Ideal studio set-up

[ardecamp]

Hi there, all. I've been lurking here for awhile and am so impressed with how giving and selfless everyone is with their knowledge and information. What a great community! Anyway, we're building a new garage/studio/guest house (my husband is getting a new toy car and I'm sure the studio is a guilt thing, but I'll take it and run with it) and I will have room to create my dream glass studio. I'm going to use natural gas with a carlisle mini cc and Integra 10 concentrator. Does this sound like a good set up? My question is, what do I tell the guys who come to hook all of this up and what do I need as far as a hood vent is concerned? The space is 11 1/2 x 25 (including a bathroom) with a loft above. There will be a lower ceiling above the torch where a fan can be located. I'm just clueless. I've been thinking about this for about 3 years and now that it's coming to fruition, I don't want to screw it up. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks in advance.
Alison

[Just Nancy]

Our space is about the same size. I'm not done yet so I don't have any suggestions. I'm hoping to get some suggestions myself. ;) I've been in less than ideal places for about the last 3 years also. I'll be watching to see if you get tips.

I'm on propane and tanked oxygen currently with a bobcat, hoping to upgrade to something that will do boro ornaments. So I can't help with the gas hook up or anything. Sorry.

[Dale M.]

The actual ventilation issue is not dependent on room size. It is dependent on hood size or fume cabinet opening size.... IF your hood were to be 18 x 24 inches it would have a face opening of 432 sq inches or 3 square feet (432/144=3)

So "simple" calculation using the 100 CFM of air flow per square foot of opening rule the blower requirement for this installation is 300 CFM... One also have to take into consideration duct length, duct diameter and number of turns in duct work. Diameter of duct, length of duct, and number of turns in duct all contribute to "static pressure". Static pressure is actually resistance to air flow so it causes your 300 CFM blower to be less efficient and it will actually move less air that it is rated at...

Working out formulas is not hard, you do have to have some design criteria already decided upon to see if actual blower capacity you have selected will be with in limits for moving proper volume of air.

Also just as important if you find you are moving 380 CFM of contaminates air out of studio through your vent system, you must have make up air source capable of supplying 380 CFM ( or more ) of fresh air from outside into studio.

Dale

[ardecamp]

Thanks for the replies! I appreciate any and all comments, and it's nice to know other people are interested, too. Will opening a window supply enough fresh air? Also, I don't have any of my components yet, but will my electricians/plumbers know how to connect all of this stuff? If I get the Carlisle mini cc and operate it with NG with the Integra 10 O2 concentrator, will that eliminate the possibility of the knobs on the torch getting too hot? Do I need separate circuits? Can I ask any more questions?

[Dale M.]

Your electricians and plumbers can assemble all the pieces for you. BUT you have to do the design work and assure yourself and them that your design criteria is correct.

If in doubt add extra electrical sockets and circuits... I would suggest one circuit for kiln/annealer and one for oxycons.... And at least two more for misc lighting, ventilation and electrical "things" one needs in studio...

An open window is very good way to supply fresh make up air. Two things to remember, it has to be able to supply at least same volume of air (in rush) as vent blower is extracting from room. And it needs to be at least 10 linear feet away from exhaust outlet so you do not pull in contaminated air.

And being able to run larger volumes of oxygen through torch will keep torch knobs cooler, but you have to also adjust for flame chemistry and a big factor will be your NG supply pressure.

Some basics of ventilation concepts are shown here:

http://www.artglassanswers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=150

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Dale

[ardecamp]

Dale, thanks so much for your input; it's truly invaluable. I don't know where else I'd find such great information. Thanks again. You may be hearing more from me as the studio progresses, and I'm sure I'll post some pictures in the studio forum for more input. Take care,
Alison