iBlaze
Member
One morning I woke up and thought about what I could do with a spare stationary fan that I had laying around collecting dust. So I took a few pictures along the way to give you guys an idea on how to make your own duct fan that moves a SIGNIFICANT amount of air and costing less than 10$.
Supplies/Hardware needed-
1. Any size stationary fan that has 2 rails that hold the motor in place.
2. A 5 gallon bucket, or if you prefer to keep the fan bigger you can use a large drainage pipe.
Tools you'll need-
1. A drill with a standard metal drill bit/a phillips screw bit also.
2. Phillips head screw driver (For taking the fan apart)
3. Utility knife in order to trim the blades to size.
4.20
5. A standard tape measure to put markings on the blades so they remain even.
So let's get started, the first thing you will want to do is take the fan motor out but removing both sides of the fan, basically leaving the fan gutted. REMEMBER HOW TO PUT THE SOM' BITCH BACK TOGETHER. If it's a multiple speed fan, simply pull the controller out and leave the case of the fan bare for now. Later you'll be able to mount the controller to the wall or if you'd like you can just put the fan back to together normally.
Now you'll be looking at a fan connected to the motor, the fan case, and the bucket.
Step 1- Line up the fan to the bucket, keep it centered and take a Sharpie and draw a line on each fan blade and mark where you need to cut the fan blades in order for it to fit in the bucket.
(I didn't take a picture of this step, I really should have and for that I apologize guys). Any questions on this step I'll go buy another fan and repeat it for the guide.
Step 2- Once you have the lines marked out, use a pair of scissors/utility knife to cut the fan blades to size. Make sure there is about 1 cm in between the wall of the bucket and the fan blades. This may take some trial and error. REMEMBER, IT'S ALWAYS BETTER TO CUT OFF TOO LITTLE THAN TOO MUCH. So take your time on this step and just do it right.
Step 3- Cut the bottom of the bucket off with the utility knife, this will take some effort but after I cut a few inches through the bucket it got easier and was fairly simple to complete.
Step 4- Look at the front of the fan and line the bucket up, most fans have a circular pattern fan guard. Line the bucket up with the closest match and then proceed to cut a perfect circle allowing space for the bucket to pass through and reach the 2 rails that secure the fan motor. (YOU CAN SEE HOW THE CENTER IS CUT OUT OF THE FAN GUARD IN THE PICTURE UNDER STEP 2)
Now that you have all of these pieces cut to size, all you have to do is assemble it. Maybe take a break, spark a joint and then move on to step 5.
Step 5- This step is all about precision, you need to stand the bucket up, slip the bucket through the hole you cut in the front guard and look at the 4 holes that mount the fan. The goal here is to set those four holes completely centered in the bucket giving the fan an even spin within the bucket. Being a little bit off here will result in you having to trim your fan blades, or re position the bucket. Once you have them sitting there as close as you can to the center take a black sharpie and put 4 dots on where the bucket meets the rails. After you do you must drill 4 holes through the metal rails (In order for the bucket to stick fast and steady to the fan). Through these holes you just drilled you put 4 screws going into the plastic bucket. Go in gentle or you'll strip the plastic right out. After you do this you'll be looking at this picture pretty much without the fan mounted in the center.
Step 6- Mount the fan by sliding it into the front of the bucket and then fastening it snugly with the screws you removed from before. Here's a view from the front.
Step 7- Reassemble. Run the wires you removed to either the way they were or how you would like. Put the back guard on the fan again and you should be looking at a finished product. Something like this.
Some other options you have. The whole fan case is not even needed, you can cut the metal bars they are mounted on leaving the fan in the bucket and the wiring. Doing this will give the fan the ability to be more compact and the ability to be mounted in a smaller area.
I'm aware of the low picture count in this guide, I truly was unsure if it was going to work at the time so I wasn't plan on making a DIY. Turning out it works amazingly and moves a significant amount of air I'm glad I snagged a few shots. This is one of my contributions to you growers and the website. Let me know what you think and if you have any questions/comments, I'd be glad to offer opinions and take some criticism. This is my first guide so don't be too harsh!
