ACTA/Ventilation

Projects
Participants	Ultratux
Skills
Status	Active
Niche	Mechanics
Purpose	Infrastructure

Introduction

We can probably get our hands on a big centrifugal fan. It needs to get an outlet to outside, and presumably also some conduits as inlets as we want maneuverable pipes for exhausts in the space. The fan will not be silent; it's not the type that is. Uncertain is how much noise it makes, but it will for certain be too noisy to have in the main space. So it needs to go in one of the small rooms. To make a neat hole in the outside wall might require a specialized company ('diamantboring'), or it may not, but we currently have no right tooling to make a round hole of 100-120 mm dia through a 30cm thick wall. Plus, hacking through leaves a not-round hole we'll be forced to cement up *from* *outside*. Having the hole done by a diamantboor has the added benefit the hole is neat and doesn't need patching up.

Update

This weekend, a few milestones were reached. First one was that we managed to bolt the empty fan casing that was built onto the ceiling above the 'dirty room'. Second was to mount the fan motor assembly there with the help of a pulley system. Third was to deploy a 10m flexible tube to connect its outlet to one of the -much smaller- air/ventilation holes already available in the space. This was needed to finally being able to hear it in action, thus judging sound- and vibration levels and amount of air pressure/suction buildup. We were dying to hear it/see it in action... As it turns out the fan is a bit noisy when it is cold. After 10-15 minutes running, it quiets down quite nicely and is barely audible anymore when sitting in the space. Which is excellent ! When the ceiling is closed and a door is in the doorframe, it will get better still.

Now, what needs to be decided is: Will we quickly drill a hole through the concrete or leave it like this, either temporary or definitively. Remko does not quite object to using the ventilation hole in the wood. However, it is much further away, we'll need a scaffolding to patch the hole up again, and it might displease our downstairs neighbor [maybe]. If we leave it like this it means we need another 10m flex tube (90 euro) which is about what we'd pay for renting the drill too. Apart from that, the now-temporary situation is our 160mm tube going into the 100-120mm outlet tube, which severely hampers airflow. So even if temporary, I have a strong desire to widen the outlet hole to 160mm if we take this route.

It seems other tenants are contemplating renting a concrete drill together, lowering cost. I will try to find out more tomorrow.