Hand-crank Blower - Orientation and Oil

[tjdaggett]

Smiths, 

I was given a good gift for Christmas: the hand crank blower from Centaur Forge. My brother-in-law and I put together a mount for it so it can hang on my door, which solved the "no welder" problem and makes setup for outdoor forging simple. 

However, it developed a squeak after its first ninety minutes of forging. We stopped immediately since we're new and it's beautiful. This raised two questions:

1. Is it a problem that the oil ports are currently on the side rather than the top? I accept that this may be a stupid question, but if it saves my blower I'm alright looking stupid. 

2. What kind of oil is used for this kind of machine, and how often? Keep in mind that I forge primarily during Minnesota winter. 

Thank you in advance for the benefit of your knowledge. 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

The mounting should be vertical, otherwise the oil in the gear box will not flow to the area's where it's needed. For your winter I would use a light oil like 3 in 1 oil. I use chainsaw bar oil with some STP mixed in year round however our winters are a lot milder than yours.

[pnut]

its a splash oil system so i thimk it might make a difference.  The bottom gear is supposed to make contact with the oil and lubricate the other gears so having it oriented like you have it might not allow that to happen.

As for what type of oil. I use a non detergent automatic transmission fluid because it gets cold here and anything thicker gets syrupy in the winter. If iI cant find that Id go with the thinnest non detergent engine oil i could find like 5-W20

Pnut

make sure not to overfill it either or youll have a mess. You might want yo consider putting a tray of kitty litter under it to catch any drips.

[ThomasPowers]

No weld fix: bolt a piece of angle iron to the door mount long enough to let the gear box project past the door with the blower in a vertical orientation and wide enough to drill and bolt the blower mounting bolts through it.

Did Centaur Forge not answer your request for help with this issue?

[Daswulf]

Yup, that oiler on the crank case that is facing us in the picture should be up top. 

[tjdaggett]

Thank you friends! Pnut, the splash system makes sense. I've short-circuited the gravity piece of the system. We'll take care of that presently. 

TP, I'm a sucker for existing relationships. I know y'all will provide accurate information from a wide range of perspectives. I'm also not used to dealing with companies who answer their mail; hazard of being in my current job a few years too long. 

[tjdaggett]

Perhaps y'all can help your hardware-challenged brother once again. 

The duct from my blower to my forge failed. It was a 4" flexible AC vent (pictured above) that I tried to cut down the side and tape to form an opening that would fit over the 2" openings on either end. All of this lives in an uninsulated shed and endures temperatures from -40F to 105F throughout the year. The ducting split, the tape didn't hold, and I had leaks everywhere. I didn't realize how bad it was until I went to a hammer-in and found that I could burn steel in 90 seconds with their forges, where mine just barely got to orange after 3-5 minutes. 

So I'm looking for a tube with a 2" interior diameter. It should ideally be 5' long, but I could work with as little as 3'. It needs to be detachable from at least one end every time I forge (blower is mounted to the door, but I carry the forge out each time I work), so we're talking hose clamps. It needs to be flexible. It doesn't need to be particularly heat-resistant, as it will stay at least five inches from the pot of the forge, which is itself 5-6" from the coal. 

Thoughts? I've looked at electrical conduit, spa/pool hoses ($$$), and ventilation ducting. I've heard that there's a part for a pellet stove that can work, but I'm not seeing it. As mentioned above, hardware is not a world I know well, so I'm hoping there's an obvious solution that's just not on my radar. 

Thank you in advance.

[Frosty]

I just did a web search using the terms, "2" IS flex tubing" and got several pages of hits though I only skimmed the first page. The 2" flex hose listed in 2" ran in lengths from 3' to 25' in the $20-$35 range. These were all plastic. If you want steel you'd have to look for exhaust flex though there may be others. 

Be aware the search will post every kind of hose there is, so you have to skim and ignore the stuff you aren't interested in.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

[tjdaggett]

Thank you Frosty! From all the Googling I've done, I find that the plastic hoses in the right length are all at least $50. I see that I left that criteria out of my question above: I'm looking for something less expensive. If nothing like that exists, I'll save up my shekels, but I thought it worth asking. 

[Glenn]

Look for expandable aluminum such as dryer vent material.  3 inch and 4 inch should be able to be found in the big box stores.  The extra size should not be a problem as it allows for more air flow, with less resistance at the walls.  The ends can be slit or crushed to fit a smaller size and they have large radiator type or other clamps clamps to fit the size you need.  

[Frosty]

Amazon shows 2"x 10',  "Woodstock" clear w/ steel wire for $21 and change plus shipping if you don't have Prime. 2"x25' Flexadure is $81 and change if you want 25 FEET of the stuff. Right next to it on the page is 2" x 10' Vintage duct hose for $23 and change. 

What makes it look expensive are all the ones that are high pressure, you're only dealing with a pound or two max psi. 

2" discharge hose might work and it's really cheap but it will kink if you bend it much so it'd be a pass for me. It's a possible but not likely thing, certainly better than some things I've seen guys improvise with duct tape. Of course ANYTHING is possible with enough duct tape, after all the Mythbusters built an airplane together with it.

Frosty The Lucky.

[tjdaggett]

Thank you both! I see two options that I like in here. I need to look into whether flexible PVC will withstand the temperature swings in Minnesota over a reasonable amount of time. I can't be replacing this yearly. If not, I think that flexible aluminum will work. I found one that's 10', so I could cut it in half and have more opportunity for experimentation. I'm also keeping a Google doc with links, prices, ideas, and questions, so I can come back to this later if I get pulled away by something more urgent. Should decrease repeat questions.

[Glenn]

I had 4 inch dryer plastic flex pipe fill with coal smoke which ignited when I touched the hand crank blower for more air.  A real duck and cover moment.  It also melted 4 feet of the plastic to a flame dripping goo.  Flexible aluminum vent pipe is not that expensive.  No need to cut it, just connect both ends and air.

[tjdaggett]

I'm planning on the aluminum. I found a non-Amazon stove/chimney seller that has a five-foot length of just the right stuff, should be able to get it here for about $30. Couple of hose clamps and I'm in business. 

The plastics I was looking at also had the problem of low-end temperature limits. Even storing them in the shed I'd be worried they'd get brittle quickly. 

Out of curiosity, why would the aluminum pipe not have the coal gas problem?

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

The aluminum will withstand the heat of a coal gas pop/explosion where the plastic will/can ignite.

 

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sails. ~ Semper Paratus

[Frosty]

There are ways around the plastic's flammability and fragility if you get a smoke pop in it but it's easier and better to not have to worry. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Glenn]

Expandable aluminum pipe is more durable, not effected by temperature change, and does not split and shatter when frozen.  

[M3F]

Like Frosty said, the flexible exhaust pipe may be an option. It has worked perfectly for me.