# Install Bright LED Lights In Your Fume Hood - VIDEO



## kadriver (Nov 1, 2017)

Here's a short video on how I installed a strip of bright lights in my fume hood.

The original light became corroded and it was dropping small fragments of junk down on my work area.

It was so corroded that I could not get the threaded ring to unscrew so I could replace the burnt out light.

https://youtu.be/jFvZpTI7LWw


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## 4metals (Nov 1, 2017)

Thanks for posting this video. A simple elegant solution. And a nice bright workspace.


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## nickvc (Nov 2, 2017)

When I built a cheap hood I used a clear piece of plastic tubing and simply drilled two holes at the top either side of the hood and cemented the tube into place and slid led strips inside so keeping the lights,connections and wiring away from the fumes, very quick and simple to do.


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## snoman701 (Nov 2, 2017)

That is PRETTY! I have the same hood and love to hate it. It's just not big enough, but it is nice.

Do you know where you got that perfect catch tray? It's like it's made for the hood!!!


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## ARMCO (Nov 2, 2017)

kadriver said:


> Here's a short video on how I installed a strip of bright lights in my fume hood.
> 
> The original light became corroded and it was dropping small fragments of junk down on my work area.
> 
> ...



Hi,

I've been watching your videos for a couple of years. Thank you for sharing. 

I wasn't sure if you made your own fume hood or purchesed one. This video shows that the fume hood is Labconco brand I think? 

I had made my own, which worked "adequately" with a "440 cubic feet" in-line vent fan but it has gone past it's useful lifespan and I am redoing my shop so I am considering options. I would be open to chatting with you a bit and picking your brain. I have seen some hoods on eBay that might work but, since this is something like versin 3.0 (ha) I'd kind of like to set it up to last a very long time. If I could do that without spending 10K+ that's what I'm looking for. I know to buy a decent hood, even used, could be a couple to a few thousand easily. 

Suggestions, recommendations, tips???

Thank you again


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## kadriver (Nov 2, 2017)

snoman701 said:


> That is PRETTY! I have the same hood and love to hate it. It's just not big enough, but it is nice.
> 
> Do you know where you got that perfect catch tray? It's like it's made for the hood!!!



I found it at the thrift store for $3.99 - it fits perfectly. It was a lucky find.

I could use a bigger one, but this one works good for what I do.


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## kadriver (Nov 2, 2017)

ARMCO said:


> Hi,
> 
> I've been watching your videos for a couple of years. Thank you for sharing.
> 
> ...



When the motor went out I was considering buying a whole new setup. I found a 100 percent polypropylene, acid resistant, fume hood at a place called Salareinc.com - it was ducted but you had to buy the fan seperate and plumb it yourself. The fan was polypropylene also, made specifically to resist acid fumes. I think the fume hood was $999 and the fan was $1400 with 6 inch flanges.

Mine is a Labconco. But it has steel around fiberglass. Due to some boil overs, the steel structural parts are pretty badly corroded. And one of the cables that fits on the sliding glass door got dissolved when I did some spring steel eyeglass frames in boiling HCl causing the sliding glass door to freeze in one position with no movement. But I fixed that by crimping some aluminum crimping pieces around the coated steel cable and reattaching it to the door so now the sliding glass door works again.

I love my Labconco hood, but I wish it was just 4 inches bigger. Here's a photo of the Salareinc.com hood I was considering:




Here is the fan - that price quote was with 6 inch flanged PVC connections installed so that I could just glue in my PVC exhaust pipe that I purchased at lowes.

If you do a search of my posts, I posted the entire setup and installation of my Labconco including cutting the hole in my roof and ceiling, and how I sealed it up and got the whole thing working in just one day.

Feel free to ask any questions and I'll try to help the best that I can.

kadriver

http://www.salareinc.com/pdf/Plastec%2015%20Fan.pdf


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## ARMCO (Nov 2, 2017)

That’s fantastic. Thank you very much for replying. I had thought of pvc piping/ductwork, but I never thought of a PVC fan! I’ll look into that. Thanks again!


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## nickvc (Nov 3, 2017)

You can buy sheeets of polypropylene fairly reasonably and cutting it to size is easy with a plastic saw, if you ask the plastic retailer the sheet can be cut to size not too expensively, not sure if you can hire the welding equipment but if you can you can build a hood to your own requirements, as for extraction if you want inline fans then they are expensive but if you use a Venturi you can use a lot cheaper fan but to make it last longer have an air feed from outside so no fumes ruin it.
The hardest part is designing the hood but I’d advise having a top and bottom extraction vent as many of the fumes we produce will fall not rise, a sliding door is a must but always have it slightly open when running reactions for air flow.


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## anachronism (Nov 3, 2017)

The biggest single factor is getting the airflow correct. Your cabinet needs to draw the air not just from the top of the cabinet but throughout. This makes sure that it picks up the gases from inside the base as well as those rising. If it doesn't then they leak out into the room. Do be careful of this. 

Modern designs with a rear baffle are much more effective at drawing the complete contents of the cabinet out.


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## g_axelsson (Nov 3, 2017)

The rear baffle guarantees an air flow from the bottom of the fume hood, it draws off heavier gases and fumes that normally doesn't rise to the top of the hood.

Göran


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## anachronism (Nov 3, 2017)

g_axelsson said:


> The rear baffle guarantees an air flow from the bottom of the fume hood, it draws off heavier gases and fumes that normally doesn't rise to the top of the hood.
> 
> Göran



Exactly. Here's a pic of my cabinet- sorry about the quality but you can see the rear baffle. On the left is a hood (white) I use for filtering and it's attached to the main air system so I can vary the flow.


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## g_axelsson (Nov 3, 2017)

Pictures from the hood.  

That's a nice fume hood, now you only need that purple stain from gold so it looks like you refine something. :wink: 

That ledge in the front, is there an opening under it? The hood I used had an opening under the front ledge so it could still suck air when the front was closed without leaving a direct path open. That way, if anything splashed or exploded there were no way it could get out from the fume hood without hitting a surface.
If there is a switch on the front that senses when the door is closed the fan can be powered down to a lower speed as there isn't as much air going through the fume hood at that stage.

Sealing the fume hood isn't good either because then gases can build without being vented, you need some air going through it at all times. The same goes for the room the fume hood is located in, if there isn't enough air coming in the pressure is going to drop in the room and the airflow in the hood slows down or even stops.

Göran


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## anachronism (Nov 3, 2017)

That was the day it was installed- I promise it's got stains now. The height of the door is at the optimum height for air flow and yes you can actually close it and it can still draw air if required.


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## kadriver (Nov 5, 2017)

My Labconco has a rear baffle. But I was in such a hurry to get started refining in it that I left it sitting on my shop floor for the last few days. The new fan motor seems to be pulling all the fumes out nicely without the baffle installed. Even the fumes that are heavier than air. Today I'll get it in there, it's been nagging at me for two weeks.

kadriver


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