What kind of ventilation should you have to do bead work? If I want to work in my basement will I have any issues? My basement is 60 x 32. about 1/3 of it is a woodworking shop and I have a metal working section (not very big I do most of my metal work outside at my forge).
You will want a fan that will remove local hot air and some colors and techniques produce unsafe fumes. You also need to have metal on the wall at the back of the workbench as larger torches throw heat 5-6 feet that can raise the temp of wall paper etc.
And if you're working with a reducing flame or with a fuel-only torch, you'll want a source of fresh air, as well. It's surprising how quickly a Hothead can go from a nice pretty blue to an ugly reddish-purple in a poorly-ventilated space.
No matter if you use a single fuel or duel fuel torch, you'll need a source of fresh make-up air. Carbon monoxide is less likely with a duel fuel, but you'll still have nitrogen oxides being created and whatever metallics and such is in your glass to think about.
There are formulas for the amount of cfms needed for the amount of sq. ft. of hood you have. You'll also need to consider the diameter and length of your vent piping if you want to do it right. You can find ventilation info on the beadmaking forums - the isgb or the lampworketc ones should have it. My own ventilation solution wasn't exactly "ideal", but I tested it and it works ok for my own particular situation.
Keeping bulk propane tanks in a basement is a bad idea. The propane is heavier than air and will pool near the floor if it should leak. I imagine you might have pilot lights to consider for water heater, or the furnace. If your exhaust venting is too aggressive, you can suck in fumes from other appliances' exhaust pipes or possibly even extinguish pilot lights altogether if you don't provide enough make-up air coming into the basement.
jo
Thanks for the input.
I will take that into consideration. I have a pilotless ignition system on my furnace and an electric hot water heater, so that will not be a problem. I have a high efficacy furnace that gets it's combustion air from the outside but if I create enough of a negative pressure it will pull the CO back into the house.
I also have a garage I can work in. it is 24x24 and has a double door that I can open. The down side of it is that this time of year the temp in the garage is 10 degrees (That and hot glass will not mix).
In my basement I have a propane drain. Building codes in my area require any house headed my propane (which mine is) have a fresh air drain from the basement to the outside.
Lots to consider. thanks for the input.
Mark
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