Extraction lab

So recently I was hired as a consultant to help some people get going. They set up a decent little lab in a 40 foot shipping container.
First thing that struck me was how nice of a set up they had going in the shipping container. I had often thought of setting up in a shipping container as a somewhat distasteful option.
Unfortunately my attention quickly turned to the 6 inch grow room fan they were using for exhaust and the fact that they were just using basic household receptacles and have run the wire along the side of the contianer and not even bothered to contain it in some sort pvc. Obviously it was not safe and made me slightly nervous. I stressed to them the issues with their set up however they were approaching $30,000 into their investment so I bit the bullet and did the training anyway.

now the time has come where I would like to do something similar but I would like to do it right. I already have acquired explosionproof fans etc but was wondering what you guys do as for wiring your area? Are you guys actually using class one electrical outlets? And then the next question would be if I am turning half the can into an extraction area and using the front half for post processing how important do you think it would be for me to Ensure that the front half of the can is class one compliant?

I have tried looking around And have not been able to find anything dedicated to showing off your lab space. I would hope this could be the place to start!!!

For a 40 ft. shipping container something like "1400-CFM 14-Inch Blade Heavy-Duty Exhaust Fan with Integrated Shutter" (enough CFM) is probably the most important thing. If you are indoors and can smell any fumes that sounds like a recipe for disaster.

I would suggest ~ 1000 cfm idle exhaust to draw the vapors by the HC detector and 100 cfm per square foot of face area in alarm state. Height X Width, X 100 cfm.


If you must use electrical in the room, it should be NEMA 7, Class 1 Div II and be turned off by the HC alarm.


We used a pneumatic vacuum pump and recovery pump, so that no electrical beyond lights were required.


Our extraction room was isolated from the processing room by a door.

My plan was to put some piping in the wall and feed the electrical cords for the two recovery pumps and vacuum pump Out into the front half of the container. Do you think that would be enough or with the pumps need to be out of the room completely?

I have a 5100 CFM and 2300 CFM Explosionproof fan immediately on hand so I do not anticipate ventilation being the issue. Especially considering I will likely only be using 8 to 10 feet for the actual extraction chamber. Best idea I have been able to find so far I believe actually came from you Gray Wolf.

R.Kipling said:

My plan was to put some piping in the wall and feed the electrical cords for the two recovery pumps and vacuum pump Out into the front half of the container. Do you think that would be enough or with the pumps need to be out of the room completely?

I have a 5100 CFM and 2300 CFM Explosionproof fan immediately on hand so I do not anticipate ventilation being the issue. Especially considering I will likely only be using 8 to 10 feet for the actual extraction chamber. Best idea I have been able to find so far I believe actually came from you Gray Wolf.

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The pumps need to be at least Class I Div II to be in the room.

I think an exhaust near the ground or even flat on the ground like a pool drain would be
wise seeing that most solvent vapors are heavier than air. Fresh air intake is a must also.

troutman said:

I think an exhaust near the ground or even flat on the ground like a pool drain would be
wise seeing that most solvent vapors are heavier than air. Fresh air intake is a must also.

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Good point! Optimally the exhaust slot would be full width of the bottom of the booth, and the height sized to keep the slot velocity at around 1000 surface feet capture velocity.

Workable is a centrally located Explosion Proof exhaust fan at the bottom and center of the booths end wall.

The makeup intake would best come from the rear of the booth and from the ceiling, and sized to operated at 50 to 100 sf.

Workable is a centrally mounted makeup fan in the center of the ceiling at the back of the booth. You can put a weather hood on the outside roof of the container.

As noted, butane vapor is about twice as heavy as air and propane about 1.5 times, so both will try to sink.

A good exhaust system will help the vapors do what they are trying to do naturally and convey them at 100 to 200 surface feet toward the exhaust slot sized to operate at around 1000 sf, or the explosion proof exhaust fan, depending on the design.

Note that it only has to operate at that rate in HC alarm state, so the fans can be run at a slower speed until there is an alarm. We ran ours at about 1000 cfm and in alarm state it went to 5700 cfm.

The idea that seem best to me was build some what of a false wall at the back of the area and leave a couple of inches between the floor and the wall and have my fan mounted in the void And exhausting out either the top or the back. I did find a diagram however I’m having some difficulty uploading it

So I have installed what should be a 2300 CFM fan and it isn’t even enough to pull a bag or peice paper towel up the void, I’m Planning on installing the bigger fan. The question is if it can’t pull a peice of paper towel can it effectively pull the gas up? I’m thinking it’s just going to pool in the void until it reaches the fan.

R.Kipling said:

So I have installed what should be a 2300 CFM fan and it isn’t even enough to pull a bag or peice paper towel up the void, I’m Planning on installing the bigger fan. The question is if it can’t pull a peice of paper towel can it effectively pull the gas up? I’m thinking it’s just going to pool in the void until it reaches the fan.

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What are the height and width of your room?

Have you measured the 2300cfm, or is that just its free air rating?

Here's a crazy ass suggestion, release a can or cans of camp stove butane into the space, and check for the mercaptan odor exiting and remaining in the space.

Gasone is the brand to search for:
https://www.amazon.com/Butane-GasOn...=1541176783&sr=8-6&keywords=camp+stove+butane

The camp stove butane canisters have a slightly different nozzle, but you can still squirt it.