“Swing-Out” Shop Exhaust System
 ✖  |
Kerry Kligora, Mineral Point, Wis., does a lot of welding in his shop. To help get rid of the welding fumes, he installed a “swing-out” vacuum exhaust system that he built out of pvc pipe and the air pump from an old Jacuzzi hot tub.
“It allows me to vacuum as close to the welding area as possible, and swings out of the way against a wall when I don’t need it,” says Kligora.
The exhaust system sets about 7 ft. above the shop floor on a wall above the working area. It consists of 2-in. dia. pvc pipe and elbows that hook up to a 1 hp, 110-volt air pump from a Jacuzzi hot tub. A 3 1/2-in. dia., accordion-style vent tube (the air induction tube off a car) hangs down from the end of a horizontal 5-ft. length of pvc pipe. The pipe is supported by a cable and pivots 180 degrees on a male and female threaded coupler.
“It’s really handy to use. I swing the pipe out from the wall whenever I need it, which allows me to extend the vent tube as close to the welding area as possible,” says Kligora. “The cable is tight when I’m using the system, but sags otherwise so I screwed a shelf bracket to the wall to support the vent tube.
“The air pump pulls plenty of air through the 15 ft. of piping and gets rid of 80 percent of the fumes. If I want, I can wire up the vent tube at an angle and suck fumes just 3 to 4 in. from the welding area so it doesn’t get too hot. I can also put the vent tube over or near the exhaust stack on skid loaders and tractors while working on them in the shop.
“I came up with the idea because I want to keep my shop doors shut while I do welding work during the winter. I don’t like to turn on the shop’s main exhaust fan because too much hot air is lost. The vent tube only sucks a small amount of air from the immediate area where I’m welding. It could be a little wider, so I plan to fashion a bigger hood from lightweight plastic that will help gather the exhaust from a wider area. The vent tube extends 4 1/2 ft. down, but I can reach up and push it in for storage so it’s only 18 in. long.”
The pump is screwed to a piece of plywood that’s screwed to the wall. Kligora attached the pvc tube to the pump by drilling pilot holes into a flange on the pump, and then screwing the tube on with three 1-in. sheet metal screws.
“The pump rotates at 3,200 rpm’s and pushes about 800 cu. ft. per min., so it has a lot more suction than you’d think for such a small pump. You can often find such pumps free on Craigslist,” says Kligora.
He already had the air pump, which had a cracked housing. “I had everything else I needed except for one or 2 pvc fittings,” he notes.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Kerry Kligora, 2138 County Rd. E, Mineral Point, Wis. 53565 (ph 608 553-2062; Kerry.kligora@gmail.com).
Click here to download page story appeared in.
Click here to read entire issue
“Swing-Out” Shop Exhaust System FARM SHOP Maintenance Kerry Kligora Mineral Point Wis does a lot of welding in his shop To help get rid of the welding fumes he installed a “swing-out” vacuum exhaust system that he built out of pvc pipe and the air pump from an old Jacuzzi hot tub “It allows me to vacuum as close to the welding area as possible and swings out of the way against a wall when I don’t need it ” says Kligora The exhaust system sets about 7 ft above the shop floor on a wall above the working area It consists of 2-in dia pvc pipe and elbows that hook up to a 1 hp 110-volt air pump from a Jacuzzi hot tub A 3 1/2-in dia accordion-style vent tube the air induction tube off a car hangs down from the end of a horizontal 5-ft length of pvc pipe The pipe is supported by a cable and pivots 180 degrees on a male and female threaded coupler “It’s really handy to use I swing the pipe out from the wall whenever I need it which allows me to extend the vent tube as close to the welding area as possible ” says Kligora “The cable is tight when I’m using the system but sags otherwise so I screwed a shelf bracket to the wall to support the vent tube “The air pump pulls plenty of air through the 15 ft of piping and gets rid of 80 percent of the fumes If I want I can wire up the vent tube at an angle and suck fumes just 3 to 4 in from the welding area so it doesn’t get too hot I can also put the vent tube over or near the exhaust stack on skid loaders and tractors while working on them in the shop “I came up with the idea because I want to keep my shop doors shut while I do welding work during the winter I don’t like to turn on the shop’s main exhaust fan because too much hot air is lost The vent tube only sucks a small amount of air from the immediate area where I’m welding It could be a little wider so I plan to fashion a bigger hood from lightweight plastic that will help gather the exhaust from a wider area The vent tube extends 4 1/2 ft down but I can reach up and push it in for storage so it’s only 18 in long ” The pump is screwed to a piece of plywood that’s screwed to the wall Kligora attached the pvc tube to the pump by drilling pilot holes into a flange on the pump and then screwing the tube on with three 1-in sheet metal screws “The pump rotates at 3 200 rpm’s and pushes about 800 cu ft per min so it has a lot more suction than you’d think for such a small pump You can often find such pumps free on Craigslist ” says Kligora He already had the air pump which had a cracked housing “I had everything else I needed except for one or 2 pvc fittings ” he notes Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Kerry Kligora 2138 County Rd E Mineral Point Wis 53565 ph 608 553-2062; Kerry kligora@gmail com
