4 home lab devices I avoid using in my poorly-ventilated basement

Ever since I started my home lab journey, I’ve come across a ton of devices, tools, and other hardware components – many of which aren’t directly related to virtualization or self-hosted projects. With my home lab growing out of proportion, I typically stash my paraphernalia in my basement, dark rooms, and other closed-off spaces where I don’t have to worry about the denizes of my house stumbling upon my PC rigs, network stack, and storage servers.

However, there are times when I have to ignore my basement-dwelling vampire urges and annoy my folks by leaving my equipment out in the open. For reference, the PC nest in a basement has poor ventilation, making it a terrible choice for these four devices.

4

Soldering station

Please don’t design your dream keyboard in the basement

Thanks to its versatile nature, my soldering station is one of the most important components of my toolkit. Since I often work on microcontroller and SBC projects, it’s great for creating permanent circuits with sensor modules, resistors, and other paraphernalia. With hot-swappable PCBs costing an arm and a leg, my soldering kit comes in handy when I want to create an inexpensive mechanical keyboard, and can even be used for PCB-heavy projects.

While the joy of creating the perfect solder joint is unrivalled by other DIY projects, pressing the solder material against the heated iron releases some toxic fumes. If you’re going to use the soldering kit for extended periods, it’s a good idea to do so in a well-ventilated area.

3

UV printer

The curing phase can create some ozone byproducts

Compared to your average 3D printer (which I’ll get to in a moment), UV printers are relatively safer to handle. Rather than melting filament or transforming large vials of resin into physically tangible models, UV printers rely on ultraviolet light to dry (or rather, polymerize) UV-sensitive ink, allowing you to create lifelike prints on glass, ceramic, and other surfaces.

Unfortunately, the curing process results in the formation of fumes and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The ozone fumes, in particular, aren’t something you’d want in excess quantities, which is why I recommend placing it in a room with decent air circulation.

2

3D printer

Especially if you have a resin printer

As someone who has spent several spools on creating lifelike models, I can confirm that 3D printers are an amazing addition to any home lab. If you’re as fond of SBC projects as I am, you can create enclosures, mounts, and even robotics components with your 3D printer. On the home lab front, it’s entirely possible to 3D print server racks, cable management tools, and even DAS chassis.

That said, you’ll want to keep your 3D printer in an open environment. While PLA is supposed to be one of the safer 3D printing filaments, it’s not entirely harmless. As such, you’ll need some decent ventilation to get rid of the fumes and particulate matter generated by melting PLA material. Once you start experimenting with other filaments, you’ll want to ensure proper air circulation in your 3D printing workshop. Meanwhile, resin printers are a different beast altogether. Considering that you’ll need proper safety equipment when dealing with a resin printer, I’d never keep one in my bat cave of a home lab.

1

Laser engraver

Fumes aren’t the only thing you should worry about

A laser engraver may seem too complex for a home lab, but it can add an aesthetic touch to your projects. Whether it’s creating a custom logo for your cases or engraving motivational quotes on your coasters to pacify yourself after dealing with annoying software bugs, a laser engraver is a neat tool for DIY enthusiasts.

Since you’re essentially dealing with lasers capable of boring through hard materials, you’ll want to take several precautions when operating a laser engraver. Even relatively safer materials like wood and acrylic can produce harmful fumes and particulate matter when subjected to a laser engraver, making proper air circulation a necessity. Switch to PVC or vinyl, and you’ll want to put on a respiratory mask to avoid inhaling toxic chlorine vapors. All-in-all, you’d want to ensure your workshop has proper airflow before attempting any laser engraver projects.

A poorly-ventilated setup isn’t ideal for computing devices, either!

Since I’ve upped the scale of my DIY projects and home lab experiments, I’ve laid out some plans to enhance the airflow of the bat cave I call my basement. With summer almost upon us, my servers are bound to overheat in the terribly ventilated rat’s nest that’s my home lab. Likewise, cleaning everything is a real pain, because I have to transport most devices to the other end of my house to avoid inhaling the dirt and grime when I use my air duster on the paraphernalia.

Related

5 lightweight operating systems you can use for your next home server

With the right OS, even your low-end SBC can turn into a reliable server