Indoor casting,exhaust fan.

[Cleve Branch]

Been thinking of using a kitchen range exhaust vent above my work bench in the garage so I can cast in cold weather. Any one here use one or is there enough vapors to worry about?

[John Boy]

Cleve - I cast all my bullets in the basement. The basement has smoke/fire alarms, one about 10 feet from where I cast.
When I cast, here's the drill:
* Open 2 windows
* Turn a floor fan on and point it towards one of the windows
* When I flux, hit the flux with a match to ignite the flux into a flame - not smoking
* Run the fan until finished casting
So - no smoke - no fumes of any kind and plenty of ventilation
Your exhaust fan will pull the smoke out and 'any smells'. As for vapors, unless your temperature borders 1000F - there are none
PS: I have my blood tested for lead every 2 years - have been below the magic number of 12

[Pb Burner]

I've been considering the same thing, but for my basement "loading" room. I have a like new range hood with fan from a remodel. I am planning on venting to outside like a clothes dryer. I'm not sure the hood will move enough air. I cast outside using pickup tailgate as a bench now. I also want to do some casting in the winter months, but too cold outside.
I will be watching this thread with much interest, I hope you get a lot of answers, advice, and suggestions.

[berksglh]

I have a shower style exhaust fan ducted with 3" dryer tube from my basement 12x12 room into the abandoned chimney. I don't light my flux smoke, and some of it escapes the room. As long as i keep fluxing to a minimum, The wife doesn't notice.

I believe a good range hood would help capture the fumes better, or even adding a 6" dropped boarder 2' square around my shower fan may do the trick.

Been casting like that for about 2 - 3 years.

[FLHTC]

I've been casting indoors for over 30 years. I do my smelting in the garage but my casting in the basement. I flux with a tiny bit of bees wax but very seldom. No fans or open windows. Fumes are only produced at much higher temperatures than any of us cast at.

[DxieLandMan]

I cast in the garage as well and use a box fan to blow the fumes out.

[runfiverun]

the only thing I worry about is fluxing/reducing.
the smoke will fill the garage.
so I don't flux all that often I just squish the oxides against the side of the pot and scrape them out and save them for when I smelt my next batch of ww's.
when I do reduce I just open the door and turn on a fan at the door and one behind me to get rid of the smoke.
lighting the oxide reducer [wax] on fire gets rid of most of the smoke.

[mdi]

The problem would be smoke, not vapors. I crack the door a few inches (6' away on my left) and put a 10" fan set on low 4'-5' to my right. The fan keeps smoke outta my face and blows it towards the door. Been doin' it this way for the last 6 years here in Oregon, and to a lesser extent 10 years prior to that. I don't put my face over my melting pot and do deep breathing exercises, so I've never needed any more than good ventilation (open doors or windows)...

Installation of a range hood w/exhaust fan would be great and really easy to use/cast under, but in my mind a bit of overkill...

[NavyVet1959]

Notice that the OP just said "vapors", not "lead vapors". The fluxes that we use would produce vapors when heated and possibly smoke ir lighted. I suspect that he might be talking about anything you could smell or could be potentially harmful when he uses the term "vapors", even if the chemical composition of it doesn't technically meet the definition of "vapor" from a physics standpoint (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vapor).

I would suggest the OP research "fume hoods".

Simple enough that even a teenage boy can do it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXNN9UhSdes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDM75bv6U1U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gmo4jDNC_fw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jggLgps-n2Y

[Cleve Branch]

Thanks for the input. I was mostly worried about lead vapors, I didn't know when casting the lead isn't hot enough.
Just thought it wouldn't take much to put in an older kitchen vent (cheap).
Thanks Again
Cleve

[454PB]

With much trepidation gained from previous posts..........Marvelux.I've been casting indoors without ventilation for 40 years. I've had several blood lead tests and was always far below the levels that are cause for concern.

[jsizemore]

A member reported using lead wipes in the casting area and finding evidence of lead even at normal casting temps. Some use an exhaust fan, others don't. Some like to hazmat. YMMV. It can't hurt to insure vapor removal from your casting area. I do use a 2 speed exhaust fan with the intake 10" from my lead pot. I flux so I don't have a flare up even though all my ducting is steel.

