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| Building a Fume Hood |
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| S. Heslop:
--- Quote from: raynerd on September 11, 2016, 05:25:51 PM ---I teach chemistry and we got rid of about 6 of these a few years back, they were scrapped :Doh: What chemistry vids you looking at doing or what are your plans for the hood? --- End quote --- I feel like there's a gap on the internet between 'fun' chemistry videos, like what Nottingham University produces with their Periodic Video series, and then very dry recorded lectures and people showing organic syntheses. By that I mean there's no real videos that teach chemistry to about A level and beyond that are also somewhat entertaining to people with a passing interest in chemistry. On top of that it's been bothering me that I'm slowly forgetting all the stuff I learned in university, for lack of using it, and it's also been my dream to try make analytical devices like an FT-IR spectrometer. So i'm really trying to combine the two (plus the sillier desire to build props and effects) into a single video, which I believe could turn out fairly decent if I do it right. Although for this video i'm sort of probing the idea by clumsily building a fume hood and covering the 'basics' of chemistry; mostly the stuff I think is most useful, aimed at people who probably don't know a whole lot about chemistry. I'm still working out exactly what basics I want to cover since there's alot of stuff I could leave for later videos, and it's tricky to know what the audience already knows. I think they call it the 'curse of knowledge'. George Bernard Shaw was wrong; being able to teach is a real admirable skill. As for the hood itself, I think it's going to be mostly for show. The reactions I plan to do will be for the sake of demonstrating principles, and hopefully stay clear of anything particularly dangerous. I met a guy a few months ago who was talking about melting beer cans in his back yard after seeing one of the many youtube videos about exactly that, but he didn't seem to know anything about the dangers involved. I advised him against it, but it got me concerned over how irresponsible those videos tend to be. They're often presented in a way that suggests it's a safe thing anyone could try, with the presenter wearing shorts and trainers and acting generally careless. But if the presenter strolled out in a full kiln suit then most viewers would probably get the vibe that it's a dangerous thing to do (or that they want to show off their cool ppe). So in the same line of thought, I think a fume hood would work in a similar way. Nobody pays attention to disclaimers and warnings, but if they see me taking all the precautions I can then they'll hopefully get the idea that it's not something to be taken lightly. plus I don't want to gas myself |
| micktoon:
Sounds like an interesting project Simon, the videos and the hood. I think you are right about the casual way many things are done on Youtube by some people, some are wreckless and they have just been lucky not to been hurt. I think having the hood will give viewers the right impression that thought over safety is needed. AvE on Youtube has done some videos with sort of chemistry type experiments and they have been very popular from what I remember. Good luck with the videos anyway Simon :thumbup: Cheers Mick |
| DMIOM:
--- Quote from: S. Heslop on September 11, 2016, 03:34:00 PM --- --- Quote from: awemawson on September 11, 2016, 03:20:00 PM ---That'll suck the side walls in like the cheeks of a toothless old man :lol: --- End quote --- Oh yeah that's a point. I've forgotten everything I once knew about motors, but is there any cheap way to control their speed? Alternately I could put a baffle in the way of the airflow to slow it down but the motor might rely on Full Blast to keep cool. Wish I didn't chuck that box fan out, so I could take a look at how that controlled its speed. --- End quote --- Alternatively, leave the fan running at full speed and arrange a simple (wooden?) valve to allow you to admit a controlled amount of air direct from atmosphere - pic below of similar arrangement on my old vacuum cleaner where sliding sleeve covers/uncovers port to allow bleed air in and reduce suction. Dave |
| PekkaNF:
I have yo agree with Mick. Most of the stuff on YT is executed with reckless abandon and lack of skill is replaced with bravado. Anyways, I would not be too worried about too much suction. For any kind of decent draught you need whole lot of flow. You probably will be blowing the exhaust up on the roof (no point of expelling it inside), ducting will take cause some loss on efficiency. You probably need some curtain or something on the opening to restrict the opening size ot there probably will be not enough of flow to suck all obnoxous stuff out. Also a little glass barrier on the front might be a good idea, some airborne material has tendency to descend. But you probably allready know all of this. http://www.cibsejournal.com/wp-content/themes/cibsejournal/images/2013-10/images/fig-1.png Pekka |
| S. Heslop:
--- Quote from: DMIOM on September 12, 2016, 06:46:17 AM --- --- Quote from: S. Heslop on September 11, 2016, 03:34:00 PM --- --- Quote from: awemawson on September 11, 2016, 03:20:00 PM ---That'll suck the side walls in like the cheeks of a toothless old man :lol: --- End quote --- Oh yeah that's a point. I've forgotten everything I once knew about motors, but is there any cheap way to control their speed? Alternately I could put a baffle in the way of the airflow to slow it down but the motor might rely on Full Blast to keep cool. Wish I didn't chuck that box fan out, so I could take a look at how that controlled its speed. --- End quote --- Alternatively, leave the fan running at full speed and arrange a simple (wooden?) valve to allow you to admit a controlled amount of air direct from atmosphere - pic below of similar arrangement on my old vacuum cleaner where sliding sleeve covers/uncovers port to allow bleed air in and reduce suction. Dave --- End quote --- That could work. While the big blower would probably be flat against the top, there will be a baffle inside to try distribute the airflow more evenly. I could stick holes in the side or rear of the cabinet where that baffle is with adjustable covers to adjust the airflow. |
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