Curtain around brew stand

[kramerog]

I'm thinking of putting a curtain around my 3-tier brewstand so that the combustion gases, particles and pollution are better captured by my 470 cfm through wall ventilator.  I'm thinking that the curtain would reach from whatever curtain rod I use to the bottom of my brew pot or so, which is about 8 inches off the floor.  My source of fresh air would be outside the curtain and the idea is for the fresh air to pass under the curtain. 

The curtain rod would be in a U to surround the brewstand.  Is there a way to do this so the attachment hardware does not interfere with opening and closing the curtain?

Any recommendations, thoughts, photos, gotchas?

[Slowbrew]

Are you planning using an actual shower curtain?  My first thought was, if you are thinking about a plastic curtain, it may not handle the heat very well.  I think you will need to make sure the curtain is fairly rigid to keep it from being sucked in towards the burner/s and very heat resistant.

Beyond that I'm not going to be much help (not that I was much help to begin with).

Paul

[kramerog]

Are you planning using an actual shower curtain?  My first thought was, if you are thinking about a plastic curtain, it may not handle the heat very well.  I think you will need to make sure the curtain is fairly rigid to keep it from being sucked in towards the burner/s and very heat resistant.

Beyond that I'm not going to be much help (not that I was much help to begin with).

Paul

I'm thinking of a nylon cloth curtain if I can find one because nylon melts at 374 F or higher depending on the grade of nylon.  Wikipedia says it melts rather than burning.  However, I'm also planning to locate the curtain rod so the curtain is kept a safe distance away from the flames and to weight the bottom of the curtain.  I'll have to do some trigonometry to figure out what that safe distance is. 

[euge]

You want something like this: http://www.strip-curtains.com/proCat/stripDoors.php

Are you planning on being inside the enclosure while brewing?

[kramerog]

Euge,  I will generally be outside the curtain when the burners are on.  When the burners are on, I want to be able to open the curtain for ease of access.

[Jimmy K]

Wikipedia says it melts rather than burning. 

I'm glad you've thoroughly researched this. A burner flame is much higher than 374.
 
You can attach the curtain rod at the ends and once in the middle and have half of the curtain on each side. Or you can have one really rock solid rod attached only at the ends, but this would probably need to be custom made to withstand the torque.
 
I'm still struggling to understand why you think this is a good idea / needed.

[mmitchem]

Gotta ask this - Will this system be using LP indoors?

[euge]

I have a good idea as to why: despite the exhaust fan it is heating up and getting stuffy in that area. IIRC it is in his basement. Just an educated WAG though. MY experience from brewing in the garage was that would also heat up to where I couldn't bear to be in there during most months of the year. This is even with the garage doors and the outside door open.

If the enclosure was "bigger" the heat from the burner would be less likely to melt the barrier.

[kramerog]

My daughter and I are somewhat sensitive to breathing in the soot from the burners.  Using a curtain would allow the exhaust fan to better capture all that stuff I don't want to breathe.  I'm trying to create a homemade fume hood of sorts. 

My burners are natural gas.

[euge]

My daughter and I are somewhat sensitive to breathing in the soot from the burners.  Using a curtain would allow the exhaust fan to better capture all that stuff I don't want to breathe.  I'm trying to create a homemade fume hood of sorts. 

My burners are natural gas.

Soot? What color is your flame? You shouldn't be getting any soot from NG unless the flame is fuel-rich.

[Slowbrew]

If it were me, I would most likely make a light duty wood frame with flashing on the flame side.  Kind of like a bi-fold door design so it could be collapsed when not in use.  Metal flashing would just make me more comfortable than any kind of plastic being involved.  I'm always a bit paranoid when it comes to building flame control stuff.  YMMV.

Paul

[Joe Sr.]

I would imagine the exhaust is going to draw the curtain in towards the flame.

Could be scary if something goes wrong.

[denny]

I would imagine the exhaust is going to draw the curtain in towards the flame.

Could be scary if something goes wrong.

Yeah, I agree.  Maybe I'm just a Nervous Nellie, but it sounds dangerous.

[Jimmy K]

I understand the need now. I think you can do better than a curtain though. All those combustion gasses, steam, aromas, etc go up because they are hot. Go the commercial kitchen route and build a box over the system to trap gasses until they are sucked out. It will be better if it is firmly attached to the ceiling. With a curtain plenty of gasses will escape over the top anyway. 

[kramerog]

Maybe I'm just a Nervous Nellie.

You are a Nervous Nellie.  If you don't make the curtains too long and provide proper spacing, the curtains  will be nowhere near the flames even if the curtains are drawn towards the fire.