[swmass]

I cast in an attached garage. The window is a good couple feet from me but I open it up and point a decent power fan at it that sits on the corner of my work bench. Sometimes I'll open the garage door just for good measure. When I flux I'll hit it with a grill ligher to make sure it doesnt smoke... this is a must because if you dont you'll smoke yourself and the whole room out... ask me how I know:lol:.

As far as lead exposure goes, its just melted lead so it isnt evaporating and you arent breathing it in... I'd say crank any fans you got, do your best to vent out for any fumes from fluxing and go for it.

[mdi]

Well, you can go ahead with your plans, making your casting area more pleasant, or let fear take over. The whole "lead poisoning scare" is way overblown. I got more toxic substances from just breathing L.A. air than I've ever got from shooting or casting. No offense to anyone, but a lot of folks overthink safety. Yep some bad results may occur if you cast everyday for 87 1/2 years in an un-ventilated cubbyhole and it's OK to err on the side of caution, but listening to some members you will end up wearing a full hazmat suit with self contained breathing apparatus, full welder's boots, asbestos apron (nope, can't do that, asbestos causes cancer), full face shield with safety glasses underneath, a fireproof skull cap, and full welder's gauntlets. And all that's fine, if you want to go that way. There are many, many casters that have been casting for decades and have no elevated lead levels in their blood, who have chosen to just use common sense. I began casting lead sinkers on Mom's stove when I was about 14 and none of her kids have lead poisoning. I have had more adverse effects from just breathing city air than any of my hobbies and my throat cancer was not from casting sinkers or lead (Doctors told me it was prolly a combination of smoking, L.A. air and genetics).
So use common sense, protect yourself from splashes (glasses, shoes not sandles or barefoot, etc.), don't chew on a freshly cast bullet when casting, don't do deep breathing exercises over the pot, wash your hands when done casting and you too can cast boolits for many, many years without worry of the dreaded, evil lead entering your body...

Jes a geezer's opinion/experiences.

[Geezer in NH]

My man cave has a casting station with a 36 inch stove hood fan with metal pipe to a basement window above it about 24 inches away.

I covered both sides of the hood fan to the bench with 1/8 inch Lexan. For the front I went with a piece of the same to 8 inches below the hood.

I have cast for over 25 years under it. My lead levels are below normal for someone raised in the 50's in a large city. [parents did not let me chew the woodwork] I played in the yards and came home covered in dirt and then had to take a bath before supper so I must not have ingested any of the rampart lead from the evil gasoline fumes of cars.

I never smoked when casting or drank or ate when casting. Nor do I wear masks or filters.

[gwpercle]

Not a bad idea to have some ventilation, smoke and fumes may not be hazardous but fresh air is good. A kitchen range exhaust hood would be excellent but make sure it is a VENTED hood. The contractor installed a new modern ventless hood in my kitchen and it's a joke. The smell and smoke go through a stainless steel mesh filter and right back out into your kitchen, just about even with your eyes. That vent is no vent at all.....biggest hoax ever put over on homeowners.
To do any good it MUST be vented, have a metal duct from the hood fan to the exterior of the building.
Another option is a kitchen or utility room wall vent. Its mounted in an exterior wall and sucks smoke and fumes out to the exterior.
Those work well also. Ventless hood....just say NO !
Gary

[NavyVet1959]

Not a bad idea to have some ventilation, smoke and fumes may not be hazardous but fresh air is good. A kitchen range exhaust hood would be excellent but make sure it is a VENTED hood. The contractor installed a new modern ventless hood in my kitchen and it's a joke. The smell and smoke go through a stainless steel mesh filter and right back out into your kitchen, just about even with your eyes. That vent is no vent at all.....biggest hoax ever put over on homeowners.
To do any good it MUST be vented, have a metal duct from the hood fan to the exterior of the building.
Another option is a kitchen or utility room wall vent. Its mounted in an exterior wall and sucks smoke and fumes out to the exterior.
Those work well also. Ventless hood....just say NO !
Gary

Another one of the hoaxes put over on homeowners are the bottom draft vents. Heat rises, so does the smell or smoke (e.g. blackened steak) from what you are cooking. The bottom draft vents on ranges don't work that great plus they actually end up robbing your pots of some of the heat from the flame.

