combined smoke hood/ ash vac?

[pybyr]

between folks' discussions about smoke hoods, and my realization that a gasifier definitely creates a certain amount of fly ash, and. or some unavoidable mess to clean up after emptying the lower chamber, I got to thinking-

as long as one used metal duct, why not use an inline fan- sort of like this-

(broken link removed)

to combine the function of smoke intake, and, with an appropriate non-combustible hose, clean up the mess of errant ash (not anything with live embers, just the dusty stuff)

?

Am I onto something or is this idea just hazardous and harebrained?

 

[stee6043]

Kinda pricey once you get to the decent flow numbers. I'd suggest that the smallest unit would not be nearly enough flow to actually move ash around (135cfm) or "clean up" ash from your boiler. Not a bad idea combining the two though...

 

[Sting]

I made one from the exhaust fan of an industrial steam fired dryer (Free)-- with a window screen in the intake plenum for a spark arrest -- it Sucks man!