Printer exhaust hood

[phototec]

I have my printer in the small room (15'x20') and have an exhaust fan in the ceiling, however the room gets pretty smelly when doing a lot of printing, so I was wondering if anyone has made some kind of a hood to go directly over their printer, to eliminate the fumes before they build up in the room?


Any idea or thoughts appreciated?


BTW: I used the search function for "PRINTER EXHAUST HOOD", only got four hits, all had no relevance to my question.

 

[CanuckSigns]

Since solvents are heavier than air, you would be better putting it below your printer.

 

[SightLine]

Problem is the solvent fumes are heavier than air and sink to the floor..... Route your exhaust fan to draw from down near the floor would help some. Not sure on Rolands but Mimaki's have an optional retractable (think old school spring loaded window blind) front cover/skirt thing that also can help with fume extraction. They also usually comes with an additional exhaust fan that mounts down by the floor to tie in with the main exhaust pipe. Our old JV3 had it although I never used it. I've always walled off a small separate room just for the printer - current room has a 500CFM exhaust that draws from a 12" vent at floor level. It will still get pretty bad in there when its printing heavy but it clears out very quick and zero fumes get into the main shop. I have the fan itself up above the ceiling and cut into the top plate of a wall so uses the wall between 2 studs as the duct. Sealed it up good up top and cut the vent into the wall right near the floor.

 

[phototec]

Problem is the solvent fumes are heavier than air and sink to the floor..... Route your exhaust fan to draw from down near the floor would help some. Not sure on Rolands but Mimaki's have an optional retractable (think old school spring loaded window blind) front cover/skirt thing that also can help with fume extraction. They also usually comes with an additional exhaust fan that mounts down by the floor to tie in with the main exhaust pipe. Our old JV3 had it although I never used it. I've always walled off a small separate room just for the printer - current room has a 500CFM exhaust that draws from a 12" vent at floor level. It will still get pretty bad in there when its printing heavy but it clears out very quick and zero fumes get into the main shop. I have the fan itself up above the ceiling and cut into the top plate of a wall so uses the wall between 2 studs as the duct. Sealed it up good up top and cut the vent into the wall right near the floor.

Thanks, that sounds like a good idea. Glad you replied, I totally didn't think about the solvent vapor being heavier than air, that is my problem.

I don't want to completely cut out the top plate (for structural reasons), so I will just dill several large holes in the top plate and then use insulating foam to secure a round to rectangular duct transition to the top plate in the attic space and attach a round 500cfm vent/fan to the top an then run additional metal duct to the outside.

 

[player]

I don't want to completely cut out the top plate (for structural reasons), so I will just dill several large holes in the top plate and then use insulating foam to secure a round to rectangular duct transition to the top plate in the attic space and attach a round 500cfm vent/fan to the top an then run additional metal duct to the outside.

I don't understand... Whats the top plate?

I have used corroplast to make an extension from the floor to the ceiling for heating. Can you extend your ceiling fan to the floor?

 

[phototec]

I don't understand... Whats the top plate?

I have used corroplast to make an extension from the floor to the ceiling for heating. Can you extend your ceiling fan to the floor?

Here in the US we build structures with vertical 2x4 wall studs on 16" centers, they are nailed to a 2x4 bottom and top plate, then a second top plate is added on top (overlapping) to anchor all the adjoining walls together.

The plan is to use the 14-1/2" cavity between the studs as duct work in the wall (behind the drywall), cut a square hole in the bottom of the drywall and add a grill over the hole. Then you need to cut holes in the top plate so a 400 to 500 cfm fan in the attic call pull the air (fumes) from the grill near the floor behind the printer and blow the exhaust up thru a roof vent.

My old ceiling vent was not working because it was not very powerful and it was in the ceiling, the solvent fumes are heavier than air, so it was not doing a good job.

I am a bit of a projectionist, to many years working in the graphics industry doing catalogs and brochures were your artwork would be reproduced 10,000 times, so everything had to be 100% perfect. I don't want to make a coro box hanging down from the ceiling with duct tape, I just rather do it right and have it look clean and professional.

Just like my printer is on the opposite side of the room from the computer, and instead of running the cable across the floor, I installed wall jacks in the drywall on the wall behind the printer and the opposite wall behind the computer, then ran 50' of CAT5 cable up the wall cavity, across the attic, down the other wall cavity, all you see is the cable from the computer plugged into the wall jack behind the computer and on the other side of the room, the printer cable plugged into another wall jack, clean and professional looking, no cables on the floor or draped on the walls.

