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Electric Forge Blowers
Well, after a good 20+ year run, the blower on my propane welding forge finally gave up the ghost. I figured it would be an easy/simple thing to find replace, but nothing could be further from the truth.
The blower I'm replacing was a totally enclosed motor, with a max output of 220 CFM. I purchased it directly from Off Center Forge. After an exhaustive search, I found that I am left with basically only 2 choices. Either a $700+ model that is about quadruple of what I need for my application, OR buy a cheap China blower and take my chances.
In the past I have told many folks to go to Blacksmith's Depot and buy one of their blowers. Problem is, I've not needed a blower in a LONG time, and when I went there to purchase the blower I'd guided others to.... I find that it's been replaced by a made in China POS. I then go to Amazon looking, and find the EXACT same blower listed on Blacksmith's Depot, for about $50 less. So....just because, I ordered one of each. Upon them arriving, and comparing, I am convinced that the $175 blower that is sold on Blacksmith's Depot, IS the blower sold on Amazon.... and I strongly suspect that Blacksmith's Depot is purchasing them from Amazon, repainting them, and selling them for an extra $50. I'm going to setup the Amazon blower, through a ceiling fan speed controller, and see how it works.
The moral of the story? Well, as far as I can tell, there isn't a decent electric forge blower out there today. If anybody does know of someplace that does offers one, PLEASE let me know! I'll post more as I get the new blower setup and in operation.
Wish I had a good recommendation to share. I put a Dayton squirrel cage on mine because the Depot was out of blowers and I wanted to get back up and running.
The Dayton has been running for 4 months now. The way it currently sounds, it will not last 2 more months.
Yep! Any blower that is a "shaded pole" type doesn't last long if there is ANY back pressure present, and although it might not seem like it, a gas forge burner always has some. The more "stuff" you build into a burner.... gates, valves, elbows, etc. all add to the back pressure.
What gets my goat is that all you have to do is look at the bottom of the motor side (which they don't show you in the advert pics) and you can see the holes/openings that are the indicator that the motor is a shaded pole type.
Since my last post/reply on this thread, I actually took my old TEFC motor blower that I purchased from Off-Center Forge way back in the early 2000s to my local electric motor shop, and it's being rewound and overhauled. The guy at the shop told me it would be an easy overhaul, and the cost is less than the Amazon blower! Word to the wise: Check to see if you have a local electric motor shop BEFORE plunking down the money for any of the "online" blowers. 😉
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