Paint fan

[sberry]

A year or so ago I needed to work on my fan, I tuned it too well and twisted it up after I cleaned it and replaced the belt. I have been without it, finally reached the end of my rope and need it again so today we roll a new ring, cut it down from 48 to 42, straighten out all the fins. We were a little worried about balance and true but so far it looks great, all tacked up and ready to weld up. Did it all on the bench but put it back in to see how well we did it, so far so good and now to give the HH210 a spin welding ring to the blades.
The whole assembly screws in the jamb to my loading dock door.

 

[sberry]

I dont weld a lot of alum but the machine can do it. Hobart 210. Way faster than TIG. I didn't clean tacks and use 2 steps to weld them in. Tack on each end then from middle to end and from end to middle.

 

[KenS]

I dont weld a lot of alum but the machine can do it. Hobart 210.

Did you use a spool gun, or shoot the aluminum wire directly through the gun? Also, what gauge of wire?

 

[sberry]

I have a spool gun and usually run 030 in it. I tried a roll of 035 but I really prefer the smaller wire, the big didnt help the top end much but the 030 worked so much better on thinner material.
I have tig also but the feeder is just so much faster, about 5 or 10 minutes to weld up after tacks. 90% of that time is rolling it around to the right position.

 

[akdiesel]

Holy ****. Tie yourself off when you are next to that thing.
How much air does that move?

 

[ratdoggy]

Looks like something they used during the filming of "A Perfect Storm"
Look great!

 

[sberry]

I am not sure how much air it moves, there were RPM and CFM specs on it but they are faded. It moved a bit more than I needed, I just fired it up and so far so good, opens the louvers. I was looking around for some material to finish the shroud and to screen off the face. Going to make some brackets for filters. I should have taken better care of it first time around and wouldn't be going thru this.
It made enough air that I never had over spray, was easy to clear but used more makeup air and heat than I would have liked, especially during colder weather which seems to be when I want to paint.

 

[sberry]

Got it put back in today, tested it out and seems to work pretty good, we will see with a paint job in a week or so.

 

[akdiesel]

That looks good. Are you putting somthing down on the floor to keep the paint off?

 

[sberry]

No I don't put anything on the floor, it cleared so well that I didn't have over spray anywhere. I de-tuned it a bit, makes a little less breeze than it did. I put the curtains down today just to test and it all seems well, only a real spray job will tell for sure though. I draw the warmest air from the ceiling, makes for a down draft situation. I really don't care about paint on the floor.
This setup works pretty well, not much dirt issue and works as good as some commercial booth setups I have been in. I like it as it can be rolled up out of the way when not in use, also makes it easy to wheel stuff in and out.
I don't paint a lot, I use coveralls and full face but don't have supplied air and with this I can stand to the side or turn the equipment on racks I often make from boxes so I am upwind and don't have drift coming over me. I use pallet jack to turn things to favorable position while painting.

 

[sberry]

The booth in action. Many of these pics are older, lots of subtle changes all the time.

 

[sberry]

Added reel at some point. Small reg and filter as last gasp and easy to tune air. I have a large paint pot but finally bought 2 qt model from China from the auto parts store, works great, easier to clean and if ever screws up at 99$ I could toss it without being broken hearted. I had intended to change out and use better gun but the one that came with it worked well. I clean up immediately, 5 minutes after I am done as most of it is epoxy. I use it almost exclusively, lasts sooooo much longer than common enamels, many pieces will be once in a lifetime paint jobs.

 

[Benw455]

Nice job. That is a hell of a fan!