Not happy with my new Pace paint booth performance. Suggestions?

[jchrisf]

I used my new Mini-Plus for the first time last week and it didn't have good airflow.  I'm using the foil flexible duct (see picture below).  I stretched it as tight as possible and cut off the excess and it improved a little but it is still not that great.  When I took the duct off completely to test it had great airflow.  If I got straight aluminum duct with two 90 degree elbows to get out my window would that help enough to be worth it?  Because of the way I'm setup I have to go across to the left, down and then out the window.  My window setup is through a 2x8 that I only set in the window when I need to use the booth.

Also, there is not a lot of depth to the booth so it is easy to bump a car body on the filter in the back.  If I had great airflow I could probably pull back outside the booth a little and let it suck in but as it is now it doesn't suck the overspray into the booth if I am not right up against the filter.  The body was painted with the nose and rear in different pieces.  If it was all one body it would have really been a challenge.

Edited July 16, 2021 by jchrisf

[Classicgas]

You need to use as short a run of hose as you can. 90 degree bends will lessen pull too.  Show me a picture with the blinds up so I can see your window. Go to pm if you wish.

[hedotwo]

I got a new booth a while back (not a Pace) and it didn't pull well either.  I ended up taking a few layers of material off the filter and it helped a bit.  Seemed the provided filter was kind of overkill for the small fan to pull through.  Still catches the vast majority, if not all, of the overspray.

[jchrisf]

1 hour ago, Classicgas said:

You need to use as short a run of hose as you can. 90 degree bends will lessen pull too.  Show me a picture with the blinds up so I can see your window. Go to pm if you wish.

I'll get the pic with everything in place when I get home this afternoon.  Is there any rule on how long after the fan the duct needs to be straight before it bends?  I was thinking two feet.

[Zen]

What type of filter are you using? I use a standard (cheap) 1" furnace filter and pulls air with no issues at all.

[jchrisf]

3 minutes ago, Zen said:

What type of filter are you using? I use a standard (cheap) 1" furnace filter and pulls air with no issues at all.

I'm using the pleated filter that came with it.  Are yours pleated?  What kind of duct do you have on yours?

[Classicgas]

I use furnace filter as well. My duct is plastic. the shorter your duct work the stronger the pull. try to have it come straight out of the fan and a gentle curve to the window outlet.

[R. Thorne]

Get some straight duct, at least for the first foot or so and the first elbow.  The flexible stuff causes buffeting and back flow due to the ridges.  It’s hurting you more than most because of the length and turns you have to make.  Consider contacting Pace.  I am sure he could guide you.

[jchrisf]

I emailed Pace after I got it asking him how I should set it up but he never replied back. 

Can someone link me to these furnace filters?  I do a search but it is the same expensive pleated filters that shows up on my search engine.

[jchrisf]

1 hour ago, R. Thorne said:

Get some straight duct, at least for the first foot or so and the first elbow.  The flexible stuff causes buffeting and back flow due to the ridges.  It’s hurting you more than most because of the length and turns you have to make.  Consider contacting Pace.  I am sure he could guide you.

Unfortunately I am going to have to put at least one 90 in it to get it out the window but I might be able to do a 30 or 40 degree on the first curve and point it to the left side of the window.  It will make the run longer though.  I'm hoping if I get a long straight duck coming out it will make a big difference.  

[Tom Geiger]

Here’s mine.. note the hard ducting. I had a piece of plastic board i cut to fit. I even had to buy a hole saw!  I set the board in place and wedged it in with the lowered window. I used weatherstripping at the top for a seal. It does incapacitate the window, but that’s fine for me.

Looking at your setup, see if your upper window lowers down. You could go straight across, fit a board in there and fix the upper pane in place with two screws (one on either side) in the jamb. That way your lower window can still open a bit. That would give you the shortest duct to outdoors. 

Yea I spent a few dollars but worth every penny. You will use it forever.

For depth.. note I have it sitting back with poster board base sticking out. You can work ahead of the side shields. The fan sucks your spray inward to the filter.

Filter wise. The pleated one they gave you is right. After all it’s what the manufacturer uses. They do sell them on the website. I found that the 12x24 is an odd size for HVAC use so the big box stores don’t have them. I didn’t find any at Walmart or Lowe’s. Home Depot only sold expensive ones in this size.

In this case eBay is your friend. I found a dealer who sold pleated ones cheap. They showed up in three days! I bought a case of six.

The Pace unit is a wonderful tool. I’ve kicked myself for not buying one sooner!  

Any questions etc. PM me. 

Here’s the filters I bought:

The seller is  dwbuy11

End cost was $4.29 a filter

[ewetwo]

Is there a way you can place a low table in front of the window and run it straight out? I don't have the Pace but this is how mine is set up. You could always move it away from the window when not in use. Just a thought. 

