Would this Vacuum/Blower make a good forge blower?

[GAJoe]

A newbe here.
I have a used Cadillac HP-33 Heavy Duty Vacuum/Blower image and spec' here. It uses a "brushed motor" so I tried one of these "Router Speed Controller" and it works well. With the blower on low speed and adjustable with the speed control it seems like it would be a good forge blower. Opinions?

[sloscheider]

My first reaction upon looking at the blower specs but not reading the last part of your post was Nope, way too much air.... but with a speed control keeping it on the low end it may be fine - hook it up and find out. How is it for noise? It may work great but drive you crazy....

[Quang0]

That's pretty serious blower. Like Sloscheider says the air volume is pretty high, it's something you may have to try out. I do like the speed controller though. The specs say its voltage capacity is 250VDC, I assume that it will run 250VAC. I've got to find some of those here in Aus, they look perfect for speed controllers.

[AndrewOC]

Quango,
next time i'm talking to an electrician i'll ask about the ceiling fan control that was retro fitted at my place i've wondered to.
...or look up electrical wholesaler catalogues online eg John R Turk, Ramax and Cetnaj for Sydney.
Andrew.

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard Joe, glad to have ya.

That is a serious blower, it my over boost your forge even set low.

If you'll click "User CP" at the top of the page and edit your profile to show your location it can make a big difference. IFI is represented by members from more than 50 countries and a lot of info is location specific. Also if local folk know you're there they can invite you to gatherings, tip you to tool deals and offer hands on help.

Frosty

[Rob Browne]

I think I would be looking for something smaller and cheaper. That one would probably blow your fire out of the forge!

[Dragons lair]

Ceiling fan controls are way better than dimmer switches. Name says it all(fan control vs light control) Have also used router controls
(again motor speed control) If it will hold a tennis ball in mid air its tooo much.
Ken

[welder19]

If you have that blower already, then for the price of it I would sell it take the money and buy a nice forge blower with airgate.
That is way too much blower for a forge, probably even with it turned down, but none the less it's still overkill, you only need a fraction of that air.

welder19

[Don A]

You can get a dandy blower here:

Blacksmiths Depot |Blowers

... for a lot less $$$

I've got what I think might be an old version of the blower you are considering. I picked it up at a garge sale. You can feel the torque when you turn it on, and it'll blow the paint off the walls. I use it like a leaf blower when the shop is particularly dirty. It could be used as a blower, but it would have to be choked waaaaay back.

[Bentiron1946]

That blower would be dandy for a small iron cupola or bronze melting furnace.:cool:

[PICKETTR]

Who in their right mind would spend $518 on this blower? The 150cfm would be way too much air...

[keithgartner]

Oh, Sop it. You're kidding. Right?

[keithgartner]

I missed the t.