Does anyone have plans for a fume hood that I could fabricate? I'm a fabricator by trade and holy smokes those are expensive. I believe I could make my own pretty reasonably.
Fume hood design plans
- Thread starter Acidrain
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FactsI've seen people in Alabama make them with fiber board, tape and paper.as long as it works who am i to judge.
I want it to look nice though
Consider using materials that are not that easily set on fire. Or at least some plywood with fire retardants added. Aqueous solutions aren´t fire hazard, but most of the times, you will have hotplates cranked up on max heat inside, and we all know that these low-end cheap hotplates are "high quality" utensils 
(sarcasm)
Would it be for your use, or you plan to build them to sell to people ?
If you want to build small modular hood for hobby work, I recommend to use IBC container as chassis - as it is HDPE (top corrosion resistance), easily fitted with vent hose from the top and easily cleaned from the inside. You will save quite a bit of time, as you don´t need to build whole chassis from scratch, just cut the front face and install sliding plexiglass shield.
(sarcasm)Would it be for your use, or you plan to build them to sell to people ?
If you want to build small modular hood for hobby work, I recommend to use IBC container as chassis - as it is HDPE (top corrosion resistance), easily fitted with vent hose from the top and easily cleaned from the inside. You will save quite a bit of time, as you don´t need to build whole chassis from scratch, just cut the front face and install sliding plexiglass shield.
If i were to build one i'd make it out of wood 
which is incredibly strong as a frame material. then use the thinnest tin sheet i could find and spray it all down with Rhino Liner. Don't go to heavy on the wood but choose a strong one. Then if you quit one day you won't feel bad about throwing it out on trash day.
which is incredibly strong as a frame material. then use the thinnest tin sheet i could find and spray it all down with Rhino Liner. Don't go to heavy on the wood but choose a strong one. Then if you quit one day you won't feel bad about throwing it out on trash day.
That's an excellent idea! Thank you OrviConsider using materials that are not that easily set on fire. Or at least some plywood with fire retardants added. Aqueous solutions aren´t fire hazard, but most of the times, you will have hotplates cranked up on max heat inside, and we all know that these low-end cheap hotplates are "high quality" utensils
Would it be for your use, or you plan to build them to sell to people ?
If you want to build small modular hood for hobby work, I recommend to use IBC container as chassis - as it is HDPE (top corrosion resistance), easily fitted with vent hose from the top and easily cleaned from the inside. You will save quite a bit of time, as you don´t need to build whole chassis from scratch, just cut the front face and install sliding plexiglass shield.
My shop has a water jet, 3 and 5 axis mills, 3D scanning equipment, CAD and Solid Works design software, TIG and MIG welders, we can weld plastic, etc.
I don't see why I couldn't copy a design.
I like the IBC tank idea and it would be functional but I could make anything.
I don't see why I couldn't copy a design.
I like the IBC tank idea and it would be functional but I could make anything.
There is plethora of comercially available fumehoods on the market, which aren´t suitable for refining. Mainly because the construction material is steel/sheet metal. You can have the best paint in the world, combination of HCl and nitric acid will found their way to the metal and whole thing will start to rust. Rust will grow and fall down into your reactions, onto floor, everywhere. Screws will eventually cease and nuts cannot be loosen, etc...If i were to build one i'd make it out of wood
Just be aware of that. Wood isn´t bad choice, as compared to any painted metal or many plastics, it holds better in this corrosive enviroment. However, I did not like one particular thing about wood - it sucks liquids and adsorb whatever chemicals. This can be very unfortunate if you have some failure/leakage/eruption/foamover in the hood. If you were working with some nasty chemicals like PGM salts or beryllium alloys... It will stay there forever. On the other hand, if you have regular HDPE plastic, that can be easily sprayed with garden hose and everything is clean.
anachronism
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That's both interesting and practical, I like it. Take another IBC HDPE casing and make a baffle from it (will take a bit of design work) and you might be onto the basics of an ongoing design for members!Consider using materials that are not that easily set on fire. Or at least some plywood with fire retardants added. Aqueous solutions aren´t fire hazard, but most of the times, you will have hotplates cranked up on max heat inside, and we all know that these low-end cheap hotplates are "high quality" utensils
Would it be for your use, or you plan to build them to sell to people ?
