Exhaust Hood/Fan

[Louie]

Any tips for the dang exhaust fan from sucking out the heat in the raunt? (on the cheap, lol)
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[qfanatic01]

Do you have make up air?
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[Louie]

[Bbq Bubba]

Make up air system, heated in the winter, is probably the proper way to go.
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[Maniac]

if your talking about the hood exhaust fan...till you get heated make up...an old school way was to bring fresh filtered air to the front lip of the hood but you may need a damper to close in case of a fire. it would cut down quite a bit of heat loss...check codes first.
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[Harry Nutczak]

Short cycle make-up air hoods work, not spectacularly, but they work.

The trick is to get the outgoing and incoming balanced correctly.
I am having that problem myself right now.

Louie, on your fan motor, (if belt driven fan) the pulley should have adjustable sheaves, you want to separate those sheaves as far as possible to slow down the speed of fan rotation by letting the belt ride closer to the shaft on the motor. (think of how a snowmachine clutch operates, or 10-speed bike gearing)
You will also need to correct the belt tension when you do that to take up the slack you just created.

Or, see if your motor is able to have a speed control attached, you'll probably need to consult with an HVAC person for that. if it is not wound for variable speed, consider replacing that motor with one that is, and add a speed controller.
Decreasing air flow by decreasing duct size is another option, but you may load the motor too much and cause thermal breakdown. Some motors are load protected, so if you hear it shutting down, and restarting, thats a sign of thermal overload.

Tempered make-up air is the way to go, and through my own research, it is best and less expensive to start new than to try to add it on to a hood that was not designed for it.
There are pressure sensor differential sensors and controls involved and all sorts of other things that are not cheap.
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[marubozo]

Whatever you do, make sure your contractor pulls the proper permit first if you install something. Trust me. Don't ask how I know about this nightmare.

[Louie]

Thanks for all of your information, very helpful..
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