Vent choice conundrum

[Rhino17]

After a 3-year hiatus, I've returned to brewing, with a focus on completing the electric brewery I started so many years ago. I have completed my control panel, picked a location in the basement, run water, drainage and power, and now I am stuck with a decision on what ventilation method would be appropriate for the space, and the brewing of 10 gal batches. I would love to hear some opinions. Here is a picture of the location:

I'm still in the process of sorting everyting out, but the brewery will extend across the back wall off the basement, where I have two exterior windows. The wall on the left hand separates this room from the utility/laundry room, which has the furnance and hot water heater in it. There are vents though the wall to provide combustion air from the brewery/rec room to the furnance and hot water heater, so I have to be careful about what I install, so I don't create a backdraft issue.
SWMBO has also declared that anything I build "must not look like an illegal monshine opperation" since the rec room is open to visitors.

I know I have to take advantage of the windows being literally above my brew area. So if you had this setup, and the same restrictions, what would you buy or build?

Thanks,

Rhino

 

[Roadie]

I had a stainless hood fabricated and vented out the wall using a vortex fan.

 

[-TH-]

I ran my vent above my window out the side of the house using a 6" dryer vent. Very inconspicuous from the outside. My vent hood is a reclaimed warehouse lighting reflector but you may want something bigger if you need to vent more than your BK. I have rendered my window unopenable of course but that's ok with me.

 

[John53189]

Assuming your mechanical room is smaller, and that's why it would need combustion air...you are right in thinking you may have a problem. You may need to get air from outside into the mechanical room. The easiest may be running a combustion line to the window. You can set it up so you run that line into the mechanical only when you brew? Bringing in outside air always makes the house colder, so you may not want a permanent open air line. You could also add an automatic damper when the furnace fires up...

 

[Badgerhops]

I use a 6in duct with vortex fan... FRP and 2x4's


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[LandoLincoln]

As I've posted in other threads about venting...

A 6" inline fan pulls about 435 CFM and spins at 2915 RPM.
An 8" inline fan pulls about 745 CFM and spins at 2530 RPM.

So an 8" fan pulls nearly twice the steam and spins slower, meaning it's less noisy. And the cost between a 6" setup and an 8" setup is not that great.

I have an 8" setup and it's very quiet and it pulls so much air that the steam doesn't even have a chance to condensate on the inside of the hood. So I was able to get away with a wooden hood. But I did line the inside with plastic. Didn't need to, but I did anyway.