man powered blower alternatives

[ThomasPowers]

I started out with an electric blower back in 1981, then went to a hand crank blower a couple of years later because I preferred it---less fuel used and less steel burnt. Then I built a double lunged bellows and used that for a dozen years as I preferred it to the hand crank blower!

However a lot depends on how good a thing is designed and works; I have seen/used other peoples hand crank blowers that were miserable to use and have used a double lunged bellows at a historical smithy that actually would do dammage to you as you used it.
My double lunged bellows I could pump with my pinkie and get the fire to welding temps easily too. The one at the historical society smithy you had to reach way up and grab the strap hard and pull down with all your might/weight to get any air at all. The smith there has permanent shoulder dammage from using it for 10 years.

Chinese box bellows take up a lot less space than the "great" bellows and some folks like them a lot. The one I used I did not prefer it to my great bellows save for the space/loading/unloading considerations.