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Re: Blowers
Needing air for neon, tesla wrote:
> From: tesla@eor.com (tesla)
>
> Is there anyone out there who has a good used blower they want to unload? I
> am not that excited about unloading $600 + for an oversized hairdryer. Is
> there any other alternative source for blowers from another industry that will
> work to power a one person station?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Seattle Dan
>
You bet there are alternatives! Some of us are using automotive "smog pumps"
(probably called air injectors or similar in that industry) which are belt
driven from 1/3 to 1/2 hp motors. I think I paid about $200 for mine which was
already "built" (meaning mounted on a piece of 2 x 10) and had some pipe
fittings attached, but I'm sure it would be possible to do it a lot cheaper
than that. Good serviceable pumps could be had from junkyards, and single
phase 120V motors just about anywhere. Best results seem to come from running
the pump about 1700-2000 rpm, right up the alley of a 1725 rpm 1/3 hp motor.
I'm using a 1/2 hp 3450 rpm unit, but have the pump speed down at about 2 grand
by using a smaller pulley on the motor.
You might check the list archives for previous discussions on this, and some of
us cheap air dudes can probably provide updates on the current evolution of our
equally cheap pressure regulator designs. These schemes will provide all the
air you need for a one man shop, and likely more. One drawback is that they
tend to be somewhat noisy, but there are ways of handling that, too.
Cheers,
JD
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