 

[SightLine]

On mine I was able to come back out the wall in the install bay part of the shop which worked better since the main part of the shop is 2 story. I also ran a power line to a switch on the wall next to the light switch for the room I enclosed for the printer. The room itself I made as a barrel front wall with some curved wood beams then put 72" wide coil stock acrylic on the inside of it. On the install bay side I came back out of the wall and put a plug outlet controlled by the exhaust fan switch to plug the exhaust fan itself into. From the install bay side it then goes up into the attic above the install bay, the exhaust fan sits on top of the pipe in the ceiling then it is piped out to an attic vent. On the one photo you can see the vent on the wall down low by the floor in the back corner of the room. You can also see where I installed a red plug outlet which is tied directly into my giant Eaton battery backup/power conditioner and the network jack I installed. The backup can run the printer for a couple of hours. Where I ran power lines that are specifically from the backup power I used red outlets to signify that they are "different". The first shot was really while I was still finishing up construction and was testing everything so its all a bit messy and dusty still and I still had not setup a small shelf on the one beam for a wireless keyboard and mouse for the RIP computers monitor I mounted to the curved beam. The other shot shows where it comes back out of the wall where I piped it up into the attic.

I have not yet had the chance to do it but my next little project for the thing is to automate it. Its actually very simple to do. The printers built in fans are 24vdc and they cut on automatically when printing. The printer actually already has a small din connector for the optional external exhaust fan as well. I'm going to make a cable to plug into that which I will run to a small relay by the main wall switch for the rooms 500cfm exhaust fan. I already have the relay with a 24v dc coil and all. Just have not yet had the time to wire it up. This way the room exhaust fan will be totally automatic but we can still also manually turn it on with the wall switch. I like trying things that might be somewhat unconventional although it does take a bit of electrical/mechanical knowledge and skills. The relay is a little DIN rail mount relay which will work perfect that's rated for up to 15a at 120v which is plenty for the exhaust fan. I just need to come up with a smallish project box I can mount to the wall inside the printer room (you will not even see it in there from outside).

 

[phototec]

Sightline - I am impressed, looks like you do things RIGHT, thanks for the info and photos. Your printer looks like it's in a fish bowl with the curved wall.


I like your idea to have the exhaust fan come on with the printer, I'll have to do something like that with my Roland, like you, I like the challenge to figure these things out and make them work.


Yep, a battery backup/power conditioner is a must, what size are you using (model number)?


I like the RED wall plug, that is exactly how the backup/power conditioners were when I worked at Dell, so you knew what they were for.

 

[ChicagoGraphics]

Make sure what ever fan motor you use it's an explosion proof, just a regular fan can ignight the fumes, I have seen it many of times before.

 

[SightLine]

I found the plug outlets and wall plates on ebay..... The battery backups. Extreme but I like overkill. Twin Eaton 9130 units each with 4 extended battery units. I have a third one as well in another rack for other stuff. Each is hardwired to a breaker panel which is then goes to the outlets that are run from it. Everything is also set to run as 240v (slightly more efficient that way, if you look into it you will find the same as well as the fact that probably 95% of what you might want to have backup for is also fully capable of 240v input). One of them is dedicated to the printer, cutter, and RIP computer. That being said, I did not pay 20 grand for all of it which is the retail value of them backups I have here. I got them all in a government surplus auction (all brand new in the boxes) for less than 2k. :Big Laugh Gotta love our government..... Also showing in the rack is the SAN and a couple of the servers are visible. If you are patient on ebay you can find 240v outlet strips and whatnot for cheap. The 240v ones will have both blades sideways and you can also find IEC (what most all computers, etc use) power cords with 240v plugs as well. You "can" wire 240v to regular outlets (NOT certain outlet strips though, it will fry them if they are not 240v ready) but you run the risk of someone not knowing the outlet is wired as 240v plugging something that is not 240v capable into it which will invariably instantly fry whatever it is and scare the sh!t out of them when the loud pop happens as the magic smoke is let out of whatever it is. Better to use outlets that are 240v specific that a regular cord cannot plug into. Its a bit of a chore converting everything over though with getting and installing the outlets, getting all the cords, etc and making certain anything you want to use on the higher voltage is indeed capable of the higher voltage. It does make sense though, the lines coming into the building are natively 240v and its more efficient to use the native voltage. In a large majority of the rest of the world (who developed their power standards after the US did) the standard is 240v.

 

[phototec]

Make sure what ever fan motor you use it's an explosion proof, just a regular fan can ignight the fumes, I have seen it many of times before.

Good point, I need to look into that!

So, you are saying that eco-sol ink fumes are flammable?

I hope none of the smokers (I'm not) here on Signs101 have blown themselves up?

