Casting ventilation hood ?

[Sensai]

I was reading the thread about smelting at high ambient temperatures, and somebody mentioned casting being worse than smelting. I normally cast under the "lean-to" section attached to my garage, but after a sweaty and miserable session last evening I'm thinking of moving indoors. My question is: Does anyone use a ventilation hood for indoor casting? If you do, what kind? Will a regular kitchen range hood over a bench and vented to the outside be sufficient? I do my sizing and lubricating on a corner end of my wall length workbench in my shop. It shouldn't be too much of a problem to install a range hood, if that would do the job. My concern is that the range hood is designed for rising fumes and I don't know if that will cover the fumes created during casting. What do you think???

[Mal Paso]

The boiling point of Lead is 3182F. Most of us cast below that temperature so lead fumes aren't a big problem. Most fumes are whatever is used for flux. I use a bath fan right over the pot.

If you are indoors you have to replace the air you vent. You can open a window but there may be heating/cooling issues. The less you vent the less you have to replace. I went for a small unit right over the pot.

[ku4hx]

My wife just luuuuves my cast boolit rounds. But the thought of smoking up "her" drapes, clothing, carpeting and such with casting smoke is not a place I want to go. It's one thing to have the house smell of a fine meal (prepared under a nice externally vented hood), it's something entirely different to have that with fluxing aromas.

[Sensai]

Sounds like either a bathroom exhaust fan or a range hood should do the job. I think that I'll try to find a small range hood with high flow capacity. I have a lot of windows in my shop, so partially opening one on the opposite side of the shop should do the trick. Do you guys have any problem of smoke detectors going off while you're fluxing? I have full smoke detector coverage in the shop because of all the woodworking tools and dust collection system.

[Mal Paso]

I have a smokie across from the casting bench and it has never gone off.

I flux the casting pot with a half a pea size bit of beeswax. By the time it gets to the casting pot the alloy has been fluxed several times with sawdust in the outside smelter.

[Qc pistolero]

My son in law is electrician;ladies like to have their kitchen with the latest so he changes still good but out of fashion ventilation hoods on a regular basis.Asked him to save one for me.He even installed it for me(he likes to shoot with his father in law's guns without having to reload)Since after fluxing I put sawdust over the molten lead to prevent oxydation,the stuff makes a lot of smoke.Yes,the outfit works just fine to keep the working area clear of smoke.Just remember to open up a window about half an inch at the opposite end.

Qc Pistolero

[ipijohn]

I cast in my basement. I cut a sewer pipe size hole in the sill plate of my house above my casting area and put a PVC pipe out of the house with an inline duct fan that I turn on when casting. The PVC pipe has a "clean out" cap on it outside to prevent air and rodents from getting into the house.