Additional spray booth features

Once you know what size booth you need and the type of airflow you want, you'll have to consider several other options, including air make-up units, lighting, and safety features.

Air make-up units
Adding a spray booth inside your plant or shop can wreak havoc with your HVAC systems. Consider that small booths can have an airflow of several thousand cubic feet per minute (CFM), while larger booths can reach 50,000 CFM or more. All that air is being pulled into the booth and vented to the outside, and it has to come from somewhere.

Without an air make-up unit, that air is being drawn from the rest of your building. As the pressure inside starts to drop, outside air will be sucked in through every tiny gap and crack in the walls to replace it. If you're heating or cooling your building, the difference in temperature will cause your energy costs to skyrocket.

An air make-up unit solves this problem by providing a direct source of air for the booth. The air make-up unit pulls in outside air through a dedicated vent, heats it if necessary, and supplies the resulting air directly to the intake filter.

Air make-up units add quite a bit to the initial purchase price of a spray booth – frequently more than the booth itself. However, to avoid serious air quality problems and uneven heating or cooling, they can be worth the expense.

Lighting
Adequate lighting is essential to many spray booth applications. Most booths come with several banks of special explosion-proof lighting. Make sure the location and number of lights is appropriate for your work, because you can't simply install additional lights on your own.

Also, consider access to the lights when choosing a location for your booth. In most cases, lights are accessed from outside the booth, so putting the structure against a wall could prevent you from changing burned-out bulbs.

Safety features
Operators of spray paint booths are required to comply with a myriad of federal, state, and local regulations to protect both employees and the environment. These rules vary quite a bit, but the most important aspect to remember is that your local regulations trump any others.

Because of this, meeting with your local fire marshal or building inspector is the most important step in compliance. The vendor you choose should be able to provide general guidelines, but the local authorities have the final word on what type of installation, safety equipment, and operating procedures are required.

The safety features you may need include a fire suppression system, either dry chemical or water-based, depending on the substances being used in your application. There may be specific airflow requirements based on the type of spraying you do and the size of the booth. And you'll have to comply with standard regulations concerning electrical wiring and fire exits.

Other features

• Sound blocking: If the noise of the fan and spray equipment is a problem, double walls can help.
• Auto shutdown: Cuts off power to spray devices if the filters are clogged or booth air flow drops below safe levels.
• Powder coat finish. White powder coating helps improve overall brightness in the booth and protects the steel.
• Doors. Choose from drive-through, bi-fold, standard walk-through, or other types of entry doors to match your needs.