Will tray ceiling act as a steam hood??

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vballdrummer

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Collective: The room that is to become my eBrewery has a 12" tray ceiling. Do you think it would be sufficient to intall a vent and inline exhaust fan in the tray ... or should I install a vent hood? I actually purchased the hood, but i"m thinking the 12" tray may trap the steam and I can just exhaust it out. Experiences? Thoughts?

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No experience, but thoughts....why not install the hood (you have it already) right over your brew station?

If sized right, you should not need to vent the tray.

No different than the kitchen, really...and you don't hear a whole lot of complaints from folks about it raining from the ceiling during brew events. :p

If you find condensate, then you could always install a secondary vent in the tray.
 
I wouldn't do that unless you want to wind up wearing that tray ceiling. Drywall and steam aren't a good mix in any condition.

+1
Also think of the paint used on the walls/ceiling. Our bathroom was painted with a non-water resistant paint and after a few months of taking showers there was a very definite line where the pigment in the paint had run around the top of the walls. This happened with a vent fan running.

Terje
 
Just to clarify, you are asking if you should use the tray ceiling space to vent the steam into vs using a vent hood to remove the steam from the house completely? As stated above, there are the issues of drywall and paint damage from allowing the steam to accumulate in that closed space, but more importantly there is the issue of mold and mildew.

...just causing trouble...why is this room any different than a kitchen? My kitchen is drywall and I'm not wearing the ceiling? Size the vent right = no problems.

I agree with you logic however the factors such as air flow, size of room, come into play there. I assume you do not intentionally blow all of the steam from a pot of soup or you brew kettle into an area the size of a linen closet.
 
If you install a bathroom type exhaust fan with a high output rate you shouldn't have any problems as long as you correctly vent the air. If you do choose to go with that method I would suggest two coats of Kilz primer and a mold/mildew resistant paint in the tray ceiling area.
 
I'd make sure you had a good primer/paint like mentioned above, at least in the tray part. Then have a good fan in place and you could make it happen. I'd just keep an eye on the tray after a few months and see if you have any issues.
 
I think a moderately powerful vent fan in the cieling tray will work fine. Might want to run the fan for an hour or two after a brew session. I brew in my basement w/ a simple window fan stuck in one of the basement windows. It gets a little humid and smells like a brewery during the boil, but this clears quickly once the boil is over. I assume this is occasional use like every week or two, this IMO is much different than a bathroom that may get multiple showers a day and never gets a chance to dry out.

Got a window nearby? Very simple and cheap solution here, though not for everyone....http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1279728&cp=2568443.2568453.2627946.4390792
 
I assume you do not intentionally blow all of the steam from a pot of soup or you brew kettle into an area the size of a linen closet.

That rooms looks decent size, certainly not a closet, and with a vent sized correctly right above the brew station, there should be very little steam collecting in the tray.

Will there be steam, sure, some.

Vballdrummer was asking if feasible and I say "yes". Might be potential issues but (IMO) nothing that can't be addressed, and certainly nothing catastrophic like the walls and tray falling to the floor.

Kilz is a good call. Again, trying to encourage a nice brew room not dash his hopes...we should all be so lucky to have a dedicated space!

Just an opinion, CHEERS, men!!! :mug:
 
My original plan was to use this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0044IE992/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 which I picked up on craigslist ... but started the thread when I thought that the tray itself would act as a collection point using an inline 400CFM exhaust... either way I still have vent and elec work. I do really like shiney things though.
 
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My original plan was to use this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0044IE992/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 which I picked up on craigslist ... but started the thread when I thought that the tray itself would act as a collection point using an inline 400CFM exhaust... either way I still have vent and elec work. I do really like shiney things though.

My wife cooks on our 36" stove daily (her hobby) and it vents through something similar to what you picked up. Ours is a Dacor 600cfm...sounds like a jet taking off and it sucks the soup right out of the pot (kidding, but close)!!! I think you'll be fine with 400cfm provided it is right over the brew station and it is venting outside.

I just took a good look at our kitchen and we have a sophit that goes almost all the way around...you could call it "tray-like". We have no issues.

Will you get some condensation, maybe, depends if you've got 3 kettles boiling away with no covers and the vent is on low. I'd still not worry too much about it.

Enjoy the Super Bowl Holiday!!!
 
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