More on makeup air issues

As I’ve mentioned in the past, the folks who hang out at Wet Canvas seem to be living in their own little world, isolated from the rest of the glass world, at least as far as safety issues are concerned.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6984591#post6984591

The thread starts with a very good question, especially at this time of year:

Every year I have the same problem in the heat of summer. Obviously I want my exhaust to work well, but the window unit in my studio can not cool the replacement air fast enough. I thought I remembered a thread about this years ago, but I can’t find it? Opposite problem in the dead of winter with heating. Any ideas/solutions?

And immediately goes south:

Scratching my head…

Seems Dennis Brady wishes to re-invent the wheel:

http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1984187#post1984187 (top of page two)

I’m hoping we can find some “formula” that equally, and with reasonable accuracy, considers hood size, distance from torch, and fan capacity. Any of those three factors is meaningless without considering how it’s affected by the other two.

Actually, Dennis, if you would take the time to do some very basic research (such as reading up on ventilation basics — you don’t even have to read what I’ve written, read Dale’s writings, read those of OSHA, NIOSH, or even the ACGIH) you will see that the formula already exists.

It has finally happened.

I really really hate to say I told you so…

http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99464

Last night while torching in my garage, with the propane tank far away from me thank goodness, I had an explosion. The hose that is attached to my hot head apparently had a leak. I have been a little stuffy so I didn’t smell the propane leaking. When the fumes hit the fire it exploded, it was like a fire ball in the face. Lukily I have great ventilation so it was a small explosion but it was enough to blow the hose off the hot head, the mandrel out of my hands, and singe the hair around my face. My face hurts a little this morning but somehow I escaped any burns to my face. I was wearing safety glasses so my eyes were protected. I really feel lucky. Now I am afraid to use the hose (I won’t be able to use the same one because when it happened the hose separated from the fitting). Is it possible I had the flame set too low and the tank turned up too high? Anyway, I bought the hose from a reliable store online, and obviously I somehow didn’t do something right but I think I am going back to small mapp tanks that I know are attached and not leaking. I am kind of embarassed this happened to me but I thought I would tell the story so it doesn’t happen to anyone else. Make sure your hoses are attached properly!!!! AND DO NOT TORCH BY THE TANK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RV hose kits, bulk tanks and hot head torches are a ticking time bomb when used together.

A copycat?

I’ve been accused of being a copycat: http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1909634&postcount=14

IT was adopted on ISGB forum first by Vince, than Mike copycatted it. It’s the specification for industrial class A fume hoods…..

Ummm…no, sorry Dale, but you are incorrect. Both Vince and I use the ACGIH (American Conference of Governmental and Industrial Hygenists http://www.acgih.org/home.htm ) recommendations for ventilation systems from their “Industrial Ventilation: A manual of Recommended Practice”. There is no “copycatting” going on here, just the usage of an internationally recognized organizations recommended practices. It is unfortunate that Dale chose to use the wording he did as it denigrates the work I do on behalf of lampworkers around the world.

Completely missing the point…

Over on the Stained Glass forum, someone asked about keeping bulk tanks indoors and this led to an interesting discussion, with several posts made by the moderators of the forum.

By Tillie:

And did you see where in the comment section, he says that there have been no incidents involving the bulk propane tanks and hothead torches? I’m inclined to think that he probably sells the dual fuel torches and doesn’t care much for the Hot Head anyway. I’m sure he is a very knowledgeable man, but thousands of lampworkers who use a hot head and bulk propane can’t ALL be brain dead, can they? Even some of the more famous lampworkers use/used Hot Heads with a bulk propane tank.

 Actually Tillie, if you look at the Aura Lens website (www.auralens.net) you will see that I DO NOT sell torches of any kind. You are correct in stating that I wrote “there have been no incidents”, but left off the last bit “yet”. Just because it hasn’t happened YET, doesn’t mean it won’t happen EVER.

Constructive Criticism

It seems Dennis Brady is now styling himself as an “expert” in ventilation.

http://www.glasscampus.com/tutorials/pdf/Ventilation.pdf

The article is fairly well written, but contains some factual errors as well as some mis-conceptions about ventilation. It’s fairly obvious that Dennis has only a bare minimum of understanding about the concepts and requirements of air movement. You also need to keep in mind that Dennis has only Canadian “experts” to call on, not American experts. Canadian standards and US standards are quite different. Take everything he says with a grain of salt.