The ventless ranges are basically just grease filters. Stir fry some hot peppers and you'll see how "well" they work.

[fredj338]

A member reported using lead wipes in the casting area and finding evidence of lead even at normal casting temps. Some use an exhaust fan, others don't. Some like to hazmat. YMMV. It can't hurt to insure vapor removal from your casting area. I do use a 2 speed exhaust fan with the intake 10" from my lead pot. I flux so I don't have a flare up even though all my ducting is steel.
This is from popping the spru plate open, not from actual melting the lead. Lead at normal melting temps, under 750deg, does not vaporize. I wear a particle mask because of that, but not worried about fumes.

[Mal Paso]

If you use a vent fan you need to open another window to make up the air you are venting. You don't need huge volume especially if you heat the replacement air. When it's cold I open a window on the other side of the wood stove from the casting room.

I use a $25 Home Depot Bath fan with 3" tube attached to a piece of wood that is trapped in the sliding window. A stick cut to length holds the window closed against the wood.

[41 mag fan]

Or if you build an overhead vent and pipe anything out you can hard wire an inline air duct fan. Bought mine at Menard for $28

[Pardini]

When I had the house built, I had the contractor add 3 feet on to the back of the garage on run a vent up through the roof. Same as the kitchen exhaust vent over the cooktop. When we picked out appliances I bought two kitchen vent hoods, dual fan, 3 speed high cfm jobs. Built my loading/casting bench in the 3 foot extension of the garage and installed the exhaust hood at one end of the bench. Works great no matter how smoky the flux is, no smoke and barely any smell in the garage.

The old house, I did the open door with fans behind me and in the door. Yeah it sucked out the smoke, but not until after I sat in the cloud for awhile. It's a grand denial thinking good ventilation is being paranoid.

[varminter66]

I use a 4 in inline duct fan, wired for a grounded wall plug, and about 14 ft of flexible aluminum duct... vent through a hole for an old dryer vent, and it works wonderfully. It cost me about $60 for everything, and a little time.

[Mmacro]

Without going overboard... an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Right now I rent and can’t permanently install stuff. I have a garage that will be a temporary lead station, as in a small wood table with an open-facing cabinet on top. The idea being to contain any tinsel fairy visits and avoid loosing my rental deposit.

I’ll likely make a 12” plywood insert (appropriate sized hole cut in it) with an exhaust fan mounted to it that will be inserted in the open window. Using a piece of articulated dryer vent hose I can bend the hose to be very close to the pot, or any other device emitting smoke, odors or vapors, and draw the offending emission out the window without causing a hurricane in my workspace.

[MOA]

I got so tired of getting rained out while I was living on the Gulf coast in the summer that when I needed to get some casting done I took it inside where I had air conditioning and no rain drops. Winter months were about the only time the rain and humidity did not hamper me.


https://i.postimg.cc/YqzqQqWT/Photo0761.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/nh1ds27y/20190906_115707.jpg (https://postimg.cc/4YmvqzWP)

[greenjoytj]

No matter how hard I try tiny bright silver lead particles still hit the floor.
Even my cloth shop apron acquires tiny dots of lead splashing.
I found a mat designed to park a BBQ on to contain grease splatter works great to keep the lead mess off the floor.
Trying to cast while seated just didn’t work for me, I must be standing to cast.
I do have a chair 6’ behind me to rest in while the furnace gets back up to temperature.

[JimB..]

I got so tired of getting rained out while I was living on the Gulf coast in the summer that when I needed to get some casting done I took it inside where I had air conditioning and no rain drops. Winter months were about the only time the rain and humidity did not hamper me.


https://i.postimg.cc/YqzqQqWT/Photo0761.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/nh1ds27y/20190906_115707.jpg (https://postimg.cc/4YmvqzWP)

If Norman Rockwell had painted this it would be titled “kitchen of an unmarried man”

[MOA]

If Norman Rockwell had painted this it would be titled “kitchen of an unmarried man”


Jim, I'd have to agree with you on the title if it was from before 2003. So, my title would be Rainy weather caster with the BEST WIFE in the world.:bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2:

[B R Shooter]

I have an old 5" diameter fan. Been around forever. I bought a 5x4 duct adapter and 2 lengths of vinyl dryer duct hose. I hung the fan from the joists to sit a few inches from the electric pot, and the hose goes out the door. I can feel the air flow through the dryer duct, so it's pulling air from the pot to the outside.

