Help With Airflow Control in a mid sized Job Shop in Southwest Florida

Q

qualitypirate

Hey all, I work in a mid sized job shop in southwest florida, we have 50,000 square feet of shop floor under a/c, this keeps things tolerable and keeps the rust off our parts. However, we have two large torit 45000 cfm dust collectors hooked up to our spring end grinders at one end of the shop, they are sucking all the cool air out and running up both the temperature and the electric bill. Its an open floor plan high ceiling (17-20 foot) rectangle box of a building so we cant just close a door and open a window. I am looking for innovative solutions that will help keep the open feel of the place. :thanx:
 

Ronen E

Problem Solver
Moderator
Hey all, I work in a mid sized job shop in southwest florida, we have 50,000 square feet of shop floor under a/c, this keeps things tolerable and keeps the rust off our parts. However, we have two large torit 45000 cfm dust collectors hooked up to our spring end grinders at one end of the shop, they are sucking all the cool air out and running up both the temperature and the electric bill. Its an open floor plan high ceiling (17-20 foot) rectangle box of a building so we cant just close a door and open a window. I am looking for innovative solutions that will help keep the open feel of the place. :thanx:

Hello and welcome to the Cove :bigwave:

??? Install a duct from the outside to the suction location and use a fan to force air in. This will create a local positive pressure zone than will keep the cooler air away (imagine a bubble of hotter air). Hopefully hotter / more humid air will not damage your work product and/or equipment.

I'm not a HVAC expert, just having fun being innovative... :)

Cheers,
Ronen.
 

David-D

Involved In Discussions
You might also be able to augment the above suggestion by partitioning off that area with hanging sheeting (I can't remember what the floor to ceiling strips are called) to help keep the air separated. If you search for "curtain" on Grainger and then select the "curtain wall" selection; they have some as tall as 24 feet tall. (I don't work for Grainger or any of their suppliers.)

Alternatively, you could look at the possibility of bringing the dust collectors back inside the walls to not lose the cool air you're sucking up but that might cause you issues with space, dust escaping, and noise levels..

David
 
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