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Author Topic: exaust fan  (Read 2255 times)

Offline russell

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exaust fan
« on: February 27, 2018, 12:20:40 pm »
   Can a 250 fcm fan work for a 11 foot x 6 foot room. looking at using a 240v 5500 watt element, 5 gallons brews with a 10 gallon pot.
  The information I have looked at says I should use a 300 FCM fan.  Would I be happy with the a Suncourt  6 inch 160-250 CFM max  $37.40 at homedepot, or should I get a larger one. I have been looking at a Vortex VTX600  497 CFM for about $130 on Amazon?


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Offline Visor

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Re: exaust fan
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2018, 08:50:46 am »
   How many air changes do you want? Assuming you have an 8' ceiling, 250 CFM will give you a bit over 2 air changes a minute, meaning the fan will remove a volume of air double the volume of the space every minute. Bear in mind that the more tempered air you exhaust, the more make-up air you will have to heat in the winter, and cool in the summer.
   All other things being equal [which they rarely are], greater air volume means greater noise level. Spending a bit more on a fan with a lower sone rating may be worthwhile in the long run, no point having an exhaust fan if it's so loud you can't stand to use it. Almost every kitchen exhaust fan I have encountered over the past 40 years fell into the too loud to use category.
I spent most of my money on beer, tools and guns, the rest I foolishly squandered on stupid stuff!

Offline russell

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Re: exaust fan
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2018, 02:56:25 pm »
 sounds like I would be happier with the more expensive fan. Is that what your getting to?

Offline Visor

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Re: exaust fan
« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2018, 05:04:18 pm »
   That depends on how much noise you're willing to put up with, or which is more important to you, saving money up front or having a more tolerable sound level.
   IMO the best set-up is a remote fan mounted on the roof or outside wall, which is ducted to the hood, but that's gonna be way pricey. If you really want to blow through some dough, you can add a makeup air system with an air to air heat exchanger  ;D.
I spent most of my money on beer, tools and guns, the rest I foolishly squandered on stupid stuff!

Offline russell

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Re: exaust fan
« Reply #4 on: March 01, 2018, 12:50:05 pm »
 I think I am going with the Vortex VTX600 Vortex 497 CFM and 6 inch. Basement window shouldn't be more than about 2 feet or less from the window to the hood.  from the window I will put a 90 degree offset on it to get it above ground and a topper kind of like the one on the dryer that opens when the fan is on.
  thanks everyone for the info.

Offline haeffnkr

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Re: exaust fan
« Reply #5 on: March 06, 2018, 12:44:04 pm »
How close is your boil kettle to the hole in your wall?
The close the better. I just have a box fan in front my my basement window and it works great.  You have to have a big hole in the wall with a big fan low amount of turns to get the exhaust to work.
I tried it once and it was a failure, thus moving my kettle to the window.

good luck
haeffnkr

Offline yugamrap

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Re: exaust fan
« Reply #6 on: April 02, 2018, 02:51:53 pm »
Since you're using electric heat, you don't need to turn over the whole room to evacuate combustion gases.  Your main concern is the moisture while boiling HLT and MLT can be covered while in use.  I have a 6" 440 CFM VenTech IF6 inline fan on a variable speed control and run it just above the lowest setting.  I made a hood out of a 30-qt stainless mixing bowl that hangs right over the boil kettle and used flexible duct to the fan inlet.
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Offline KellerBrauer

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Re: exaust fan
« Reply #7 on: April 03, 2018, 05:21:23 am »
   How many air changes do you want? Assuming you have an 8' ceiling, 250 CFM will give you a bit over 2 air changes a minute, meaning the fan will remove a volume of air double the volume of the space every minute. Bear in mind that the more tempered air you exhaust, the more make-up air you will have to heat in the winter, and cool in the summer.
   All other things being equal [which they rarely are], greater air volume means greater noise level. Spending a bit more on a fan with a lower sone rating may be worthwhile in the long run, no point having an exhaust fan if it's so loud you can't stand to use it. Almost every kitchen exhaust fan I have encountered over the past 40 years fell into the too loud to use category.

Greetings russell - Visor is almost right, but may have confused the numbers.  With an 8’ ceiling in an 11’ X 6’ room, you will have a total volume of 528 cubic feet of space.  A 250 CFM (cubic feet per minute) fan will take 2.11 minutes to turn over that room providing there is enough air to replace the air being removed.

I think your decision to go with the 6” Vortex is a wise decision.  However, I recommend paying as much attention to new air entering the space as you have with spoiled air being extracted from the space.

Good luck!
Joliet, IL

All good things come to those who show patients and perseverance while maintaining a positive and progressive attitude. 😉