[mooseyhootington]

Hey, I finally decided to start an account on this forum, after browsing around for some time.  There's a lot of useful information from what I've seen, but I have a question.  Obviously, for the home chemist, it is not very easy to buy an affordable fume hood, seeing as how they are much too expensive.  Is there is a tangible way to handle toxic fumes (nitrogen dioxide, chlorine gas, etc.) without having to "break the bank"?

[csrscience.com]

I think so, though some may disagree with me.
Really you just  need to do it outside on a windy day, and avoid it the best you can... if you are looking to condense them, etc.
Keep the vessel sealed or better yet have the vessel have a tube that directs the toxic gases that escape into a solution in which they will dissolve/react - if you can, don't let pressure increase, causing the stopper or whatever to pop off, obviously that would be very bad.

What is you have in mind?

[nj_bartel]

The above methods work just fine for the types of gases mentioned in the above post.  I personally wouldn't work with gases like HCN in such a manner however.

[csrscience.com]

true, I agree to that as well. H2S is also pretty dangerous in the same way as HCN so be careful there - plus it is very hard to gauge exposure to this chemical.

[nj_bartel]

Yeah, you know when you're breathing chlorine and you're going to move away whether you want to or not.  NO2 isn't quite the same and is dangerous if you don't know that the noxiousness fades, but still isn't in the same category as HCN and, like you said, H2S.

[baboom]

if you are making what I think you are making....I would stay really far from your house. Chlorine gas is not the worst by byproduct. There is also hydrochloric acid, which is at room temeprature a gas, so you would be causing severe burns to you and those leaving around you. HCL is one of the strongest acids around

[nj_bartel]

If he is making copious amounts of HCl, bubbling through a very large quantity of water would still be a good solution.

[baboom]

this reaction requires high temperatures, and as you know, gas does not dissolve well high temp solvents

[408]

I agree with IndieSci; outdoors with a breeze will handle NO2 and Cl2 easily.  More toxic things I would not really want at home (H2S, HCN, etc) unless I had a hood and a scrubbing system(before they could leave reaction vessel) in place...
A gas mask can be helpful sometimes too.

It is cheaper to build one however, whether you build a full size one with baffles, etc, or build a version that is simply a small box that has fans propelling vapours through a length of dryer hose to the outdoors(via a sealed outlet on the house).  I did the latter at one point many years ago.

I have seen no indication of the exact reaction being done... 

[mooseyhootington]

if you are making what I think you are making....I would stay really far from your house. Chlorine gas is not the worst by byproduct. There is also hydrochloric acid, which is at room temeprature a gas, so you would be causing severe burns to you and those leaving around you. HCL is one of the strongest acids around

To clarify, I honestly don't have anything specific in mind and I am NOT making bombs or drugs.  I just don't want to be one of those people who thinks they know what they are doing but ends up endangering themselves.  I don't plan on dealing with any highly toxic gases, but seeing as how I am just starting out in the field of amateur chemistry, I want to make safety a priority.  

[408]

http://www.sciencemadness.org/member_publications/Odour.pdf

Combine with an aspirator for greater effectiveness.

[baboom]

goodluck!

[csrscience.com]

this reaction requires high temperatures, and as you know, gas does not dissolve well high temp solvents

Whatever reaction you are talking about -- being either NOx, HCl, SO2, etc.. it doesn't always involve high temperatures...
Plus if the water is cold, it would take a lot for the hot gases to actually heat it up to a significant amount to make much of a difference... Just saying.

[skyjumper]

build a hood yourself:

http://www.homedepot.com/Building-Materials-Heating-Venting-Cooling-Ducts/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xh3Zapyp/R-100067594/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 $28.
http://www.homedepot.com/Building-Materials-Heating-Venting-Cooling-Ducts/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xh3Zapyp/R-100062966/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 $5
http://www.homedepot.com/Building-Materials-Heating-Venting-Cooling-HVAC-Parts-Accessories/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xh3Z1z11ijzZapt7/R-100125106/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 $8

Build a wood box to fit your size (may need to increase/ double the duct work to accommodate a larger size)

As a front get some Plexiglas sheets, I would do a viewing area that is either slid into place or screwed on, then a hinged bottom quarter or half (depending on height) for actual working and air input. You may want to just go straight for the 8 inch which is rated for moving 210 cubic feet per minute. Should be more than enough. This all in all shouldn't cost more than 100. if you can wire it yourself. The most expensive piece is probably the fan, you can probably get it cheaper on ebay or something. This I suppose could even be built on a dolly or cart, and thus can almost all be contained, you can even use that bendy tubing to just run it out a window (with insert).
 
If you cant visualize this well, I used MSpaint to build a little diagram of it all. Sadly, My mouse drawing skills are very lax.
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/640/14734156.png