Aral Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 Greetings everyone, I am currently using a vacuum cleaner motor I fit in a plastic tube for a blower. It has plenty of air flow, but the problem is it's really loud. I was considering switching to a hair dryer, but I am concerned that it would be too loud for me too. Then I got this idea, so I wanted to check here for an advice. I thought of using an electric household fan, something similar to this, because it's pretty quiet, and it seems that the airflow would be sufficient when reduced to a 5 inch tube. Has anyone else tried this before, and what do you think, could it work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 Hi Aral, I have concerns over trying to use the fan type illustrated, it may work but would need a fair bit of work to even try it, centrifugal blade fans are the type normally used. If you can't get a blower, then using the hair drier may be the best option, if it is too loud, consider making a muffler for it to lower the sound levels, a simple box, lined with sound absorbing material (egg boxes, or foam) is all thats required, just make sure there is enough air flow to allow the motor to keep cool. This would also work on your existing vacuum cleaner set up Good luck with the project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisG Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 Aral, I use the combustion chamber blower from a high efficiency furnace. Try to get it with the housing it is attached to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swamptroll Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 I found a blower to some kind of outdoor decoration, it even has a ground fault on it, that pushes enough air for 2 forges at the recycle center for free Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 I have the same problem with high pitched sounds like Shop-Vacs. All of these use a high speed motor to get enough volume. Look for a high volume low speed fan, as these create a less annoying sound. With the vacuum you could put it outside, and run a hose into the shop. I know first hand what long term noise can do to your hearing, and Tinnitus is not fun to live with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edge9001 Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 Try a bathroom fan, I have one of them on my brakedrum forge. I'm not sure if it will meet your needs, but with a charcoal fed brake drum forge it seems to work for me. I am new to this and I've been beating on the hot stuff for about a monthnow, but like i said, it seems to work for me. you can get a bathroom fan startting around $15 they are quiet come prewired for power and ready to go, I got mine hooker up in about 2 minutes. here is a picture of the fan used available from HD for about $15 not to mention quiet, nearly silent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aral Posted June 7, 2010 Author Share Posted June 7, 2010 (edited) Thanks for the input guys, I do know it would take quite a bit of work to use that kind of fan, but it's not really a problem, I have enough time during the summer. edge9001, thanks for the idea, I will check it out and see if I can get one of those with a sufficient air flow. This reminds me, does anyone know what kind of air flow volume should I aim for (I don't even know which unit of measurement is used to measure that ) using a 4 inch diameter tube. I'm using pet coke for fuel by the way. Edited June 7, 2010 by Aral Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 Here in the U.S.A. air volume for a small fan like that would be in CFM = cubic feet per minute. Over where you are it might be in cubic meters per minute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 That type of fan is very unlikely to work. Reducing the air flow into a pipe -- even a 4" diameter pipe -- and forcing it up through your fuel is going to create back pressure. Common floor fans and the like, such as that one, simply are not designed to overcome even a small amount of back pressure. I think you'll be disappointed with the results. Some of the other suggestions you've received are far more likely to do the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aral Posted June 9, 2010 Author Share Posted June 9, 2010 That type of fan is very unlikely to work. Reducing the air flow into a pipe -- even a 4" diameter pipe -- and forcing it up through your fuel is going to create back pressure. Common floor fans and the like, such as that one, simply are not designed to overcome even a small amount of back pressure. I think you'll be disappointed with the results. Some of the other suggestions you've received are far more likely to do the job. Thanks for the information, I guess I'll have to check out other options :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welder19 Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 You can use a heat/ac blower out of an old car or truck and make a housing like you did for the vacuum. I'm not sure about your auto's but most American vehicles are really easy to get the blowers out, pop the hood and remove a couple screws and it comes right out. They are a squirle cage type blower so they are ideal and quiet for a forge, only draw back is that they are DC voltage, when I was using mine I got a battery and hooked up a small maintainer charger to it and never had a problem with it. welder19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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