It Blows My Mind

Well maybe not my mind but just about everything else in the shop. The Texas heat spell got to me and I finally splurged for a new fan. I had a cheap house type fan for many years (plastic construction). You may see it in some old shop photos. It gave up at the end of the last heat season. This new fan is all metal and much more powerful. Note the description (in the store link) of the fan clearly states “High Velocity”.

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I purchased it from Northern Tool and Supply for $89.99. With Texas tax the total was $97.41. I had it shipped to the local store for free (they didn’t stock them)  so for less than $100 it is a good deal in my opinion. Here is a link for everything you might want to know about this fan: FAN LINK

A workshop minded coworker (at my real job) and I discussed the merits of high velocity fan size for garage size shops. We were first attracted to the 30 inch fans but when I did the math (the engineer in both of us) of how much air at 8000 CFM those fans could be moving, the small 2 car garage would have served as a wind tunnel flight testing facility. 20x30x10/8000 = 0.75, a complete shop air change every 45 seconds!  The purchased 20 inch fan is still able to deliver nearly 6000 CFM on high speed. My testing so far shows the lowest setting very adequate in my shop.

There is no escape from air noise when moving that much CFM with a small fan at high velocity. So yes, there is some fan noise with this fan. It goes with the work and is definitely a function of velocity. The safety grill contributes too, but is a “must have” for safety sake. The sound level is very moderate and certainly is not a conversation stopper in a work shop. But in my home I would like it quieter, but then I probably wouldn’t want to be moving 6000 CFM of air. In other words, the sound is not an issue in the shop. A much larger fan turning slower, such as a Big Ass ceiling fan for example is quite, but you won’t buy one for $100.00. I also do not want to devote the space to a larger floor fan.

A breeze can be felt anywhere in the shop when the fan is pointing there. Spanning 20-30 feet is no problem. So the fan and the mild sound is not right in my face when working at the bench or machine tool. In fact if it were too close, it would blow the small parts right off the bench. Slow speed with the fan well away from the work area is my plan for operation. It is really a relief to have that air flow around me even if it is nearly 95-100 degrees in the shop.

The warranty from Northern say 1 year M&L. The warranty card in the box says three years. Printed ON the box it says 3 years. The first year is full coverage and the last two there is a $25 flat rate repair or replacement warranty period.

Most of us off my age have heard oscillating fans and their familiar “rumble” as they move back and forth. This is due to wear in the fan motor shaft bearings. The oscillation imparts a lot of stress into the shaft bearings due to the gyroscopic precession loads from moving the spinning fan back and forth. (Technical mumbo-jumbo, some of you may not understand, ha!) The same thing happens to fan bearings in moving vehicles. (It’s also why gyroscopes wear out) In any case I suspect the fan may get that rumble in a few years, but for $100 in this day’s money, I’ll have gotten my money’s worth. If it runs, I’d still use it with the rumble…