Indoor Range Ventilation

Now that indoor winter league has started, I'm reminded of just how bad our ventilation is.  We've added outbound fans in the roof, contacted several companies that claim to do range ventilation work but none have returned emails/voicemails.  Anyone have any suggestions or mods you've done that helped.  Our issue is getting make up air in that's moving past all the shooting positions.

TIA
Dieselguy624

I've learned far too much about range ventilation.  From my observation, doing it correctly is beyond the capabilities of most general HVAC contractors but it should be possible.  Carey's Small Arms Range Ventilation gave me a quote for our club range and I found them to be responsive.  They gave me a quote that was around $250K for our ten position indoor range.  If you have a club member that is and ME and is also handy, that would be a great asset to figure out a plan.  Just a few pointers, you have to spread the intake air across the entire firing line as uniformily as possible.  The current best practice seems to be with a radial diffuser which is what Carey does.  The blower system needs to be able to move the needed CFM across the pressure drop of the filters, diffuser, and ductwork.  If you don't use filters on the exhaust, it's much easier to get adequate airflow but it's not exactly legal.

I know a thing or two about lead toxicity. Here's some free (possibly unwanted) advice. Don't shoot at this indoor range ever again. What is your life worth?

A crumb rubber backstop helps. Don't forget when you are moving air out and in that that air coming in has to be heated or the shooters will freeze. You should have a program of frequent cleaning. Taking lead dust away from your range on your hands and clothing is a problem. Of course there should be a no smoking, eating or drinking while at the range. Having D-Lead wipes available and encouraging their use is a great consideration for those in attendance. Adults eliminate lead from their systems at different rates. The build-up of lead in children is a bigger problem. Personal hygiene is important. Some reloaders will get more lead from handling uncoated or jacketed lead bullets, as well as, tumbling and handling of brass at home. Have any of the indoor range attendees been diagnosed with lead poisoning? I shot at a less-than-perfect ventilated club range for years and reload regularly. I am pretty careful about keeping my hands clean (washing with D-Lead soap)  and washing my clothes after indoor range sessions. I haven't had any concerning issues, and I've been checked. Having ideal ventilation is beyond the budget of most private club indoor ranges and there is the cost of ongoing maintenance costs on top of that.

Here is another good thread on this:

https://www.bullseyeforum.net/t21041-indoor-range-lead-levels-concerns-opinions

dieselguy624 wrote:Now that indoor winter league has started, I'm reminded of just how bad our ventilation is.  We've added outbound fans in the roof, contacted several companies that claim to do range ventilation work but none have returned emails/voicemails.  Anyone have any suggestions or mods you've done that helped.  Our issue is getting make up air in that's moving past all the shooting positions.

TIA
Dieselguy624

My club went through this thirty years ago.  We hired an engineer and reviewed with him the requirements.  He designed a system that provides ~60 fpm  airflow through the shooting ports of our indoor range, recirculates 75% of the air through a HEPA filter bank, exhausts 25% of the air, and makes up 20%.  The balance is made up by infiltration.  The shooting range is always at a negative pressure compared to the meeting area to keep air flowing  in the right direction when doors are opened.   The project cost about $100K.  Not cheap, but we have had no blood lead problems since.