 

[phototec]

Anybody ever heard anything about the fumes from Eco Sol ink being a risk of EXPLOSION?

 

[SightLine]

I personally have never heard of anything like that. At least not related to what we do. I'd think if that were a potential hazard for us then every microswitch, relay, and motor in our printers would be the totally sealed variety. I know for certain that the motors and whatnot in my Mimaki are NOT explosion proof. I also collect certain antiques and I have run across plenty of explosion proof electric motors (the housings are sealed with no vent holes) and other devices which always have any sort of electrical contacts (any sort of switches, have contacts, even the light switches in your home and office have contacts and they DO spark, you just don't see it inside the switch housing) that might have a spark sealed up.

 

[phototec]

I personally have never heard of anything like that. At least not related to what we do. I'd think if that were a potential hazard for us then every microswitch, relay, and motor in our printers would be the totally sealed variety. I know for certain that the motors and whatnot in my Mimaki are NOT explosion proof. I also collect certain antiques and I have run across plenty of explosion proof electric motors (the housings are sealed with no vent holes) and other devices which always have any sort of electrical contacts (any sort of switches, have contacts, even the light switches in your home and office have contacts and they DO spark, you just don't see it inside the switch housing) that might have a spark sealed up.

I agree with you 100%, maybe gasoline or jet fuel vapors, but NOT Eco-Sol ink, who's very name says it all "ECO" = meaning environment friendly, right?

 

[GAC05]

I agree with you 100%, maybe gasoline or jet fuel vapors, but NOT Eco-Sol ink, who's very name says it all "ECO" = meaning environment friendly, right?

We get our eco ink sent in by DHL air.
There can't be much risk of flammable vapor if it can fly without restriction.
I have not tested the vapor but I did try to light the waste ink on fire with our wrap torch.
I was trying to find out how much of a disposal issue the solvent would be. It would not burn at all.
Turns out I can boil off the liquid and sell the remaining powdery solids to those color fun run 5k's where everyone gets coated in multi colored corn starch........

wayne k
guam usa

 

[SightLine]

I agree with you 100%, maybe gasoline or jet fuel vapors, but NOT Eco-Sol ink, who's very name says it all "ECO" = meaning environment friendly, right?

Actually I don't think that is what they mean by "eco" when it comes to ink. That means economical, so called eco-solvent inks are really no less environmentally less friendly than full solvent inks. They just have a weaker or a slightly less aggressive solvent which makes them less stinky is all. The VOC's are not good for you regardless. I think as far as thinking of it as your shops air quality, being the "environment" and odor being what is unfriendly then yes, maybe in that context they are more environmentally friendly. As far as being more earth friendly, in that context they are no more environmentally friendly than full solvent inks. Its the same pigments and on both and once the solvents evaporate they are basically the same. We run full solvent Triangle inks. I looked at the MSDS and I do think the below is meant to indicate working with the exposed open liquids for the most part. The entire ink system is a sealed system, we do not use open bulk ink tanks, the bulk ink is in sealed bags. I'm not going to go to the extent of replacing the light switches and whatnot in the room but the below does give me some pause in considering looking into a sealed motor (explosion proof) type exhaust fan. That being said, after over 10 years of using an inline exhaust fan for our printers I have never had an issue and the exhaust fans built into the printer itself as well as the switches and relays in the printer are certainly not explosion proof. I'm thinking of it now from more of an insurance liability standpoint. What "if" something did happen, would the insurance try to deny a claim because of the type of exhaust fan used? Some bits from the MSDS for the inks we run...

"Ignition temperature: 536°F)
Auto Igniting: Product is not self igniting.
Danger of Explosion: Product does not present and explosion hazard.

Store and use away from heat, sparks, open flame or any other ignition source. Use explosion-proof electrical (ventilating, lighting and material handling) equipment. Use non-sparking tools. Take precautionary measures against electrostatic discharges. To avoid fire or explosion, dissipate static electricity during transfer by grounding and bonding containers and equipment before transferring material.

Engineering measures : Use only with adequate ventilation. Use process enclosures, local exhaust ventilation or other engineering controls to keep worker exposure to airborne contaminants below any recommended or statutory limits. The engineering controls also need to keep gas, vapor or dust concentrations below any lower explosive limits. Use explosion-proof ventilation equipment.

Fire fighting instructions :Combustible liquid. In a fire or if heated, a pressure increase will occur and the container may burst, with the risk of a subsequent explosion. The vapor/gas is heavier than air and will spread along the ground. Vapors may accumulate in low or confined areas or travel a considerable distance to a source of ignition and flash back."