Blow it out your...... window - Dust Collection

So I’m wondering if there is any problem with blowing the fine dust out the window. By any problem I mean are we prohibited legally, or via the lease from doing so?

The big advantages I’m seeing to this are:

  1. No filters. If the filters were being used in an industrial wood shop, we’d need to replace them about every 3 months. With our lighter use, it’s probably closer to 6 months or a year. However, they’re approximately $100-150 a shot.
  2. Cleaner. Even with the filters it still leaks in places, and keeps the fine dust in the hive. Blowing it out the window means none of that stays in the Hive.

Problems:

  1. Need a hole. We could probably cut one in the metal sheet above the ac units.
  2. Long Run/Move system. To get to a window would require either a run of 20’ or moving the dust collector into a corner, and scrapping the current ducting system. I think we’ve going to have to rework the current ducting a little anyway, but worse case that’s $100-200 worth of ducting that gets thrown out if we move the system, and we’ll need to find a way to mount it to the wall, or build a stand. I’m not sure we can run a 20’ pipe and have it actually blow the dust out the window.

Remind me to light off roman candles outside to celebrate the new system. :slight_smile:
-D

Biggest downside may be exhausting the building heat in the winter months...

@Dave - Be careful to aim at the piles of saw dust…

@Jim - Good point. I’m not sure how bad it would be, the dust collector is rated at 1300 CFM, which is about 3x more than the fan I’ve got installed in my range hood, which also vents outside. I don’t have a problem in my kitchen, but we don’t run it that often either. Then there’s a question of how much we lose to all the other leaks at the Hive. (I realize a fan actively pushing air moves a lot more).

According to wikipedia, this is the number of air exchanges in an hour:
N = 60 * Q / Vol

Where
Q = Air flow in CFM (or 1300) in our case.
Vol = volume of space in cubic feet.

Assuming the Hive has 20’ ceilings, and is approximately 50’x100’, that makes a volume of 100,000 cubic feet.

So in an hour we would do something like 3/4 exchange of the conditioned air in the Hive. This is ignoring the normal heating/cool effects etc. Not sure if it would be a problem or not.

I believe the heat is included in the rent so outside of enviromental concerns, I don't think you are going to cool the place faster than trent can heat it.

Heat is gas, not electric, not sure if we get gas for free as well.

I was under the impression gas was included.