Ventilation Regulations for Indoor Natural Gas Brewing

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andy6026

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I'm trying to determine the ventilation requirements to run a Blichman burner indoors. I'm aware that the rule of thumb is generally "just don't do it!" due to concerns over carbon monoxide, oxygen depletion as well as the fire hazard. However, given that commercial kitchens are known to also use gas power on fairly large set-ups, I'm having difficulty believing that it can't be done safely. My question is - where would I find regulations that would provide the guidelines for developing such an indoor rig such that it would metaphorically be 'up to code.'

My guess is that the two most prominent factors would be, a) btu output of burner, b) cfm capability of ventillation. Does room size and/or length, diameter and design of ventillation hose also come into play? How about the distance of the 'hood' to the burner?

Where on earth do I find such guidelines? I live in Toronto, Canada, but at this point I'm content to follow the standard code of anywhere that has respectable safety guidelines.

The closest information I've come across so far (and I'm not confident that these are accurate to any specific code) is from gas range retail sites. I've seen one that states that the required cfm of the vent fan ought to be 1/100th of the btu output of the stove. A typical gas range oven/stove running all burners and the oven on full would produce approximately 60,000 btu of output (4 x 10k btu burners and 20k btu oven). Thus a 600 cfm vent fan would be required. Alternatively, a Blichman burner on 'efficiency' setting has an output of 80,000 btu. Would an 800 cfm fan suffice?

I've seen lots of thread with people saying 'just don't do it!' (which also include a number of posts of others saying - 'meh, It'll be fine as long as you're careful.' But what I'm really after is some detailed information on how to do this right. For example, if I was opening a commercial restaurant using large range gas stoves and the inspector shows up to examine my ventilation. Where do I find the specific rules to follow such that I'd pass the inspection?
 
I don't think there is any issue, many homes run on propane or natural gas.
Codes vary by region, so what is safe here may not be up to code there.
You coud possibly ask your local gas/utility company. If your natural gas is delivered to fill your external tank, ask the driver they may have a contact at their company. You may also be able to look up ventilation codes for kitchen or gas water heater or gas dryer installs.
 

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