[Plowboy]

When I painted indoors, I had a painting table in front of the window and just stuck a box fan in it, turned it on low and painted away. When I was done, take the fan out and close the window. 

[jchrisf]

Nice setup @Tom Geiger.  I'm glad to see you are having luck with those 90 degree corners because I need to have two of them like you but I will get some straight ducts this weekend and give them a try.  If this doesn't work a paint and body guy gave me some tips on using big fans in my garage without a booth.  He said it was all about the air flow.

@ewetwoI cannot do that because of my layout both on my window and my paint booth.  On the paintbooth it comes out the left side as you can see from my picture.  And the opening to my window is only one and a half feet from the floor.  Also, not show is a wall on the right that is two and a half feet away which has a desk in front of it.

[Dave G.]

12 hours ago, Plowboy said:

When I painted indoors, I had a painting table in front of the window and just stuck a box fan in it, turned it on low and painted away. When I was done, take the fan out and close the window. 

Yep/agree. And so simple. I did the same 50 years ago. Just don't hang a bird feeder out there lol. Back in the day shooting 1/1 all we used were big shrouded fans for exhaust, cleaned the paint room of overspray in about a minute. Inlet port to the room on one end for fresh air, fan on the other end.

[R. Thorne]

Home Depot has a 12 pack for $29.34.

[Zen]

Here is my setup......... 

[jchrisf]

1 hour ago, R. Thorne said:

Home Depot has a 12 pack for $29.34.

Do you have a link to that?  I can't find anything that inexpensive.  I'm going to experiment with fish tank filters that come in rolls.

[jchrisf]

1 hour ago, Zen said:

Here is my setup......... 

Nice setup.. is that the stock fan?  Yours looks different and more powerful.  When mine gets any paint on the filter it doesn't pull much air at all.

[Classicgas]

20 hours ago, Plowboy said:

When I painted indoors, I had a painting table in front of the window and just stuck a box fan in it, turned it on low and painted away. When I was done, take the fan out and close the window. 

 

7 hours ago, Dave G. said:

Yep/agree. And so simple. I did the same 50 years ago. Just don't hang a bird feeder out there lol. Back in the day shooting 1/1 all we used were big shrouded fans for exhaust, cleaned the paint room of overspray in about a minute. Inlet port to the room on one end for fresh air, fan on the other end.

I don't recommend it. Fan motor right in the airflow. Asking for trouble,  it takes very little spark to ignite flammable. Maybe if you only spay water base and clean with water. 

[Dave G.]

4 hours ago, Classicgas said:

 

I don't recommend it. Fan motor right in the airflow. Asking for trouble,  it takes very little spark to ignite flammable. Maybe if you only spay water base and clean with water. 

Never had a problem and today most fan motors are induction type, there is no arc. And concentrations from an airbrush aren't even close to high enough to be an issue in open air anyway, unless you collect them in a container and light it off like the guy who tried to use a shop vac for evacuation..

[Classicgas]

Fine.  Do it. I just don't recommend it. Especially if you're using automotive paints. If it was me I'd rather be safe than . I guarantee  any spray concentration is enough to ignite.  I've seen it. 

Edited July 17, 2021 by Classicgas

[Dave G.]

6 minutes ago, Classicgas said:

Fine.  Do it. I just don't recommend it. Especially if you're using automotive paints. If it was me I'd rather be safe than . I guarantee  any spray concentration is enough to ignite.  I've seen it. 

Well that was a long time ago for me but never had a problem, never even considered it a problem. I shot 1/1 for 35 years not all that differently really, back in the paint rooms of the day.. The key is the motor type. Other factors too but I'll end there. Booths are ideal but not the only way is all.

By the way, love your scriptures !!

[Aaronw]

Those Pace booths use the bare minimum fans and poor motor placement (top mount is the least efficient) so good ducting is critical. Bigger ducting is also worthwhile, 5" can offer double the flow of 4" and 6" can be as much as 4x the flow of 4". Many people use the 4" because it is easy to find but that is meant for a dryer which usually has a short run and is just exhausting hot air so the flow is less critical.

They do make 5" and 6" flex ducting if you need to stick to the flex style, but rigid ducting causes less restriction, so maybe you can run as much rigid as possible and then make up the difference with flex. Also avoid hard bends if possible, a hard 90 can cause as much as 4x the restriction of airflow and a gentle 90 of some distance. This is where flex hose can start to even out with rigid pipe. Flex inherently causes a loss of flow, but flex that can follow a generally straight path may be equal to or better than a rigid set up with many sharp bends. In your case with the odd angles needed using 5 or 6" with flex line at each end and a straight piece of rigid pipe in the middle may be your best option. 

[Straightliner59]

Interestingly enough,  this thread contained several ads for paint filtration systems, in my browser. I use the cheapest filter material I can find. When I am painting,  it gets changed every day Or two, anyway. I will post photos of my setup ,  later.