This used to be a broken portable heater, now it's a fume extractor!
This is what I've been up to all night. My friend asked me if I could fix this heater a couple months ago, but I found the element to be bad. So, since he didn't want it back, I decided to pull the fan out and make a fume extractor. I've been thinking about how I was going to do it for a couple weeks now. Just finally decided I felt like starting it. Every component except the cord, screws, and wire retainers came from the heater. The cord and wire retainers were from some TV, of course. I don't have a proper strain relief for the cord, so that will be ordered along with a panel mount fuse holder. Also, a charcoal filter will be sandwiched between the grills on the back. It works really good and is very quiet. Someday, when I have access to a welder, I'll weld the back corners of the top and bottom, then grind them smooth. It's OK for now though. Reshaping all the metal was a pain, and all I had was a pair of sheet metal shears to cut with. It goes without saying that you shouldn't work with metal without wearing gloves. I didn't, and as a result, a considerable amount of blood was shed. It ripped out of my hand when I was putting one of the screws in, and a nice chunk of my finger went with it. My shop floor looks like a CSI crime scene. But, that's such a small price to pay for a quality fume extractor.
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