Fans

[GM_stg]

I'm gonna be doing alot and I mean ALOT of painting in my shop. I was wondering what kind of fans I are the best to use in the garage for ventilating the chemicals from the pain out of the air?

 

[Daryl in Nanoose]

I would use a couple big box fans but in the winter ??

 

[Grape Ape]

You may want to look into a fan designed specifically for painting. The fumes are flammable and the open style of a standard home type fans motor can get the fumes into it and explode.

 

[imported_BOBtheBUILDER]

The fumes are flammable and the open style of a standard home type fans motor can get the fumes into it and explode.

Really?? Never knew or heard of that. They have these really nice box fans that have an opening in the back, fit perfectly for an air filter. It's a great idea! I think they sell them at Wal-Mart.

 

[Daryl in Nanoose]

I think what you are needing is a downdraft system, I know in woodworking I don't want any air moving while I am spray painting. I always thought autobody shops had downdraft systems.

 

[Grape Ape]

Really?? Never knew or heard of that. They have these really nice box fans that have an opening in the back, fit perfectly for an air filter. It's a great idea! I think they sell them at Wal-Mart.

That style of fan is designed to filter dust from the air.

The issue with a standard electric motor is that there is always an electric spark between the brushes and the motor. The fumes from paint can get into the housing of a standard house type fan and be ignited by the spark. Electric motors designed for use in areas where there is the possibility of hazardous fumes are designed so as they are completely air tight so no fumes can come in contact with the electric spark.

If you do want to use a standard type fan in an area where fumes exist the safest way is not to but the next option is to place it outside of the area and set it so it blows into the area and there is a route for the air to travel. Such as placing the fan in one window blowing into the room and across the room there is another window for the air to go out of. Never set the fan so it is taking air from the room and blowing it out always set it so it is blowing fresh fume free air.

 

[Bushytails]

The vast majority of AC fans do not have brushes - the load curve of a fan is almost ideal for the torque curve of an induction motor. Any fan with a shaded pole motor will not have any internal sparks. A fan with a capacitor start motor, or any other motor with a seperate switch starting winding, will produce an internal spark once during start-up. These use a centrifical switch to open the contacts to the starting winding once rpms reach a level where the run winding can take over.

Capacitor start motors are only used in larger fans and blowers - your $9.99 ace hardware box fan will have a shaded pole motor, and is not likely to be able to ignore any fumes. Even a motor with starter contacts will only spark once, within about a half second of turning on. Keep in mind your power switch just sparked too.

Blowing air in is much harder than sucking air out, in terms of not screwing up your painting.

I have a large (probably 28", 1hp motor) fan in the garage, that exhausts out the back of the building. It's a capacitor start motor, with the possibility of igniting fumes. However, it does such an effective job keeping the air fresh, that it'd be really hard to get to the LEL. (hrmm, I have a flammable gas monitor... I should try using it during painting)


--Bushytails