Harbor Freight Ventilator

[kno1]

http://www.harborfreight.com/8-inch-portable-ventilator-97762.html#

This product appears to offer 3x the CFM at roughly the watts required for a 6" or 8" inline duct fan? Especially if connecting a variac/real speed controller.

Opinions?

 

[kno1]

* 2x the CFM. How do i edit my post?

 

[HidingInTheHaze]

It will probably kill your plants with the smell of china.

 

[canned abyss1]

They have some serious power I have been using them for years they have 2 settings one is about 1300 cfm and the other is about 1600.

 

[Sour Seed]

ive actually used one for 2 years without issue- very powerful, work fantastic but the only draw back is the are the elephant in the room-
loud as hell!

main thing to look for is a thermally protected motor assembly- this way you can use them for air cooling hoods etc- push or pull and your motor wont burn up-
now these..i cant remember if they are or not-
but they work great for a reg exhaust or intake if sound is not an issue- if it is, they make mufflers-

 

[Sour Seed]

It will probably kill your plants with the smell of china.

oriental off-gassing lol bwahaha
its there master plan!

 

[kno1]

Good opinions ty.

 

[anon0988]

From my experience with Harbor Freight and specifically Chicago Electric, as long as you get one that works, it's pretty solid. It seems like I've had issues in the past with their stuff, although Harbor Freight is great about returns due to defect, just keep your receipt. If you get a piece that doesn't fail in the short term (probably 95%+ don't) they'll last, they're just not the best overall quality. More than enough for most jobs, but that's just my experience with them. I consider them a "It'll get you by" tool. If it was something I was wanting to buy a nice version of, that I'd use alot, I wouldn't buy them. However, for something that's just "I want to plug it in and run it until it dies, bang for my buck", it's probably a great brand.

 

[kno1]

Gotch ya.

 

[kno1]

I was thinking if i got a variac , due to the CFM/watt ratio I could for example pull 6" CFM for the electricity of a 4". Just for example , I dont know the exact calculation's.

 

[Sour Seed]

my favorite would have to be the active air/hydrofarm ones, green powder coated etc-
they really get the job done and once duct work is attached there really quiet-
400cfm not bad and you can pick them up on ebay etc for about 75-100$ new-

 

[ak-51]

I was thinking if i got a variac , due to the CFM/watt ratio I could for example pull 6" CFM for the electricity of a 4". Just for example , I dont know the exact calculation's.

The variac is going to cost just as much as that fan.

 

[kno1]

Yep 300$ , 50-100$ for China made. Like another IC member said " It's cheaper to spend more in the long run."

 

[kno1]

Thanks guys , I am guessing due to the CFM/Watt ratio I should be getting free horsepower compared to an average estimate for most 6" inline fans CFM/Watt ratio. This is the only reason I chose this product over a name brand 6" inline.

 

[irishdude5186]

I cant get onto the harborfeight page, could you post the cfm/watt ratio here? Why is this fan more efficient?

 

[kno1]

Harbor Freight Tools 8" Portable Ventilaor
Wattage (watts) 165
High speed free air 1575 CFM
Low speed free air 1400 CFM

Tjernlund 6" Inline - 125 watts , 530 CFM
Vortex 6" Inline - 125 watts , 450 CFM
Active Air 6" Inline - 115 watts , 400 CFM
Can Max 6" - 70 watt , 334 CFM
Valuline 6" - 85 watts , 435 CFM

I dont think you can find an exact equation since watt/CFM vary by brand.
I feel it's same to assume you could pull free CFM with your Harbor Freight for lower the watts required thus getting free horsepower.

 

[kno1]

I am considering putting together a calculations table for top inline fans specifications to truly be able to see what is most efficient.

 

[SecondAttempt]

My only problem with this fan is it lists free air speed only... what happens to it under a load? Ducting, carbon filter, air cooled hoods, all reduce CFM and more so on equipment not designed to be ducted in the first place. Apples to oranges, that being said I may snag one next time I'm at HF just to check out.

 

[irishdude5186]

Surely someone has bought this and tested it under a load... I agree with your point SA. It seems unusually high CFM for the wattage... nothings free in this ol world so it needs to prove itself first.

 

[ak-51]

I would have a hard time trusting anything from harbor freight to operate correctly for long periods of time. Say it stopped working, how long would it take you to figure that out? I don't physically check my fans every day, so one of them could fail and I might not notice for days. Plenty of time to fry a run.