Building a Paint Booth w. Act. Charcoal Filter
Feb 16, 2023 3:40:04 GMT
skunkape, erho, and 1 more like this
Post by sgtslag on Feb 16, 2023 3:40:04 GMT
I discovered plans, on the Internet, to build an indoor spray paint booth, with an external, activated charcoal filter, for indoor use. The activated charcoal will absorb the VOC's (stinky, flammable, chemical fumes and off-gases from solvents). His system used a 5-gallon bucket, with the charcoal filter, external to the spray booth, which had a particulate filter in it, to capture the over-spray paint particles, which would ruin the charcoal filter very quickly. That was too big, too complex, too much work.
I recently searched YouTube for videos on building a spray paint booth with a charcoal filter. Most did not incorporate the charcoal filter within the single booth housing with all of the filters built into the whole.
I took ideas from several videos, mixing and matching the bits and bobs that I liked, to come up with one that suits me.
I built mine out of foamboard: easy to cut, strong enough for the light duties a spray booth hood will experience. I bought the smallest furnace filter I could locate at my local DIY store: 10" x 20" x 1"; note that blue fiberglass filters would not capture very many paint particles, so I went with a more robust type of filter sure to capture the paint particulates. Then I had to decide whether to put the activated charcoal all across the back of that filter, or reduce it to a smaller area just covering the 4" duct fan I bought to pull the fumes and gases out of the box?
The box's dimensions are 18" tall x 20" wide x 11" deep. All seams have been glued and air sealed using Low Temperature Hot Glue. White Duct Tape would be faster, and easier, to use, but the seams would not be as rigid.
I decided to cover the entire rear surface of the 20" x 10" furnace filter with the activated charcoal filter, to distribute the chemical fumes across a much larger filter area. This should make the charcoal filter last much longer (less work for me to change filters!).
I learned that if I build a reduction box (like a capital Y, turned on its side), which channels the air coming out of the furnace filter evenly down to a 4" square box, with the round fan in the center, the air pressure across the filters should be even, allowing the paint to be drawn all across the entire surfaces of the filter set, rather than just in a circle the size of the duct fan.
I built the booth box around the furnace filter size. The filter is only 10" tall, so the air will be drawn downwards, to the filter across the bottom of the box. This is not as efficient as I would like, but paint particles will fall because of gravity, so the air draw will help them drop to the filter.
The inline duct fan, 140 CFM draw, cost me $20 off of e-Bay; the duct fan is NOT explosion proof, so that is another reason to use activated charcoal filter, to capture the VOC's before they pass through the fan's motor area which likely has brushes sparking. The four sheets of foam core cost me $16, at Wal-Mart; the furnace filter was about $8, and the activated charcoal filter sheet was also $8. I used 6-8 Hot Glue sticks to build the boxes with. The total materials cost is roughly $52. Recycling a cardboard box would have saved around $16 by not needing to buy the foam core boards ($36 total, instead of $52).
I finished the initial spray booth box, in a couple of hours. I have the reduction box to build yet. I also need to install some tabs to gently hold the furnace filter in place, and the activated charcoal filter will be sandwiched between the boxes filter stop guides, and the furnace filter. I hope to finish building the air reduction box in the next two nights. I have some spray painting to do, and the outside temperatures are barely above freezing. The booth will allow me to paint whenever I want, in my basement crafting/miniature painting room, regardless of the weather conditions outside. With the activated charcoal filter capturing the VOC fumes, it will be safe for my wife and I, as well as our dog!
I will post more pictures and updates, as the project progresses. As Red Green says, "Remember: if the women don't find you handsome, they ought to find you handy!" Cheers!
I recently searched YouTube for videos on building a spray paint booth with a charcoal filter. Most did not incorporate the charcoal filter within the single booth housing with all of the filters built into the whole.
I took ideas from several videos, mixing and matching the bits and bobs that I liked, to come up with one that suits me.
I built mine out of foamboard: easy to cut, strong enough for the light duties a spray booth hood will experience. I bought the smallest furnace filter I could locate at my local DIY store: 10" x 20" x 1"; note that blue fiberglass filters would not capture very many paint particles, so I went with a more robust type of filter sure to capture the paint particulates. Then I had to decide whether to put the activated charcoal all across the back of that filter, or reduce it to a smaller area just covering the 4" duct fan I bought to pull the fumes and gases out of the box?
The box's dimensions are 18" tall x 20" wide x 11" deep. All seams have been glued and air sealed using Low Temperature Hot Glue. White Duct Tape would be faster, and easier, to use, but the seams would not be as rigid.
I decided to cover the entire rear surface of the 20" x 10" furnace filter with the activated charcoal filter, to distribute the chemical fumes across a much larger filter area. This should make the charcoal filter last much longer (less work for me to change filters!).
I learned that if I build a reduction box (like a capital Y, turned on its side), which channels the air coming out of the furnace filter evenly down to a 4" square box, with the round fan in the center, the air pressure across the filters should be even, allowing the paint to be drawn all across the entire surfaces of the filter set, rather than just in a circle the size of the duct fan.
I built the booth box around the furnace filter size. The filter is only 10" tall, so the air will be drawn downwards, to the filter across the bottom of the box. This is not as efficient as I would like, but paint particles will fall because of gravity, so the air draw will help them drop to the filter.
The inline duct fan, 140 CFM draw, cost me $20 off of e-Bay; the duct fan is NOT explosion proof, so that is another reason to use activated charcoal filter, to capture the VOC's before they pass through the fan's motor area which likely has brushes sparking. The four sheets of foam core cost me $16, at Wal-Mart; the furnace filter was about $8, and the activated charcoal filter sheet was also $8. I used 6-8 Hot Glue sticks to build the boxes with. The total materials cost is roughly $52. Recycling a cardboard box would have saved around $16 by not needing to buy the foam core boards ($36 total, instead of $52).
I finished the initial spray booth box, in a couple of hours. I have the reduction box to build yet. I also need to install some tabs to gently hold the furnace filter in place, and the activated charcoal filter will be sandwiched between the boxes filter stop guides, and the furnace filter. I hope to finish building the air reduction box in the next two nights. I have some spray painting to do, and the outside temperatures are barely above freezing. The booth will allow me to paint whenever I want, in my basement crafting/miniature painting room, regardless of the weather conditions outside. With the activated charcoal filter capturing the VOC fumes, it will be safe for my wife and I, as well as our dog!
I will post more pictures and updates, as the project progresses. As Red Green says, "Remember: if the women don't find you handsome, they ought to find you handy!" Cheers!