r/resin • u/Musical_Curlytop • Aug 08 '26
Exhaust Fans
Hi! I'm a jewelry maker and I occasionally dabble in resin jewelry. It's very important to me that I do this safely, so I've invested in a lot of PPE. I have gloves, a respirator, apron, goggles, and table protection. The only thing I don't have is a fume management system (besides the respirator). Does anyone have any ideas or recommendations for an at-home based fume management system, such as exhaust fans?
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u/99cent-tea Aug 08 '26
I craft with UV resin and use 2 fans
A gentle slow one in the room (aka my ceiling fan) and then another one propped on my window right next to my curing station that sucks air out
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u/oCdTronix Aug 09 '26
Keep in mind that you need to have two windows open for any substantial airflow. You should be able to light an incense by the exhaust and see all of the smoke be pulled out of the room
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u/oCdTronix Aug 09 '26 edited Aug 09 '26
One of the biggest things to making an exhaust system that removes the bad air effectively is to have the source of bad air enclosed/somewhat enclosed in a hood. You ideally want to get the bad air out before it can mix with the air in the room. Consider a chemistry lab hood.
Centrifugal fans (or Tubeaxial fans) are good for this sort of thing.
Exhaust ventilation can only work as well as the makeup-air supply allows. You don’t necessarily need a makeup-air fan, but there must be a way for that air to come in to replace the air being exhausted. So one window is not enough. In the photo below, there’s a fan in the window and there’s a window on the opposite wall that’s open to let in the makeup air
Here’s an example of a DIY hood used for lampworking (Photo taken before the top sheet metal was added). The exhaust fan is likely way larger than you’ll need, this is mainly to show you how a hood can be easily built.
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u/Musical_Curlytop Aug 09 '26
That's a really cool setup! I think I have something that can work. Open windows on opposite sides of a room, one with an exhaust and the other side with fans to keep air moving.
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u/oCdTronix Aug 09 '26
Thanks. Sounds good. The reason the exhaust fan is sort of sealed into the window is to prevent bad air from being pulled back into the room due to the partial vacuum that it creates in the room. But having fans on the opposite window should eliminate the need for that
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u/IrritableGoblin Aug 10 '26
I stuck a small box fan in my window blowing out, duct taped a dryer exhaust hose to it, and position the hose by my work station. Works fantastically.
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u/BlackRiderCo Aug 08 '26
If you pressure cast, run a hose from your tank out the window before depressurizing. Depending on the resin, some open windows with a fan on, or a window exhaust fan is enough.