... is there an easy way to make a simple household louver air tight?
light tight?
The answer is yes, I've done it, similar to what AgX suggests. But at the price of the one you linked to, that seems like less trouble and more chance of success.
Thanks so much for the post M Carter! I'm not sure exactly what you mean about the linked louver interfeing with standard duct sizes. I was just going to put it into the wall of the darkroom opposite the exhaust fan to let fresh air in. I will probably use furnace air filter material to filter it. My exhaust fan is a bathroom fan and will be vented just a few feet outside.
At one time Kodak had a publication on the design of darkrooms. It may still be available used on some sites. It contains recommendations for ventilation. What is important is the exchange rate in ft3/min.
A dryer vent or two. One inside the room, one outside. Mounted back to back.
At one time Kodak had a publication on the design of darkrooms. It may still be available used on some sites. It contains recommendations for ventilation. What is important is the exchange rate in ft3/min.
Since you're inquiring about the INCOMING air, I'd recommend that you place a filter in that path. Your darkroom is about the same size of floor area as mine but you don't mention your ceiling height (mine is 9 feet). The fan throughput should be adequate for your room volume. I chose a Doran 10x10 exhaust fan over the sinks vented to outdoors, then installed a Doran 10x10 louver for incoming air on the opposite (interior) wall so as to bring in home-heated air. Inside the darkroom I placed a furnace filter in the interior wall and pressed it against a soft rubber strip around its edges. You could cut this 12x24 filter in half for the installation, so you'd have a spare (it should be replaced periodically anyway). The filter is held in place by a wooden frame on the darkroom wall. It has been successful in minimizing the dust in the darkroom as well. The exhaust fan was connected to a fan speed rheostat control, but I don't use the fan while drying negatives hanging from a cable strung up over the sinks. Never have had a dust problem with the negatives.
The other day I was playing with brushing straight selenium toner on some small scrap lith prints... my quote of the day was "Ggggk - acccckkkk - need to install that damn fan!!!"...
Outlet location.. High or low depends on the fixer you are using i.e. fumes rise or fall depending. Also Kodak mentions that you want to exhaust air under power not pressure supply air in. Reason, so your darkroom ventilation does not push fumes into your home.
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