Supplies/Hardware needed-
1. Any size stationary fan that has 2 rails that hold the motor in place.
2. A 5 gallon bucket, or if you prefer to keep the fan bigger you can use a large drainage pipe.
Tools you'll need-
1. A drill with a standard metal drill bit/a phillips screw bit also.
2. Phillips head screw driver (For taking the fan apart)
3. Utility knife in order to trim the blades to size.
4.20
5. A standard tape measure to put markings on the blades so they remain even.
So let's get started, the first thing you will want to do is take the fan motor out but removing both sides of the fan, basically leaving the fan gutted. REMEMBER HOW TO PUT THE SOM' BITCH BACK TOGETHER. If it's a multiple speed fan, simply pull the controller out and leave the case of the fan bare for now. Later you'll be able to mount the controller to the wall or if you'd like you can just put the fan back to together normally.
Now you'll be looking at a fan connected to the motor, the fan case, and the bucket.
Step 1- Line up the fan to the bucket, keep it centered and take a Sharpie and draw a line on each fan blade and mark where you need to cut the fan blades in order for it to fit in the bucket.
(I didn't take a picture of this step, I really should have and for that I apologize guys). Any questions on this step I'll go buy another fan and repeat it for the guide.
Step 2- Once you have the lines marked out, use a pair of scissors/utility knife to cut the fan blades to size. Make sure there is about 1 cm in between the wall of the bucket and the fan blades. This may take some trial and error. REMEMBER, IT'S ALWAYS BETTER TO CUT OFF TOO LITTLE THAN TOO MUCH. So take your time on this step and just do it right.
Step 3- Cut the bottom of the bucket off with the utility knife, this will take some effort but after I cut a few inches through the bucket it got easier and was fairly simple to complete.
Step 4- Look at the front of the fan and line the bucket up, most fans have a circular pattern fan guard. Line the bucket up with the closest match and then proceed to cut a perfect circle allowing space for the bucket to pass through and reach the 2 rails that secure the fan motor. (YOU CAN SEE HOW THE CENTER IS CUT OUT OF THE FAN GUARD IN THE PICTURE UNDER STEP 2)
Now that you have all of these pieces cut to size, all you have to do is assemble it. Maybe take a break, spark a joint and then move on to step 5.
Step 5- This step is all about precision, you need to stand the bucket up, slip the bucket through the hole you cut in the front guard and look at the 4 holes that mount the fan. The goal here is to set those four holes completely centered in the bucket giving the fan an even spin within the bucket. Being a little bit off here will result in you having to trim your fan blades, or re position the bucket. Once you have them sitting there as close as you can to the center take a black sharpie and put 4 dots on where the bucket meets the rails. After you do you must drill 4 holes through the metal rails (In order for the bucket to stick fast and steady to the fan). Through these holes you just drilled you put 4 screws going into the plastic bucket. Go in gentle or you'll strip the plastic right out. After you do this you'll be looking at this picture pretty much without the fan mounted in the center.
Step 6- Mount the fan by sliding it into the front of the bucket and then fastening it snugly with the screws you removed from before. Here's a view from the front.
Step 7- Reassemble. Run the wires you removed to either the way they were or how you would like. Put the back guard on the fan again and you should be looking at a finished product. Something like this.
Some other options you have. The whole fan case is not even needed, you can cut the metal bars they are mounted on leaving the fan in the bucket and the wiring. Doing this will give the fan the ability to be more compact and the ability to be mounted in a smaller area.
I'm aware of the low picture count in this guide, I truly was unsure if it was going to work at the time so I wasn't plan on making a DIY. Turning out it works amazingly and moves a significant amount of air I'm glad I snagged a few shots. This is one of my contributions to you growers and the website. Let me know what you think and if you have any questions/comments, I'd be glad to offer opinions and take some criticism. This is my first guide so don't be too harsh!
