I notice that everyone is saying that darkroom chemical flumes are heavier than air, but every commercial darkroom I have used has had the exhaust fan high and the inlet low. Usually the inlet vent was baffled in a stud space so the pickup was high on the outside of the wall so it would not pick up floor dust and had some kind of filter. The exhaust fan usually vented to the outside of the building. One darkroom I used had a maze light baffle entrance without any doors or hangings, so it had fantastic ventilation and was a joy to work in.
The closest I have ever come to having a permanent darkroom of my own was a spare bathroom where the enlarger was set up in a linen closet and the trays on a removable shelf over the sink and toilet. The bathroom vent fan was used for ventilation after verifying that it did not let light into the room, and a blanket hung over the bathroom door acted as both a light baffle and air filter. If you are only going to spend a hour, once or twice a week in the darkroom you probably are safe without ventilation, but more than that I would definitely recommend a vent fan be installed. Scott Loveless wrote: > Hey, gang! > > To those of you who have or have had a dedicated darkroom, how is/was it > ventilated? The darkroom plans are coming along, but I'm stuck on vent > placement and whether I should include a fan blowing in, as well. > Currently, I'm thinking about an exhaust fan at about chest level, > centered on the wall over the sink. Do you think another fan blowing > into the room might help cut down on dust by providing some positive > pressure? > > FWIW, the room will be 8x8, in the basement, with a galley-style layout > - a wet side opposite a dry side with space down the middle from the > door to the opposite wall. > > Thanks a lot, and much appreciated. > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
