Remote Exhaust Fan???

greenspun.com : LUSENET : B&W Photo - Printing & Finishing : One Thread

Just moved to a new city and designing a new darkroom. One thing that bugged me last time was a noisy exhaust fan. Anyone know of a remote fan (One with the motor further away than right above my head!! I like to listen to music in the dark also!! Thanks...richard

-- Richard Melhuish (rmelhu@aol.com), January 07, 2002

Answers

Those made by Doran allow one to attach a flexible duct.

-- Erik X (xx@xx.com), January 07, 2002.

Wherever you put the fan, it is more effective to pressurized the darkroom, rather than exhaust it. Pressurizing prevents unfiltered air from being drawn into the darkroom. Locate the (passive) exhaust vent near the sink, below nose level, so that fumes are drawn away from your face. Locate the supply duct on the other side of the room. Install a timer switch on the fan to provide a few hours of ventilation after the darkroom session is ended, to dry out the room.

-- Chris Ellinger (chris@ellingerphoto.com), January 07, 2002.

If you are using some type of hood with ducting, you can use a 6" or 8" intermal duct fan that fits inside the vent. They have foam collars and are very quiet. I use a 6" fan made by Suncourt that moves about 300cfm that does a great job.

-- Areden Howell (Serenisea@aol.com), January 07, 2002.

I got a "room-to-room" fan from Grainger, orienting it to blow into my darkroom, producing positive air pressure relative to the outside space. I covered both the inside and outside with filtered light- tight louvers (from Delta 1?). I can hardly hear the fan. I control it with a wall switch. The only change I would make next time, a slight refinement, would be to have the switch just *outside* the darkroom door to produce the positive pressure before the door is opened. njb

-- Nacio Jan Brown (njb@limn.net), January 07, 2002.

Big and slow is better than small and fast. Cage type is usually better than prop. You might also investigate some of the larger muffin fans used in electronics. Not the little PC ones, but a 6 or 8 incher. Line operated. They all come with a dBa spec for sound pressure.

-- Conrad Hoffman (choffman@rpa.net), January 07, 2002.


I bought a remote fan from Home Depot and I presume other large hardware stores carry them as well. Can't tell you the brand name because its buried behind a knee wall on my third floor. Much quieter than a regular exhaust fan, but one still has the noise of the air entering the vent. The unit itself is located about 10 feet from the exhaust hole.

-- Alan Shapiro (ashapiro@yorku.ca), January 07, 2002.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