Small Fume Hood Recommendations?

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Joined
Aug 16, 2020
Messages
6
Right now I do everything with chemicals outside and use a little scrubber thing that attaches to the top of my beaker lid. I am just a hobbyist, so I don’t need anything big. But as winter will be here in a few months, I won’t be able to do much outdoors. I am thinking a small fume hood would be a good investment, assuming that would make it safe to work indoors. I have no ability or desire to try to build one. I just want to buy something that is ready to roll.

Does anyone have a reommendation? Something small and practical for a hobbyist. And would a fume hood make it safe to work indoors? My place is not well ventilated and I have a family, so I want to be mindful of their wellbeing.

Thanks!
 
If by "indoors", you mean in your home, just don't do it. No amount of gold is worth compromising the health of your family.

Think about this. You buy your new fume hood, set it up, and start a process. The evening gets long, the kids are in bed, you turn off any heat on your reaction, you make sure the fumehood fan is on, and you head to bed. After you fall asleep, the power goes out. Your fumehood fan stops running. The fumes build up and spill out into your home. I'll stop there.

Never refine in your home.

Dave
 
You make an excellent point. Outside it will stay. Thank you for your candor. I hope to move in the next year where I will have a garage for my various interests, Perhaps I will get a fume hood at that point and move my little operation into the garage.
 
Your lab really must be a separate building, not attached to your home. A detached garage can work as long as you don't intend to keep a vehicle or anything else in it. Fumes from any of your acids will corrode everything in the space.

I'm not trying to discourage you, but this hobby can kill. We've lost many members over the years. Work safely outside while you can, then spend the cooler months studying how to take it indoors.

Dave
 
I have an interest in this as well. I am looking into a new building and fumehood/scrubber system. I have been looking at just buying a prefab building like the ones Lowe's and some other places sell. I have considered a small camper trailer and gutting it into one room and building it to suit me as well. I could have one built in a few days as a I have a close friend that is pretty handy building things. The one thing I am most undecided on is the fume hood, build one or just buy one, I can't decide. I would like to have most of it fully up and running by the end of the year, with full operation by early spring. I am tired of a lack of safe working space being one of the major road blocks to expanding.
 
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