Garage exhaust fan idea

[Teikas Dad]

I keep my tractor inside a large garage that has an apartment (occupied) over it on the second floor. The tractor is all the way in the back of the garage away from the door. In an effort to get the exhaust fumes out of the garage when I start the tractor I mounted a large box fan hanging down from the ceiling alongside the tractor pointing towards the garage door. (about 15 feet to the door) Before I start the tractor I open the garage door and turn the fan on. I'm not really impressed with the results, even with the fan pointing down at the tractor at a 45 degree angle.

I checked the home centers for ideas but all they've got are the smaller sized bathroom fans that push maybe 50 to 100 cfpm. I want to set up something to make sure I get the fumes out of the garage when I start the tractor.

I checked Harbor Freight and found this that is listed at running 1400 to 1574 cfpm:8" Portable Ventilator



They also have an 8" hose for the exhaust side of the fan:8" Ventilation Duct




Between the tractor exhaust pipe and the fan I was thinking of using 8" flexible aluminum duct that HDepot sells. I figured I'd mount the fan to the ceiling and get a through the wall exhaust vent cover (like a large dryer vent cover). Slide the flex duct over the end of the exhaust pipe, turn on the fan then start the tractor.

Curious if anyone else has done something like this. I'm not sure if this will work so any tips or advice, pro and con, would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jenkinsph]

I would recommend you set up a method for cross ventilation. That is draw fresh air in from the far wall or door way and install a ventilator through the wall on the opposite side of the garage. I would also recommend a sealed sheetrock ceiling to lessen migration of the air and fumes through the upper floor. You can buy side wall ventilators with louvers that open/close with the fan to limit drafts when not used.

What I would do is open the door start the tractor and idle out the door right away to reduce the smoke to a limited level. I don't see how this would adversely affect the tractor in any way.

 

[thenorth]

park the tractor, just inside the door, start it then back out slow.... easy ...JMO

 

[adirondackmtnman]

I keep my tractor inside a large garage that has an apartment (occupied) over it on the second floor. The tractor is all the way in the back of the garage away from the door. In an effort to get the exhaust fumes out of the garage when I start the tractor I mounted a large box fan hanging down from the ceiling alongside the tractor pointing towards the garage door. (about 15 feet to the door) Before I start the tractor I open the garage door and turn the fan on. I'm not really impressed with the results, even with the fan pointing down at the tractor at a 45 degree angle.

I checked the home centers for ideas but all they've got are the smaller sized bathroom fans that push maybe 50 to 100 cfpm. I want to set up something to make sure I get the fumes out of the garage when I start the tractor.

I checked Harbor Freight and found this that is listed at running 1400 to 1574 cfpm:8" Portable Ventilator

<img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=354725"/>

They also have an 8" hose for the exhaust side of the fan:8" Ventilation Duct

<img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=354726"/>

Between the tractor exhaust pipe and the fan I was thinking of using 8" flexible aluminum duct that HDepot sells. I figured I'd mount the fan to the ceiling and get a through the wall exhaust vent cover (like a large dryer vent cover). Slide the flex duct over the end of the exhaust pipe, turn on the fan then start the tractor.

Curious if anyone else has done something like this. I'm not sure if this will work so any tips or advice, pro and con, would be greatly appreciated.

Fire departments have had track systems with hoses connected to the exhaust pipes for years. Those in particular are quite expensive, but google some pics, may not be hard to conceive of something similar relatively cheaply in a garage...

Sent from my LGL35G using TractorByNet

 

[Gary Fowler]

I keep my tractor inside a large garage that has an apartment (occupied) over it on the second floor. The tractor is all the way in the back of the garage away from the door. In an effort to get the exhaust fumes out of the garage when I start the tractor I mounted a large box fan hanging down from the ceiling alongside the tractor pointing towards the garage door. (about 15 feet to the door) Before I start the tractor I open the garage door and turn the fan on. I'm not really impressed with the results, even with the fan pointing down at the tractor at a 45 degree angle.

I checked the home centers for ideas but all they've got are the smaller sized bathroom fans that push maybe 50 to 100 cfpm. I want to set up something to make sure I get the fumes out of the garage when I start the tractor.