[JimB..]

Jim, I'd have to agree with you on the title if it was from before 2003. So, my title would be Rainy weather caster with the BEST WIFE in the world.:bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2:
Congrats!

[Winger Ed.]

my title would be Rainy weather caster with the BEST WIFE in the world.:


You're my new hero.

If I tried that set up, within the hour--- neighbors would go by the front yard, and see my head on a stick.:bigsmyl2:

I was forever banned from doing 'boolit stuff' in the kitchen after the 2nd .45ACP cooked off in the oven.
I'd washed a bunch of range brass that I'd picked up in the sink, and was 'speed drying' them.

[remy3424]

If Norman Rockwell had painted this it would be titled “kitchen of an unmarried man”

That would have been a kind title for this disaster waiting to happen.

[GregLaROCHE]

As already mentioned, to have efficient ventilation and fumes exhausted, you need an opening to the outside to allow the same amount of air to enter the room as is exhausted. In colder temperatures you’re going to be cooling the room down significantly, unless you are off setting it with a powerful heat source. If you have a wood stove in the room, it shouldn’t be to bad, but if you are heating with a more expensive fuel, beware.

I cast outside and it does get cold sometimes. I’ve thought about getting a radiant type heater to focus on me. To have adequate airflow to cast inside is one thing, but to to do it when temperatures outside are below freezing is another.

[Cast_outlaw]

One of the guys I worked with is a Tinbasher who has a specialization in ducting. we built and installed this from scraps from the shop had to buy $20 in ducting and a wall vent. fan is an old squirrel cage fan from the scrap pile to. And added the great to help trap smoke near the fan as it would tend to role at the edges and waft out
279570
279571

[Cast_outlaw]

I got so tired of getting rained out while I was living on the Gulf coast in the summer that when I needed to get some casting done I took it inside where I had air conditioning and no rain drops. Winter months were about the only time the rain and humidity did not hamper me.


https://i.postimg.cc/YqzqQqWT/Photo0761.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/nh1ds27y/20190906_115707.jpg (https://postimg.cc/4YmvqzWP)

Your a legend, and your wife is a mythical unicorn congratulations. I was banned from the kitchen after washing my SBH, and Dakota buntline in the kitchen sink after shooting black powder.

[AlHunt]

I got so tired of getting rained out while I was living on the Gulf coast in the summer that when I needed to get some casting done I took it inside where I had air conditioning and no rain drops. Winter months were about the only time the rain and humidity did not hamper me.


https://i.postimg.cc/YqzqQqWT/Photo0761.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/nh1ds27y/20190906_115707.jpg (https://postimg.cc/4YmvqzWP)

My casting bench has lead particles, slivers, pieces, chunks, dust and debris for 3' on either side of the pot and all over the floor. My kitchen would be a hazmat zone in about an hour.

[GregLaROCHE]

My casting bench has lead particles, slivers, pieces, chunks, dust and debris for 3' on either side of the pot and all over the floor. My kitchen would be a hazmat zone in about an hour.

I have to agree with you. Lead particles do seem to end up a ways from the pot. That’s saying nothing about the Tin Fairy making an appearance.

[brass410]

Or if you build an overhead vent and pipe anything out you can hard wire an inline air duct fan. Bought mine at Menard for $28

this with a length of 4" flexable ducting mated to a outdoor dryer vent works great for me, when not in use I roll it all up and stuffit in a tote bin under the bench dryer vent has flapper so hole thru foundation is closed up. Why take a chance? what happens if your like me using ingots purchased and you drop one in the pot and its a "smoker" it nearly ended my casting before I got into it, swmbo was just furious coulnt see across basement for smoke before I got the pot covered and out the door.LOL