# Wood Dust in a Home Garage Question



## spearcd00 (Dec 19, 2018)

I've just recently gotten into wood working and have acquired most of the tools that I have either as needed or as hand-me-downs and have only used them for a few home improvement projects so far.


While I was gaming with some friends, the hypochondriac of the group and I started discussing what I was doing for dust management. I explained that I was currently using a shop-vac with a dust cyclone and that I wear breathing/hearing/vision/laundry protection while working but that wasn't enough to sate his paranoia  . His concern was due to the fact that he and I both have natural gas furnaces/water heaters located in our garages/work areas.


His concerns seemed like they could be valid which is something the more experienced folks of this forum might be able to back up or dismiss as unfounded. 



If the issue is something I should be genuinely concerned about, I thought of a solution that I wanted to also bounce off of the experts here: Since my water heater/furnace only take up about 3'x7' of garage space, I thought it might not be a bad idea to frame and wall in the area leaving plenty of room for air to occupy the same space ( about 2-3 times the volume taken up by the appliances ) and also run an air-intake through the back wall to the outside.


Has any other home wood worker done anything similar? Is the idea crazy or just crazy enough to work? Thanks in advance to anyone who responds.

I forgot to add that I would install a door for furnace access to change that filter


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

There won't be enough dust in the air even with no dust control equipment to worry about a dust explosion. Dust can get into your equipment and smolder and make a little smoke but that is easily managed. From time to time just blow the equipment out with compressed air and you will be alright. I have a wood stove in my shop made from a 55 gallon drum and airborne dust settles on it all the time. Every week or two I just brush it off with a broom and there isn't a problem.


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## spearcd00 (Dec 19, 2018)

Thanks Steve, that really helps put the risk in perspective. I thought it seemed unlikely that a well ventilated garage/shop with dust collection would be at risk of a dust explosion.

Good work deciphering my incoherent late night rambling to!


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

spearcd00 said:


> Thanks Steve, that really helps put the risk in perspective. I thought it seemed unlikely that a well ventilated garage/shop with dust collection would be at risk of a dust explosion.
> 
> Good work deciphering my incoherent late night rambling to!


It would take a heavy cloud of dust which would have the appearance of a heavy fog before there was a risk of a dust explosion.


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## afdzach (Nov 30, 2017)

A general rule of thumb we use for gauging a dust explosion in the confined space rescue world, is if visibility is 5 feet or less due to dust, then you are at risk for an explosion. If your creating enough dust in you garage to limit visibility that much you going to have a host of other problems including health. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## sunnybob (Sep 3, 2016)

I cant comment on the dust risks, but there could well be a risk if you box in a gas burner without correct calculations of the amount of free flowing air it requires.
It sounds like you dont need to box it in, but if you ever decided to, you need to get a qualified gas engineer to work out the ventilation sizes. From my experience with domestic gas equipment, everybody underestimates the ventilation required.


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## Pineknot_86 (Feb 19, 2016)

Don't box in the burner...period. It is designed to operate at a certain air intake. Any restriction of oxygen can cause incomplete combustion and raise the CO level which creates another and bigger problem. My father was an engineer in the appliance industry for over 35 years, specializing in gas appliances. I did R&D for two appliance manufacturers. You don't have any major problem with dust from what you tell us. I use a Shop Vac and Dust Deputy. A cheap box fan with a furnace filter and bungee cord can act as a secondary air cleaner. Let it run for about an hour after you shut down the shop. Works for me.


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## sunnybob (Sep 3, 2016)

Its a secondary issue here as it doesnt exactly pertain to the dust issues, but it is allowable to make a boiler room, PROVIDED the fresh air calculations are done properly. I am a retired gas engineer specialising in commercial and catering equipment, and a large part of each re-qualification exam was calculating flues and fresh air intakes. 
If the gas boiler is in a basement, I have to ask if they were done in the first place, and if since then doors and windows and vents havent been blocked to "prevent draughts". Its amazing how often that is the case.


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## spearcd00 (Dec 19, 2018)

This is great info, I'm glad I asked before doing anything I would regret. I keep my shop pretty clean and plan on adding some additional filtration with box fans+filters as mentioned above. I've watched several YouTube videos since I asked my original question showing examples of folks doing that or investing in dedicated filtration systems


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## _Ogre (Feb 1, 2013)

i do have a second hand delta air filter in my shop


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## Dusty jobs (Dec 24, 2018)

By closing in the room, you concentrate the dust. A more concentrated area means more likelihood for explosion. I also would
Not recommended using air compressor for cleaning because this creates a dust cloud for
Hazardous explosion and also makes the dust respiratable. Vaccum cleaning has worked best and is safest. Reference NFPA 484


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