I have the same damn fan for exaust and I want a carbon filter in line with the ducking and now im gonna mod my fan. I was worried that I wouls loose power with a carbon filter with my design but if this will make my fan stronger.....you saved my babys thanx alot man....rep+++++++ for sure
Heh heh- did just start with the video- you saw it. We'll see what else comes of that. I guess what you mean is the holes in the wheel- yes that will help. I believe that fan can probably pull through a normal size carbon filter pretty well. I don't use filters, but I think this fan could handle it. One way to find out! And thanks for the praise, man- just trying to help overgrow the world.
Whatup Mech! Nice DIY man, these fans are amazing, I been using them for years and they sure solve a few problems in my garden LOL Good job bro.
Made an inline carbon filter and the blower mod is still keeping negative pressure in my grow box. Thanx again.
I did too, but I measured the outlet size, looked at the motor and the wheel, and I can't tell that blower is any larger or more capable, despite its larger case. Motor looks the same size, but that could be misleading. They want $80 for it down here, and the little $50 Lasko one is pulling like a champ. Maybe someone that has both or the big one could chime in. . . Carpet shampooers use the shit out of these things.
you've convinced me to build one of these over the weekend. now i have to tackle the filter problem, then i'm all set
Lotta you fellow Carolina Boys showing up- Welcome. There are tons of great DIYs for filters- Also, I recently went to a good sized Lowes, and they actually had 6" pvc stuff- My local small HD doesn't carry stuff that big. I found a flange there that could have been made to work- Otherwise you can hit up Ace and just cut out the middle like I did. Thanks for commenting man, and welcome again!
thats really good to hear, theres a decent sized lowes and HD right down the road from me and according to their website, have them in stock. so i know where i'll be going tomorrow morning.
I'd def. say this is worth a sticky!! Especially in the DIY child-forum... not only because A) its a great tutorial and works great... but also B) Just to let people know in general that they don't need an expensive inline fan or anything that costs more than the blower at Wal-mart! [which is where I found mine... exact same as yours, except it was only $40 (well, 37.99), instead of $50... you know, with those roll backs and savin people money ] I haven't even modded mine yet b/c I'm only using 3" dryer ducting... and with a ring of foil tape sticking out around the end of the tubing from it's previous connection to a tiny 4" fan, the 3" ducting sticks to the blower from pure suction, its vacuum sealed basically lol. Something worth noting - the blower is not *THAT* loud, however when only 3 inch tubing is placed up against that intake hole, the blower is about 3-4 times louder and raises in pitch, as if you just turned it from a low to super-high speed. While it sounds like it is speeding up, the restrictive 3" tubing is actually slowing the blower down, and the sound of the excess pressure rushing air up the 3" dryer tube as well as additional air being pulled through the small motor vent is what makes it sound like the speed is being increased... as you mentioned, this is a continuous duty motor, so I'm not worried about damaging it for the 1-2 days it will run with the additional strain on the motor as the tube's restriction is slowing the wheel down significantly. But with longer term use, I'm not sure if the motor would over heat or not.... of course this is only when it's sealed and using a small diameter intake... (as I said, my blower is not modded yet, so the strain on the motor from a small intake may be offset by the additional air rushing in the motor vent...) BUT as sealed in the DIY example, this situation *may* limit not only the speed of the wheel, but also the air available to cool the strained motor, especially if the air coming up the 3" tube is already warm from an HID light... aside from the motor, you said the wheel doesn't lose much strength from the holes drilled through it, but if I had the same 3" hose sealed to the blower like it is now after the mod is done, there is a chance that such a small intake will not only strain the motor, but put stress on the wheel's 3 "stokes" created from drilling out the holes. The plastic looks thick enough to handle the added stress, but I personally wouldn't leave it sealed up to 3" dryer tubing after the mod... Whether the wheel or motor would be more at risk in that situation, I don't know, and it may in fact keep performing just fine. The only thing I do know, is that the wheel will be under more stress as torque (due to the restrictive vacuum that forms w/ a small intake) in the opposite direction of the torque applied from the motor, and as long as those opposing forces don't break the wheel, the opposing torque will be transfered to the motor as well, which is receiving less ventilation in addition to the strain from such a small intake. ...sorry for that overdone explanation... at the very least, a smaller diameter intake like 3" dryer hose is going to increase the noise significantly, and may be too restrictive. Anyways, it may be worth noting something about the intake size in your original write-up post... Also, especially b/c this should be a sticky, you might want to add the input from owkia as an alternative for those who have a drill, but do not have bits for a hole saw... of course many other tools could be used (dremel, melting plastic with a soldering iron, etc...) I *think*, for some people, when they see the pics of the hole saw bit, they start to think this DIY is more difficult than it truely is. Either because they may not have a hole saw or b/c your holes are so perfectly shaped and spaced apart that it looks like it would take 30 min to get it all lined up and cut out, when it actually takes prob less than 5 min to drill those 3 holes and clean up the cuts... keep in mind, I'm just trying to think like someone who doesn't have hole saws or isn't very experienced, and a note that multiple holes using a large drill bit will also work could possibly make this DIY project more approachable, although the performance may not be *as good* as with the hole saws (maybe even suggesting drawing out a 'no drill' zone to provide solid stokes for the wheel, for those that only have drill bits... again just to make it easier for the less experience) again, sorry for a drawn out explanation.. ADD meds are just kicking in, I should probably do something productive Thanks for the DIY tip though!!!
not as symmetrical as yours, but i think i'll work. it added a slight vibration but i don't think its much to worry about. more pics when i'm done.
your vibration is because your holes are not evenly spaced out Mech awesome thread defiantly sticky material ++rep
i left the fan running while i went to work tonight and now it isn't running, i don't know if the motor went out on it or what is wrong with it. i guess i'll just take it back to walmart and get another one.
I think you might have just proved what erik was saying- vibration means extra load. Shouldn't have burned out that quick , though- so try returning it if you want and try to make three evenly spaced holes in the next one. Sorry it didn't work out for you but thanks for posting your experiences so we can all benefit from them! Keep trying, that's DIYing! (OK that was a little gay. . .)
little gay -- maybe. yeah i think the uneven holes did me in too. you're right it shouldn't have burned out so quickly. i just got back from wally world and it went smoothly. tomorrow i'll take my time and get everything evenly spaced out so that it won't die on me so quickly.
I think a Mod needs to see this and give it a sticky. Definitely doing a lot of good for a few people who aren't too scared to hack up a brand new blower. It is one of the few easy D.I.Y.s on here that doesn't take much work and knowledge of tools to accomplish. Not forgetting to mention the easy to follow instructions. There is nowhere on earth that you will find a cheaper blower that will run continuous duty per the requirements that we will put on it. I'm sure most people have seen these while perusing the aisles in the hardware store looking for parts for their rooms and never thought about buying it do to it's dual intake and rectangular exhaust. Well, here is your answer to your grow room exhaust problems! Thanks, Mech! Another great D.I.Y. by a grower who is looking out for more than just #1 and puts forth the time and effort to try new things and take the time to show us how he did it.
well i finally got it done. i only drilled two 1" holes in the middle section and got them evenly spaced by turning on the fan and scoring where i wanted to drill with a knife. (you can score marks in the first pic) it seems to be working just fine, its actually pulling the sides of my tent in quite a bit even on low.