Closet vent location

TWillis

New member
hey guys, I’ve got my dc closet built for my cv1800, located in a 30x30 shop, the closet is 4x6 and the dc is located in the northwest corner of the closet, i was wondering if anybody had any recent advice or experiences with what’s best to use for a return air vent and where to locate it, i have 10 feet of insulated 8” hvac on the exhaust side that’s basically just connected to my outlet and hanging there because i can’t decide on a vent location or baffle plan. I’ve read a bunch of topics on here for the past few weeks, there are just too many appealing ideas i was wondering if anyone had any recent success with something they had tried in terms of cooling the motor as well as keeping noise under control. Thanks guys
 

McRabbet

Senior Forum Member
A plenum built into or onto one of the shop-side walls of your closet is a good option. You can use a cavity formed between a pair of studs if you want with a vent on the bottom inside and a second vent on the top outside to allow return air to flow down over motor and then back out to your shop. You can find appropriate sized grilles for the openings at your local big box stores in the HVAC aisle. Also helps sound deadening.
 

TWillis

New member
Mcrabbet,
thanks for the info, i don’t think I quite understand the whole plenum design between the studs, I’m very knew to the aspect of dust collection and I’m trying to pick up as much as possible, I’d only like to set this thing up once and do it in the most effective way possible as far as operating efficiency and sound control. I have attached an older photo of my setup, is there any way you could be a little more specific with the location and design (which wall, where vents would be, etc? Any and all additional info would be much appreciated. Thank you
 

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McRabbet

Senior Forum Member
TWillis,

Your picture is pretty small, but I would suggest that you could modify the front corner section adjacent to the door opening as follows: 1) Remove the two horizontal blocks across the opening between the corner and door studs; 2) Add a vertical stud tight against the door stud to keep it more solid; 3) screw drywall on the inside and outside of the stud cavity (and cover the other outside and inside walls as well); 4) Buy a pair of equally sized return air grilles at your local Lowes or HD (here is an example from Lowes https://www.lowes.com/pd/Accord-Ven...n-x-14-in-Actual-15-82-in-x-15-82-in/1095601)) that will have an opening the width of your stud spacing and about the same height; 5) Cut an opening at the bottom on the inside and at the top on the outside and install the air grilles on each (if your stud opening is wider that a typical stud spacing of 14-1/2 inches, cut the proper opening to suit your grilles). Once a door is installed and the cracks patched, the exhaust air from your cyclone filters will pass into the lower inside grill and pass up inside the cavity to the outside grille back into your shop. Easy to built and will serve to attenuate much of the noise as well.

Hope this helps -- sorry for delay in a reply.

Rob
 
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TWillis

New member
McRabbet,
I appreciate all your input, it’s been very helpful, I think that’s the route I will go, so you’re saying just Sheetrock the inside cavity wall and not the entire inside correct? Also, how does this air make its way over the motor?
 

McRabbet

Senior Forum Member
I would sheet rock the entire interior and exposed exterior (even the overhead) to insure the return clean air comes back into your shop. Sheet rock is pretty cheap, so use it to avoid unneeded leakage.
 
You will need two chases/plenum in your DC closet. The cross-section of a stub wall sheathed with dry wall will not have enough volume. As McRabbet mentions in his post, you will need to tape and bed the entire interior of your closet to get the right effect. I learned the hard way that one chase isn't enough. Locate one chase with an entry point near the floor on the inside and one chase near the ceiling on the inside. Put your outlet grilles opposite on the outside wall. My closet is sheetrocked, taped and bedded both on the inside and outside with R-13 insulation, including the ceiling. I have a double path chase for both of my chases: built as a add on in the interior of the closet is a 2x4 stud wall sealed with 1/4 plywood, one with an entry on the top, the other (opposite wall in the closet) near the floor. Air goes up the chase, thru an opening in the sheet rock, down between the studs encased by the exterior sheetrock and out the grille located opposite the intake. So basically the exhaust air travels 16+ feet from intake to exhaust. The turbulence of air leaving the filters and trying to get out of the closet via a high/low exit cools by closet just fine.

As I've posted before, I have two solid wood exterior doors, fully weather stripped, with a frame/threshold in my closet. I figured out the lack of sufficient air volume exiting the closet when I could not push the doors closed with my 320 pound body. Air can't get to the cyclone if the air can't get out of the filters. Don't make the same mistake I did. Retrofitting fully taped, bedded sheetrock is a nasty business.

Good Luck!
 

al_voisine

New member
Markferraro: Can you please provide a plan for your closet. It would help me to visualize what you mean. Are the chases part of the exterior walls or are they added to the inside as a sort of extra wall. If they are part of the exterior wall, then how can they reduce the noise escaping to the outside of the closet?

Really appreciate all the great ideas on this forum!

Al
 
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