dual range hood fans for an air cleaner?

[Mike Vautour]

I wish to build my own air cleaner to recirculate and clean the air in my shop during winter months. I have a window for direct exhaust in summer. Calculations tell me I need a rate of 130ish cfm to change the air about 6 times an hour (shop is 10.5 x 14 with 7.6 ceiling). I have access to a number of new Braun range hoods with 170cfm fans. I'm thinking of mounting two of these fans side by side pulling air thru a furnace and a 10 or higher merv filter, exhausting thru...a higher merv or nothing? Would these two fans in tandem have enough real life pulling/exhaust power? In parallel do they actually equal 340 cfm? I would build the box to fit the filters and hang from the ceiling. Would I be better off with a filtered box fan? I'm in a basement room and want to keep dust from the rest of the house. I have a 1hp dust collector (thein baffle modified) with 1 micron bag I connect to each machine in use. Info would be appreciated.

[Keith Westfall]

I built a box about 30" square and 18" high with e double furnace filter on 2 of the sides. I used a double furnace blower fan (salvaged from the neighbours when their furnace was replaced. Clean air exits out the bottom, and I never have any noticeable dust on the inside around the motor, and very little on the inside filter so I think it works! Seems to clean the shop air pretty good. I mounted my 12" disk sander, and OS sander on top of it which helps too. I\ll still hook up dust collection if I'm sanding a lot with either one.


Moves a lot of air, and is QUIET!