Woodworking dust collector in same room as Weil MCLain cga3 boiler

TimZ

Bad idea or not? Unit is in a basement room. It vents into chimney and uses room air for combustion. The staircase is open underneath to another room. Dust collector would have closet built around it for soundproofing but have baffles for the exhaust into the room. Are there going to be air and combustion issues? On woodworking forums people have talked about too much positive pressure. Dust collector doesn’t have to go in the same room but would be nice in same room as boiler and hot water heater. Thanks.

STEVEusaPA

Horrible idea. Even when there is a properly vented dryer, lint still ends up in and on the unit.
Best solution would be to completely enclose/seal the boiler room and bring in it's own combustion air with a proving switch interlock on the boiler for safety.

EdTheHeaterMan

Field controls have several products for this application. Fan-in-a-Can for gas heaters and "Air Boot" kits for oil heat.

Or you can build something in the woodshop before the burner fan gets clogged up from all the sawdust.

TimZ

The wood shop is sealed from the rest of the basement. 5/8” drywall on walls and ceiling. Safe n sound insulation on interior walls and ceiling with every gap spray foamed and or caulked. Weatherstripped the door and have a sweep at the bottom. No door to where the boiler is although under the stairs is open to a laundry room and the rest of the basement. I don’t see any kind of fan on my boiler.

EdTheHeaterMan

I’m not sure, but it sounds like you are describing a “confined space”

Is there enough combustion air for the space heat and the water heater?



If you don’t have enough cubes of space then you have a confined space. You will need to address this with some type of fresh air venting

This information is from this website. https://www.hvacrschool.com/combustion-and-confined-spaces/amp/

TimZ

The wood shop is sealed from the rest of the basement. The boiler and hot water heater are in a room that is connected to the rest of the basement under the stairs. No walls under the stairs.

JUGHNE

Both the boiler and water heater are drawing air towards them when off, just the gravity induced draft of a standard chimney will cause air to migrate up the flue pipes.
This is evidenced by a grill lighter or candle flame held near the draft hoods of each. You hope that flame is drawn up without being fired...if not then you have other problems.
Then when they fire up there will be much more air drawn towards them.

If your dust collector is in that room it is invariable that sawdust will get into the burners. No mater how well filtered the machine is there will still be dust leaking out.

IIWM, I would build another room in the wood shop just for the dust collector with the exhaust, if possible, going into the wood shop as that is where the air is being drawn from.

Big Ed_4

Fine wood dust is very combustable and with a non sealed boiler will not be a good idea . Best to vent dust collector back into wood shop . I never seen a dust collector collect 100% .

STEVEusaPA

Also, there will most likely be other woodworking making dust that won't be 'collected'.

Jamie Hall

Big Ed_4 said:

Fine wood dust is very combustable and with a non sealed boiler will not be a good idea . Best to vent dust collector back into wood shop . I never seen a dust collector collect 100% .

Not just combustible. Under the correct conditions, while not technically an explosive itself, a dust air mixture can explode. Very exciting.

Not only should the dust collector and its exhaust be not in the same space as a boiler -- it shouldn't be in the same space as, or exhaust to, a space which can have any ignition source.

dopey27177

Any all boiler rooms by most fire codes or building department codes forbid the storage of any flammables in the boiler room.

What is a boiler room? A boiler room is a space that has a heating unit in it that uses fuel to produce a flame that heats any space.

Look at a private dwelling, large basement with a boiler or heating unit that uses fuel to produce a flame that heats any space where the heating unit is not in a self contained space causes that basement to specified as a boiler room even if the building is grandfathered in an old code.

Jake