More lead casting

Can I safely do casting under a range hood close to the pot and vent the output through a HEPA filter and recirculate the air in the garage? I could vent outside but I'd rather keep the heat in the winter.

The vapor pressure of lead at the melting point is negligible, and one of those metal screen grease filters will condense the vapor anyway.

The HEPA filter will also condense any vapor, and filter out the resulting dust.

Joe Gwinn

A HEPA filter will not remove lead vapor.

I would not recommend working with lead around meal preparation areas. I've done it in a pinch but I think it was not the smartest solution.

How about the bathroom? It has an exhaust fan most likely.

Wes

-- "Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

Are you melting lead, or vaporizing it? Why would lead ever even make it to the filter? Melted metallic lead was used for centuries in soldered plumbing.

Tim.

True but, in a practical setup, by the time it reaches the filter it will have condensed and converted to finely divided oxide particles which may well be captured

Yes indeed. I made one years ago for a guy that was allergic to smoke..that simply bubbled the smog through a 35 gallon barrel and he dumped it a couple times a year.

Gunner

"Aren't cats Libertarian? They just want to be left alone. I think our dog is a Democrat, as he is always looking for a handout" Unknown Usnet Poster

Heh, heh, I'm pretty sure my dog is a liberal - he has no balls. Keyton

Actually, I have a left over range hood when I put in a microwave over the stove in the garage. I would mount it under the wall cabinets over the workbench. NO WAY will I do this in the house. The garage is heated and comfortable but if I just vent the hood outside it's going to suck a lot of the heat out.

I don't know the answer, but I wonder whether the lead you'll breath in, even without filtration will be significant compared with the lead we all used to consume until TEL in petrol was phased out.

Another option, more expensive but better, is to still use the range hood, but pass the exhaust air through a commercial heat recovery ventilator. This will get back 50-75% of the heat while dumping the fumes straight outside. I'm planning to fit one of these to my workshop next year fro general ventilation and also to the shed I'll be building for the boss to keep her pet rats in.

Regards Mark Rand RTFM

Damn, that is the second thing today, I misread.

Wes

Pet rats? So, she's a RANCHER!

Seems more like a feed lot at times. Darn things get through more vegetables than the family do!

Mark Rand RTFM