I checked Harbor Freight and found this that is listed at running 1400 to 1574 cfpm:8" Portable Ventilator

View attachment 354725

They also have an 8" hose for the exhaust side of the fan:8" Ventilation Duct


View attachment 354726

Between the tractor exhaust pipe and the fan I was thinking of using 8" flexible aluminum duct that HDepot sells. I figured I'd mount the fan to the ceiling and get a through the wall exhaust vent cover (like a large dryer vent cover). Slide the flex duct over the end of the exhaust pipe, turn on the fan then start the tractor.

Curious if anyone else has done something like this. I'm not sure if this will work so any tips or advice, pro and con, would be greatly appreciated.

A standard 20x20x10 foot garage would be 4000 cubic feet of air. So with this fan located at the deepest end of the garage and as close to the ceiling as possible it should work. In less than 3 minutes it would completely exchange the entire volume of air in the garage. You would have excellent cross-ventilation with the garage door open. Since the exhaust gas is hot, it will rise to the ceiling where the fan should whisk it outside very quickly. Sealing the garage interior if not already done would be a good idea to prevent exhaust smell from penetrating the upper apartment. Even though the garage will only briefly encounter with exhaust fumes and not likely build up dangerous levels for CO, the smell may be a little obnoxious to some folks like my wife for instance, as for me, I love the smell of diesel exhaust.

 

[crazyal]

Have you thought about just using a simple aluminum flexible duct and an inline fan? I would just attach a magnet to the duct so I could easily attach it to the exhaust pipe and put the fan near the door. Or you might be able to make an exhaust vent on the side of the garage and mount the fan permanently. Maybe with a door that could be insulated and closed to keep the heat in when the fan is not in use.

 

[Looking4new]

Have you thought about using a furnace fan out through the wall? With the counterbalanced louvers. When the fan is on the louvers open and the air/exhaust goes out and when the fan is not on the louvers close.

 

[jenkinsph]

Here is an example of a side wall mount fan available at Grainger that would work for your application.

DAYTON Exhaust Fan,10 In,115V,1/25hp,1550rpm - Shutter Mounted Exhaust Fans - 1HLA1|1HLA1 - Grainger Industrial Supply

 

[Coyote machine]

I have similar situation with prevailing wind flowing toward the tractor bay door. I open the overhead door, start the tractor as I complete the glow sequence and immediately back out. Then I move away from the open door and let the tractor warm up without exhaust being able to flow back into the bay. I have a side door, overhead type, on the side far wall which I can open to get cross went going if needed. In your case I'd go with something like the wall fan with louvers on the end wall to suck vapors out starting before you open your bay door until 5-10 minutes after you are out of the bay to vent the area. Also use a high end co detector in the apt above, so if anything gets through you will have early detection for your tenant and will be able to tweak your vent timing/duration.

 

[Midniteoyl]

I keep my tractor inside a large garage that has an apartment (occupied) over it on the second floor. The tractor is all the way in the back of the garage away from the door. In an effort to get the exhaust fumes out of the garage when I start the tractor I mounted a large box fan hanging down from the ceiling alongside the tractor pointing towards the garage door. (about 15 feet to the door) Before I start the tractor I open the garage door and turn the fan on. I'm not really impressed with the results, even with the fan pointing down at the tractor at a 45 degree angle.

I checked the home centers for ideas but all they've got are the smaller sized bathroom fans that push maybe 50 to 100 cfpm. I want to set up something to make sure I get the fumes out of the garage when I start the tractor.

I checked Harbor Freight and found this that is listed at running 1400 to 1574 cfpm:8" Portable Ventilator

View attachment 354725

They also have an 8" hose for the exhaust side of the fan:8" Ventilation Duct


View attachment 354726

Between the tractor exhaust pipe and the fan I was thinking of using 8" flexible aluminum duct that HDepot sells. I figured I'd mount the fan to the ceiling and get a through the wall exhaust vent cover (like a large dryer vent cover). Slide the flex duct over the end of the exhaust pipe, turn on the fan then start the tractor.

Curious if anyone else has done something like this. I'm not sure if this will work so any tips or advice, pro and con, would be greatly appreciated.

If the fan is not explosion proof, I wouldn't feed it direct exhaust.. diesel or not.