Grabbed this cheap off Kijiji yesterday, it works fine but it has an annoying plug with a safety button on it that needs to stay pushed in order for it to work, but it won't stay pushed if it's plugged into my router speed controller (works great for the leaf blower, I recently learned) or my light dimmer switch (works great for the little shop vac). Maybe I'll have to finally go over to the dark side and mess with some kind of dump gate for it if I want to run an oil burner off it. Normally I like just being able to turn the blower down so it also gets less noisy. Maybe some kind of sound proof box? Anyhow, I will find something fun to use it for eventually. Even if it only gets used just to help blow fresh air into the shed where I want to be able to do indoor melting and casting, I'll be glad I have it (I got some big ideas in my head after visiting Josh the blacksmith's shop a couple of times). I already installed a 15" ventilation fan up high in there to vent out the furnace exhaust, also a Kijiji bargain, but all that is probably a story for another thread... Jeff
Ok, you've been getting better deals on them than I did. I paid more for one than you did for all 3, even after he knocked 25% off his price because he was 15 minutes late meeting me... I'm ok with it though, they don't come up for sale around here too often that I've been able to find, and this was the lowest price I've seen anyone asking for. Jeff
Aren't most of those powered by single speed induction motors? If so, it won't be compatible with those speed controllers. You may be better off using a gate valve on the blower inlet. If it's a brush/universal style motor, those controllers should work ok though the dimmer may not have the current carrying capacity. Best, Kelly
You're probably right, electronics makes my eyes go crossed and I just haven't caught the bug to make myself feel motivated to learn more about how the different kinds of motors actually work, can be controlled, etc. Yet. Just trying it, to see if it worked, was how I was going to tell if I can use any of my speed control switches on this motor. Not worth cutting the plug off and replacing it just so I can try, only to maybe find out it still won't work. So yeah, hence thinking about a damper on the intake or a dump gate on the output... Would it overheat if I went with blocking the inlet with a gate? I think I read that some fans need that air flow to stay cool. Not that I ever worried about running the shop vac slower than it was built for... Jeff
That's a good point. I'd look to see if the motor is isolated from the blower involute/plenum and ventilated independent of the blower air. If so, I think you could throttle either the inlet or discharge. If motor cooling is dependent on the blower air, just throttle the discharge. Some blowers will run at a considerable higher rpm when the inlet in completely blocked. Vacuum motors are usually designed for this but a low pressure blower may be more sensitive when completely unloaded.....but an induction motor tends to be more self limiting due to the AC frequency. Best, Kelly
I have several of these saved on facebook marketplace. Price ranges from $25- 60.00 Figure it would be the perfect blower for the cupola.
It sure moves some air, that's for sure. It's clearly spent some hours out in the sun judging from the slightly faded plastic housing, but it runs just fine. This one cost me $30 Canadian (after late fees). I guess maybe I could have tried to haggle a bit. But that's already less than 3 packs of smokes used to cost me, back before I quit combusting. Good deal. Jeff
I'm sure the switch is a GFCI. Yeah. I know, no shit sherlock. Although I dont know exactly what mechanism triggers them, I know it's different than a normal circuit breaker. Again, NSS. The point is that the motors possible incompatibility with your speed controller may be triggering the GFCI whereas it wouldnt trip a breaker. It might maybe just hum or something. I was trying to run a bank of fluorescent lights off a GFCI protected circuit and kept popping the breaker. I eventually found that GFCIs aren't compatible with electronic ballasts. So much to learn!! Pete
All three units I have, of different brands, direct some airflow past the motor. In this neck of the woods they are very common, probably due to the jumping castles falling apart from UV exposure and the recycle shops always have a few of them. I was able to stack two in series for higher pressures but my results with them were promising but inconclusive as I had too many untested things going on at once. I can't readily tell if my ones are induction motor units without pulling them apart, this video shows one with an induction motor inside:
I've been running my fan for almost five years now with an inlet damper. I made the collar and reducing adapter using lost foam since they were one offs. Here are some shots, and I thought I did a thread over at AA. The switch also powers the propane solenoid so if I lose power the fuel is cutoff.
That's pretty slick, ESC. Maybe I'll do something similar. You probably did post it on AA, and I probably read it, lol. There's so much info there that sometimes it takes a while to find a specific old thread using a forum search. I'll assume it's ok to choke off the intake on mine too then, if it seems more convenient. If it burns itself up in 5 years, it was still a good deal. Same thing I told myself when I built the dimmer switch for the bucket shop vac blower knowing it might not be the best thing for it, and IIRC I paid $10 more for that thing. It's louder too... Jeff
