Fan warning not to use for fumes????

[TJ]

I just invested in a Ostberg CK12C inline fan, 12" connection and 954 cfm. Just buying ducting and about to put it all together.

Then I read the 2-page mini-manual. It says:

CAUTION! FOR GENERAL VENTILATION USE ONLY. DO NOT USE TO EXHAUST HAZARDOUS
OR EXPLOSIVE MATERIALS AND VAPORS.
• The fan is used for transportation of ”clean” air,
meaning not intended for fire-dangerous substances,
explosives, grinding dust, soot, etc.

NO FREAKIN' WAY.

Dale, or somebody... please reassure me that it will still work fine anyways...!

I mean, I followed the guidelines, it is inline, high cfms, works outdoors as well as indoors, low-maintenance... why would it state this??

-Tami

[Alaska]

Some fans are designed to be used in an explosive atmosphere. Thus the need for a motor and electronics that can not be used to ignite a source of fuel. i.e. exhausting oil base paint fumes. Or parts of the fan may corrode if the exhaust is wet.

Check with the manufacture and see what their definition is for "clean air only". Sometimes these warnings are in place for legal or warranty protection. Other times for a real purpose.

[TJ]

It is okay for moisture; this was on a website selling it: "The housing on this inline fan is made of galvanized steel and has a baked epoxy coating. This fan is moisture resistant which makes it approved for installation in humid or damp environments. The motor is an external rotor type asynchrony motor and has maintenance free sealed ball bearings and are protected from over heating by thermo contacts. Please note, this fan must not be used for transporting grinding dust, soot or similar materials."

The manufacturer is in Sweden... I could not find any further explanation for this CAUTION message, other than the fact that ALL of their fans seem to have that caution.


And now, I have a 2nd concern, after reading this:

"Features:

Auto-reset automatic thermal overload protection"

Now don't tell me that means the thing is going to shut itself off everytime I use the torch, due to hot air? Or is that simply protection from the motor itself getting overheated? Then again, is the air coming from a torch hot enough to make the motor itself overheat??

Oh geez, in all the reading I did on LE about setting up ventilation, I never came across "get a fan without thermal protection feature" or " get a fan the specifically says "good for dangerous fumes".

...anxiously awaiting more expert LE ventilation people to chime in...

-Tami

[Alaska]

Would not worry about the thermal protection. If the motor over heats then it is a nice feature that turns it off.

The torch presents a very small heat foot print. (i.e. high temperature but not a lot of BTU's) The idea is to allow sufficient duct between the fan and the heat source to mix in the cool air. In my case that is about 2 to 2.5 feet which IMO is more than sufficient.

[Dale M.]

Actually the contaminates and heat from torch are very minor as for the fan... IT is more robust than your body.... While contaminates for torch are harmful to living organisms (your body) they should have little or no effect on fan durability or operation.... Yes we need ventilation, but what manufacturer is trying to say is fan is not designed for harsh chemical environments (heavy industrial/commercial applications) which your studio (typically) is not....

Dale

[TJ]

Phew! What a relief!

Thanks Dale and Alaska Boro!

Tami