Best hvac blowers according to redditors

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007IADYX0?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_yo_pop_mb_pd_t2

Disclaimer: I use propane, not coal. My advice is only based on other people's experience, not my own.

I think the problem is the idea that a hairdryer is going to pull the same weight a proper blower will. Companies are trying to save money by making products that meet, but just barely, their intended use. Use as a forge blower was never considered as a use-case when any hairdryer was designed. The duty cycle and run times aren't comparable and the operating environments are near opposites.

You see a lot of YouTube videos where people throw together a forge with this and that and it usually has a hairdryer blower. This might work for a bit or for the home gamer, but it can't last long term or fit the needs of a hobbyist or professional. You don't see follow-up videos or blog posts of forge owners praising their hairdryer blowers. You do hear when people upgrade and how much better it is.

I appreciate your pain. As a hobbyist myself, I've tried to make some tools that I really should have just purchased outright. Many times you can hack something great together that'll last a long time (i refused to spend two grand on a belt grinder, so I built one), sometimes it's better off to just get the right tool for the job (purchased the wheels for said grinder instead of trying to make them out of wood or skateboard wheels).

I think a proper variable speed fan for a forge blower is something I would just buy outright. Amazon even has a few cheap options you can put a speed control dial on. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001OM1L7E/

How much money do you keep spending on replacing hairdryers until you get a tool that'll last forever?

Good luck

Firstly, welcome to the club!

You're absolutely right - buy the accessories and consumables elsewhere. FSL don't make these and are having to mark up things due to providing a warranty and service.

Here's a good quiet fan that will do the job and is a legit 200CFM (a lot of them lie about capacity).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FVTGB4C/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It does come with basic optics which will be fine until you need to replace them in a few years.

You'll need a bucket and some tubing for the distilled water (that's what the pump is for). You'll also need an air assist which is nothing more than a airbursh or large aquarium pump.

Something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XDKRYC6/ref=sspa_dk_detail_1?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B06XDKRYC6&pd_rd_w=6o93T&pf_rd_p=10ebaf99-73de-4f5d-a994-e7f5fc52f86f&pd_rd_wg=o8iAi&pf_rd_r=WF7KZ4A648958FA1NRB9&pd_rd_r=0180bd8d-2a82-11e9-888f-47f1b1d850e8

That's it really apart from materials to laser.
Good luck and don't forget to hear over to the unofficial full spectrum laser forums for more specific help.

I've been running this blower since January.

Dayton 1TDN7 Round Permanent Split Capacitor OEM Specialty Blower

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001OM1L7E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_D.SMzbTTYQZRG

You'd have to buy a power cord and wire it in (simple wire nuts). I've got it clamped to a 2" pipe flange. 50 cfm is plenty, and you don't need a rheostat to adjust flow, you just swing the air gate over the eye of the impeller. I usually run it about 1/8 to 1/4 open and get plenty of flow, but I have a relatively small firebowl.

This is a pretty sweet little fan and it's very quiet. I also bought a stomp switch that plugs into the power cord. You can just wire in a simple switch instead.

It's got a very low current draw as it has a solid state rectifier that converts the single phase standard AC to three phase. That's one of the reason I didn't use the rheostat because I didn't want to mess with the circuit. It's a 0.26 amp draw, so if you want to use it freestanding, a relatively cheap converter and battery could make it work, but that's getting pricier. I'm going to mess with a thermoelectric generator and see if I can power the fan off the forge heat.

Power cords run about $10 or less. That fan is $60.

I purchased one of these to prepare for summer temps. It's stupid quiet, has good CFM, and more importantly good static pressure for sucking through ducting.

https://www.amazon.com/Dayton-1TDR3-Model-Blower/dp/B007IADYX0/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1523464987&sr=8-7&keywords=dayton+fan

I have a piece of wood that's going in a window with this mounted to it connected to 6" flex ducting sucking air out of the back of a 24U enclosure.

For now the equipment making heat is 2x DL380 G7's, 2x MSA60's and 2x APC Back-UPS 1500's.

Search Dayton blowers on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Dayton-1TDN6-Permanent-Capacitor-Specialty/dp/B00DSMEPPI/ref=sr_1_13?keywords=dayton+blower&qid=1555044793&s=gateway&sr=8-13

They have 50cfm up to many hundreds.

Build a 20" box and put a Merv13 or higher furnace filter on it.