.  If someone else has another solution, please feel free to add to this thread.  

Happy holidays!

[GazzaS]

Nice solution, Chris.  Happy holiday season to you, too.

[Laurajames]

On 12/19/2022 at 8:19 AM, CANicoll said:

Hi folks,

I've had a few folks in my local hobby club ask me about venting spray booths outside so I thought I would share something I came up with the vent those noxious fumes we don't like.

My spray booth is from MicroMark (the smaller one) with the exhaust out the back.  There are four basic elements to the solution: some insulation foam board, 1" thick (pink seems to be the color at most DIY/home improvement stores), some flexible dryer vent hose, a flexible metal joint and finally, a dryer vent.

This started out when I was trying to vent out of a window that opened horizontally - that is, opened bottom to top.  I'd stick the dryer vent into the window opening and stuff the rest of the opening with a towel.  It worked great, until I moved and now my window opens left to right, so the opening space is vertical.  Hence the addition of the foam board.

Here is the hose set-up.  The metal flange attached to the white dryer vent was needed as the flexible hose would not stay firmly attached to the dryer vent.  Now it fits pretty tight.

I took the flaps out of the dryer vent as I usually put this into a window that has a screen in it which prevents the flaps from opening when the spray booth fan is on.  I think pretty much everyone has done something similar to this.

The next problem to solve was how to block up the open window when I have dryer vent installed.  I've tried a few different things, but this is what I have settled on - using the insulation foam board.  But a single piece of board would not go easily into the gap, so I crafted a three-piece solution (but two pieces would work just find, too).  This way I can "unfold" the board into the window frame grooves top and bottom.  The flange from the dryer vent fits perfectly into one of the window frame grooves, while the foam board fits into the gap where the window would normally close into.  This keeps the board very stable once the window is closed. 

The pieces are taped together with packing tape which seems to stick better than regular tape, and is also impervious to the weather (yes, I spray in all weather and temps!)

To strengthen the joints, it is a good idea to tape the other side as well:

This also helps make the joint wind-proof.  When this is in the window, there is very little air infiltration coming in unless the wind is REALLY blowing outside.  The extra piece also makes the set-up fold up a bit smaller making it a bit easier to store when not in use (see the first picture).  So far this has been pretty durable - it has been in use for 3 years now. 

Hope this is helpful for anyone who is finding it challenging venting their spray booths out a window, and needs a solution that is portable and does not keep the window open the whole time.  If someone else has another solution, please feel free to add to this thread.  

Happy holidays!

The provided solution involves using insulation foam board, flexible dryer vent hose, a flexible metal joint, and a dryer vent to vent a spray booth outside through a window. The foam board is crafted into a multi-piece structure that fits into the window frame grooves, providing stability and blocking air infiltration. The dryer vent attaches to the foam board, and the setup is further strengthened with tape. This solution offers a portable and effective way to vent a spray booth while keeping the window closed.

[PanzerWomble]

Does sound like an AI bot being tried out to see if anyone believes it is a human facsimile. 

 

Hey @Laurajames , what is the square root of 2 ?