If you want to build small modular hood for hobby work, I recommend to use IBC container as chassis - as it is HDPE (top corrosion resistance), easily fitted with vent hose from the top and easily cleaned from the inside. You will save quite a bit of time, as you don´t need to build whole chassis from scratch, just cut the front face and install sliding plexiglass shield.
We used this design for basic hoods. Usually we put them in the row, "clean" one for analytics and fine work/last refining steps, second "dirty" one for bulk work and dissolutions and third for silver refining (since it is advantageous to have separated HCL/chlorides/AR work from silver stuff, if you do not process immediately that day and leave the pot in the hood (or want to work simultaneously on gold and silver). One concrete/brick bench was built to accomodate them side by side. I do not recommend any kind of "table" or wooden/steel structure to put them onto.
But I never thought about this addition, good idea
anachronism
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Thanks. Also if installed correctly, the drain plug would be excellent as a catch pan or a fantastic way to wash it out.We used this design for basic hoods. Usually we put them in the row, "clean" one for analytics and fine work/last refining steps, second "dirty" one for bulk work and dissolutions and third for silver refining (since it is advantageous to have separated HCL/chlorides/AR work from silver stuff, if you do not process immediately that day and leave the pot in the hood (or want to work simultaneously on gold and silver). One concrete/brick bench was built to accomodate them side by side. I do not recommend any kind of "table" or wooden/steel structure to put them onto.
But I never thought about this addition, good idea
Really good information fellas, thank you 
This feature saved me a lot of swearing when using these
Always let them standing on the original pallet (if it is in good shape), or replace it/add second one to ease this operation.Any spill is nicely contained, discharged into the bucket and insides washed with garden hose spray nozzle. And as the HDPE isn´t soaking the liquids, you can regularly clean your hood, mainly if you were working with PGM feeds or other less plesant materials.
kurtak
Well-known member
IF (the BIG IF) you are going to build a hood out of wood I highly recommend that you DO NOT build it out of painted plywood - build with melamine
It does not matter what you use to paint &/or coat the plywood with (including products like Rhino Lining or Flex Seal) the acid fumes &/or spills will eventually get under the paint/coating & cause it to peel (just like it gets under paint/coatings on steel/iron) --- if you work with nitric - once the paint/coating starts to peel nitric fumes (on the walls) &/or nitric spills on the hood floor will cause the "wood fiber" to turn to "gun cotton" which means your hood has turned into a fire hazard
I posted about this in this thread ----------
https://goldrefiningforum.com/threads/looking-for-an-acid-resistant-paint.34206/#post-368357
In this thread I posted pics of my hood -----------
https://goldrefiningforum.com/threa...e-hood-with-a-plain-steel-blower.23107/page-2
That hood ran 24 hours a day 7 days a week & held up for 10 years - the only change I made to that hood was upgrading the 6 inch vent to a 10 inch vent (with lager blower)
For those that don't what melamine is here is a link ---------
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Melamin...ickid=VpVXxXSk1xyPTmowC70DE3uXUkHRA5XIr1bTSc0
Again - this is IF (the BIG IF) you are going to build with wood
Kurt
kurtak
Well-known member
For those that do not know what "gun cotton" is ------------
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrocellulose
Kurt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrocellulose
Kurt
Yeah, I know that can be the case. For nitrocellulose to effectively form, you need direct contact of at least concentrated nitric acid with cellulose. However, if I imagine typical spill in the hood, that is not happening. And fumes of NOx gasses won´t effect this. Not saying that cannot happen and accumulate over time.
I agree that wood is not the best material for hood construction, but it will last appreciable time. I worked in hoods which were more than 70 years old and made of sturdy beech wood, and they gone through tough things over that time. And on the top, we dissolved hundreds of kilos of scrap in AR in that hood, and it holds till this day without problems. Only things that were replaced were screws (new ones used were stainless) and braided wires holding sliding face of the hood. We tried to save it as much as we could, painting the insides every year with new paint (removing old one beforehand).
Now, I do not use it anymore, as I lost access to the premises year ago... But building was reconstructed and new hoods installed. So I am very curious how long these new ones last, compared to the old ones.
