My homemade exhaust fan

electrode · Tue Jan 17, 2017 11:54 am

I made this exhaust fan a some years ago using a Craftsman tool stand. I bought a squirrel cage blower off of ebay to make it functional. It was a 3 speed motor and I didn't have the controller so I did some research and fancy wiring with 3-way switches and got all 3 speeds to work. Really didn't need to do that because without the restriction of an air filter it in hardly noticeable.

Here it is:

: Dscf2827-a.jpg (33.46 KiB) Viewed 2198 times

Made from:

: spin_prod_209054601.jpg (28.76 KiB) Viewed 2198 times

homeboy · Tue Jan 17, 2017 1:17 pm

Very neat build. You cannot get too much ventilation in a shop. Lots of light -very important. Must have been interesting wireing the 3 speed switches.

electrode · Tue Jan 17, 2017 3:12 pm

Thanks. On the wiring I had seen a video on Youtube where the guy did the same thing with a 3 speed motor but he didn't offer a schematic or instructions on how he wired it. I asked for a schematic but as usual, he never answered.

Of course I only waited an hour and went out and bought 3 of the 3-way switches and sat at the kitchen table with a multi-meter and figured it out. It really ended up pretty straight forward and easy. I made a drawing for future reference but don't know where I put it. That always happens when you put something in a really safe place.

doc58 · Tue Jan 17, 2017 6:05 pm

That's a very neat and professional looking fan unit there.

Nice job.

exnailpounder · Tue Jan 17, 2017 6:29 pm

Boom! I love it when people re-purpose things...Nice work!

electrode · Wed Jan 18, 2017 3:43 pm

Thanks guys. It is nice to know some people appreciate other peoples handy work.

homeboy · Wed Jan 18, 2017 8:53 pm

Actualy looks like something you could pick up at Ikea.

electrode · Wed Jan 18, 2017 10:29 pm

Ikea huh? I take that as a compliment.

The only thing I would have done different would to have bent all the lower panels a 1/4" and bend them in my brake to get rid of the sharp edge. But seeing I am the only one using it I only got cut once when I wasn't paying 100% attention and reaching for the switch.

Bumblebee · Wed Jan 18, 2017 10:45 pm

Nice build and if anyone need a drawing for 3 speed fan wiring contact me and I'll sure help you wire it up. Be sure and tell me voltage as a lot of HVAC fans are cap start and 220 volt to operate. The neat thing about them they can easily be between 800 to 1200 or more cfm if you can get the cage to. Contact any of the smaller HVAC contractors and as a rule they give or sell you one from the scrap file for low cost. I have a few so if you contact me just pay the shipping and ill send you one.

pscampsr · Mon Jan 30, 2017 11:53 pm

It is very well done. You might think about using car door edge protector on the sharp edges. It cuts to length and just snaps on. Or poly-flow plastic tubing, slit it to slip over the edge. It is really tough (handles 5000 psi) and will give a nice round edge. Just a thought.

electrode · Tue Jan 31, 2017 11:21 am

pscampsr wrote:It is very well done. You might think about using car door edge protector on the sharp edges. It cuts to length and just snaps on. Or poly-flow plastic tubing, slit it to slip over the edge. It is really tough (handles 5000 psi) and will give a nice round edge. Just a thought.

Thanks. I thought about edge protector but haven't got around to sourcing it. I guess Autozone may even sell it. I have slit tubing and rubber hose quite a few times like for making grommets for things etc but it is always tricky to do a long piece without bleeding or fighting the coil memory.

I will look into the door edge protector on this one.