looking for explosion proof fan..........

[sascha gast]

...........and if possible under $500, actually the cheapest made. i won't be using it a lot. i am actually considering making my spray booth sort of roll around and out of sheet metal, but if all fails, i'll rig one up out of wood, prime it and paint it.

the fan is the big thing. worst case i won't have an exhaust fan, rather one that is behind me, getting rid of overspray, but it would be nice to find a deal. i even checked ebay, but all they have is a 40"x40"x26", a bit overkill.
there are booths for tiny stuff, one on ebay looks pretty good, but the size is just a bit too small. i really like the sheet metal idea. try this link
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-JC-Metal-Fab-Hobby-Size-Spray-Paint-Booth_W0QQitemZ8217579157QQcategoryZ28111QQrdZ1QQc mdZViewItem

thanx guys

sascha

[Don Baer]

Sasha,
Are you sure you want to pay the Big $$$ for an XP fan. I'll check tomarrow but I believe that if you provide a positive pressure air into the enclosure then you don't need Explosive proof. My company makes gas detectors for detecting XP and well as toxic gases and trust me when you go to Class 1 Div 1 applications (explosive )
the price goes up expontially

[Steve Clardy]

W.W. Grainger. Now it's just Grainger.
They have a tremondous selection of fans.

[John Pollman]

W.W. Grainger. Now it's just Grainger.
They have a tremondous selection of fans.

I was going to suggest Grainer also. They've got just about anything you can imagine !

John

[Kevin Brown]

Hey Sascha

I found this fan and shutter (http://www.sprayshield.com/cgi-bin/hazel-cgi/hazel.cgi?action=serve&item=fan.html) set up a while back via the Homestead forum, if you do a search on "fan" you can find alot of information from Jeff and others

Kevin

[sascha gast]

Hey Sascha

I found this fan and shutter (http://www.sprayshield.com/cgi-bin/hazel-cgi/hazel.cgi?action=serve&item=fan.html) set up a while back via the Homestead forum, if you do a search on "fan" you can find alot of information from Jeff and others

Kevin

yeah, that's the one i found, too. seems to be the cheapest one.
positive pressure would be cool, but it will be a roll around booth, maybe around the size of a closet that i can roll next to my house when not in use.

sascha

[Cecil Arnold]

Sascha, you going to include class 1 division 1 wiring in your shop to support the fan?

[sascha gast]

i don't even know what that means,hehe. the booth will be used outside, i am not turning my shop into a booth, just want to remove overspray.

sascha

[Alan Turner]

I use a TEFC fan for my spray area, without any problem. It is used quite infrequently.

[Bill Lewis]

Sascha, you going to include class 1 division 1 wiring in your shop to support the fan?
HCD 1.1 (hazard class division) is for high explosives (mass detonation).

"Explosion proof" motors are rated differently. They are meant to be used in areas where potentially high levels of combustible vapors or dust are present.

[Steve Jenkins]

you can take any belt driven fan and extend the belt so the motor is out of the air stream. I suppose that the fan blades sould be aluminum(nonsparking).

[Bill Lewis]

Actually getting it out of the air stream is not enough, you have to remove or protect the motor from the hazardous environment, but that is definately something to consider.

A TEFC (totally enclosed fan cooled) motor probably does have at least a vapor proof rating. Just my opinion, the motor plate should say. I'm not a 100% expert with the different rating levels, just have a basic familiarity.

I remember that there was an article in a WW mag a few years ago about building a portable spray booth, and they had a recomendation for an appripriate fan unit that came from Grainger's.

[Alan Turner]

As to the TEFC fan, I took counsel from a well known profesional funisher who, for liability reasons, said "Don't say I told you this was OK to do." I will respect that request, of course, but he said that the number of spray booth fires is small to almost unheard of, although I have not tried to reasearch that.

So, as with my counselor, don't say I told you it was OK.

[Bill Lewis]

...but he said that the number of spray booth fires is small to almost unheard of...
Yes, probably about as many as there are dust explosions in PVC WWing dust collection systems ;)

Actually I think there is another benefit to using a proper motor for this kind of thing. It will last longer. An open motor frame is bound to collect whatever is being sprayed and dust etc, and that can't be good. With moderate use, you could possibly end up replacing an unprotected motor/fan unit every couple of years.

[Steve Jenkins]

you can take any belt driven fan and extend the belt so the motor is out of the air stream. I suppose that the fan blades sould be aluminum(nonsparking).


I guess I should have clarified that a bit more.I have a commercial spray booth and the exhaust is a 3' diameter duct going straight up. The fan is mounted in the duct and the motor is outside the duct on top of the booth so it is not in the contaminated air.
There is no fancy seal around the opening for the belt. The fan is mounted above the opening so it probablys pulls a small amount of air into the duct past the motor while the vast majority of the air comes through the booth.

[Bill Lewis]

I guess I should have clarified that a bit more.I have a commercial spray booth...The fan is mounted in the duct and the motor is outside the duct on top of the booth so it is not in the contaminated air.
Yep, that'll do it, other than the fact that you just made alot of people very envious. Of course it doen't count as an official gloat unless you post pictures.

[Charles McKinley]

Sorry but explosion proof and cheap don't go togeather. The fans my boss have are about a 20" fan with a 2 hp motor and cost about $2500. They do move a ton of air though.

[Steve Jenkins]

This url gives an example of the type fan typically used in a spray booth. It is a tubeaxial and notice the motor is outside the airstream. It moves a LOT of air but is pretty ineffective with high staic pressures.(won't work for dust collection). I didn't check to see if this particular one has aluminum blades or not. For spray booth applications it should have.
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/productdetail.jsp?xi=xi&ItemId=1611631284&ccitem=