Natural gas and ventalation

[Reverend JC]

Ok, in my basement i have a natural gasline that runs down a wall that would be perfect to uncap and use for brewing purposes.

What kind of ventalation will i need to do this safely? There is a window not far from the gas line, would a decent hood and blower do the trick, if it was vented our the window?

Why is it you can cook with natural gas and need no ventalation? Will the brewing process put out that much more carbon monoxide? what are the dangers?

 

[Cheesefood]

Ok, in my basement i have a natural gasline that runs down a wall that would be perfect to uncap and use for brewing purposes.

What kind of ventalation will i need to do this safely? There is a window not far from the gas line, would a decent hood and blower do the trick, if it was vented our the window?

Why is it you can cook with natural gas and need no ventalation? Will the brewing process put out that much more carbon monoxide? what are the dangers?

Very few people cook with the gas on high for 1 hour+. That'll create a lot of CO.

 

[dcbrewmeister]

because the BTU's of the burners on your stove combined is less than 40,000 (unless you have some sort of "Pro" series) Your gonna brew with 100,000 or more (most likely more) so you've, at least, tripled the output.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

As long as you have SOME ventilation - like opening that window and putting a fan in it, I think you'd be alright.

 

[Reverend JC]

ok, with that covered, what kind of ventalattion system will i need?

Is it something i can fashion out of sheet metal and some dryer vent hose with a blower that will exit the house from the window?

what dimensions are we talking about?

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Unless you really feel like getting elaborate, just get one of those window fans (the square cased kind that are intended to fit into a window opening and are held in place by closing the window onto the case). Turn it up on high, and you should be fine.

If you EVER start feeling faint, sick, or even more tired than you think you should be, turn the burner off and GO OUTSIDE! Hmmm...since I felt compelled to write this disclaimer, perhaps it'd make us all feel better if you did use some sort of ventilation hood...

 

[the_bird]

Make damn sure that you have CO alarms in the area. I know Glibbidy brews in his basement with propane, and hasn't had any problems - but he also takes precautions with big fans blowing the exhaust directly outside and has monitors set up in a couple spots (if I recall correctly). Personally, it still makes me nervous, and I don't know the difference in CO production between propane and natural gas.

The risk, though, is that CO sinks, it could build up in the basement.

 

[Reverend JC]

I wonder how much sheet metal costs? how big does it need to be?

 

[the_bird]

If you were a truly blessed man, you might find a big ol' restaurant exhaust fan. Restaurant equipment shows up on craigslist with some regularity. I feel compelled to say that that would be wicked cool.

 

[Reverend JC]

No kidding, that would be great.

How large should the hood be? extend about a foot from either side of the burner? or more?

 

[david_42]

Or get two cheap 32-36" stove hoods and hang them in tandem back-to-back over the kettle. They run 70-80 cfm, so two would be good for a 150,000 btu burner. Don't forget the air inlet, preferably on the other side of the basement.

 

[Bobby_M]

If you have a window in the area, I agree that a window fan would be the easiest and cheapest method. If you want a more permanent system, replace the window with a piece of 3/4" plywood with two 8" holes cut to put some round duct/flex duct in. Add an inline duct fan blowing outward to one and pipe it over above your kettle. Add some flex line to the other and run it down to the floor near your burner.

The nice thing about this kind of setup is that the air being pulled in will contribute to combustion and leave your room air cool or warm and breathable. It's also good for keeping all that evaporated water out of the basement air where moisture is already an issue.

I second the idea of a CO detector which will tell you when you should start feeling kinda crappy.

 

[Reverend JC]

I agree about the detector. we have one in our bedroom that is battery powered if the power goes out.

I have a basment window that is about 8 feet from where the gas line runs down the wall. I am thinking about either fabricating a hood with a dryer tuber attached at the top that will be attached to the window like a dryer vent.

What do i need air inlet for if i do it this way?

 

[Bobby_M]

I was probably in the middle of edit my above post when you replied. Read it again, since you have a window there my idea may work well.