Microwave Fumehood

Following the pandemic, model painting had quickly become one of my favourite hobbies. However, living in an HDB apartment, I felt limited without the proper space and environment to use spray cans or an airbrush. Thus, I decided to create a DIY fume hood. The enclosure is made from thin balsa wood, and the electric fan was taken from an old broken microwave.

This project had been in the making before I came across the #EWASTENOMORE challenge. I had already created a paint box with balsa wood; however, it was not working as I intended it to. The fumes of the paint were being trapped in the box, causing more trouble than spray painting out in the open. I realized that I needed some sort of ventilation fan to help pull away from the toxic aerosols from spray painting.

My fan came from an old microwave. Our family’s microwave had broken down and needed to be replaced. Instead of throwing it out, I decided to disassemble it to see what useful components I could recover from it.

Microwave fans are designed to remove smoke and contaminants from the inside of the microwave; thus, I conclude that it is suitable for my project. An interesting realization with this motor was that it acted as a transformer as well. There is a second pin that outputs a 24v ac current that was used to run the turntable motor. If I wanted to upgrade my fume hood with an automatic turntable for easy spray painting, I could do it easily using this motor.

This project has taught me the usefulness of taking apart broken appliances. By doing so, I can recycle perfectly fine parts into useful things rather than sending them to the landfill. This process saves me money and gives me the joy of creating things! Overall, I am happy with what I have created as I now have a nice paint booth to spray paint my models!