Boat Building Forum

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Re: Charcoal and Fumes
By:Don Beale
Date: 11/22/1998, 1:07 am
In Response To: Air Sucking and Filtration can help... (Pete Ford)

They offer
> an optional charcoal post filter that might (I make no claims since I
> don't have one) help with the fumes some too.

Charcoal is overrated on fumes and smell. I think this is because there is nothing that works better except venting the fumes, preferrably with source capture.

Funny thing about smell - you can get rid of 95% of it, and the other 5% stinks just as bad... Charcoal works by adsorbtion; it's little pores get little smell molecules stuck into them. In order for that to happen, the air has to be moving pretty slowly. Most filter banks use common HVAC velocities of about 500 feet per minute, and depend on recirculation to get the charcoal residence time up. Dust gets in and plugs the pores and then you are back to square one.

My advice is to vent to outside when epoxying and varnishing - negative pressure will be effective.

Those filters do work wonders on the dust though! I'd build one with a used furnace fan and standard pleated filters for a lot less money...

Messages In This Thread

Build in Basement?
Bob Newton -- 11/20/1998, 8:37 pm
Re: Build in Basement?
Brian C. -- 11/23/1998, 11:45 am
Re: Build in Basement?
Robert Woodard -- 11/23/1998, 12:03 pm
think of it as a PFD for building :)
Brian C. -- 11/24/1998, 11:13 am
Re: think of it as a PFD for building :)
Mike Spence -- 11/24/1998, 11:09 pm
Re: Build in Basement?
R. N. Sabolevsky -- 11/22/1998, 11:18 pm
Air Sucking and Filtration can help...
Pete Ford -- 11/21/1998, 7:50 pm
Re: Charcoal and Fumes
Don Beale -- 11/22/1998, 1:07 am
Re: Build in Basement?
Nick Schade -- 11/21/1998, 1:58 pm
Re: Build in Basement?
Steve Schaible -- 11/21/1998, 10:38 am
Re: Build in Basement?
Mac Buhler -- 11/20/1998, 10:58 pm
Re: Build in Basement?
Jim -- 11/20/1998, 11:31 pm