How many horses do I need for this?

[TexasTimbers]

I could look the HP requirments up if I knew what it is called. An impeller type dust collector? I'm sure it has a better name. Anyway I thought I would take the easy way out and just ask how much HP you guys think I should put to it either in single or 3 phase, and also in gas. I have all three power units available. I have an 18HP Honda but i was saving that for a slabber, so I hope the 13HP I also have will be enough. But i would rather use the 5HP 3 pahse I have I just don't think it will be enough will it? Then I have a 5HP single and I am sure that won't be enough.

Anyway please advise what is the preferred power unit for this thing, and what is the proper nomenclature for it ???

[TexasTimbers]

Guess I better post some pictures. Twice I have done this in a few weeks now. Someone hand me my pills. :






P.S. the impeller is 20" across.

[raycon]

When in doubt look at the shaft diameter and make sure they at least match. Driven and driver.

[pineywoods]

depends on how fast you want to turn it ;D
Seriously there is a blower calculator in the forum toolbox that might help if it covers anything that big. What you gonna move with it, bricks?

[TexasTimbers]

I was gonna use it for the dust collector for my planer. It's 25" wide and Saturday if i can get to it, I am finally gonna install the spiral cutterhead in it. It will make yots and yots of stuff that needs to be sucked out of that booger. But I think I might just go ahead and run a 6" main off of it and hook the whole DanG woodshop to it with blast gates.
I just gotta figger what to hook up to the sucker itself. I did not know we had a calculator for that. I'll go a hunting.

Has Jeff also found a calculator that will tell us how much maple syrup to pour on a stack of pancakes depending on their number, diameter, composition, and porosity ??? ;D

[WH_Conley]

The more the merrier, not to be smart (which I have never been accused of )

I ahave 24" blower, salvage, that had a 5hp motor atached tho it.

[Gary_C]

I'd guess that if you need all the capacity there, it could take 15-20 HP electric. Best idea would be to find a manufacturers name plate and contact them for motor requirements. Also, if you plan to run that blower without a cyclone in front of it, you should check to see if it will handle the planer shavings thru the impeller.

[Den Socling]

If we didn't have a pancake calculator, it is probably being considered now.  :D

[TexasTimbers]

15 - 20 eeeee yikes. I was not wanting to hear that. I was hoping for 10 because that's all my phase convertor will handle. I guess I will hook a 10HP up to it anyway and try. I just called a buddy of mine who has half a dozen 3 phase "layin 'round here sumwharz" and said I could have a 10HP.

I do think I wil need everything the blower or sucker whatever it is called, can handle. A 25" spiral cutterhead can rake off some shavings in big hurry. Gary that impeller is super heavy duty I mean at least 3/16" thick. In fact i will go mic it BRB . . . . . . wow it's a scosh over 1/4". I reckon it will hande planer shavings.

[TexasTimbers]

And BTW, no one has yet told me what the scientific nomenclature of this animal be. Someone please ???

[Den Socling]

isn't it a material transfer fan?

[Gary_C]

I do not know if there is any "scientific" name for those suckers. It is a centrifical blower/exhauster/fan/sucker with a cast housing and a one sided paddle impeller as opposed to a squirrel cage impeller. They will handle some light dust loading but may not last long with heavy dust loading as from a planer. There is an explosion danger when handling dusts and combustable material so static control is absolutely necessary. Horsepower is determined by cfm, static pressure, and particle loading. If you could just find a manufacturers name plate it would sure help determine HP required.

[Fla._Deadheader]

Looks pretty close to the one I had on the Corley Circle Mill. It was run from the mandrel, belt drive, under the saw, and would PUSH chunks of bark, knots and LOTS of sawdust, waayyyyy out in the field.

  Been trying to remember the name. It's a very short name, if I remember correctly ???

[Den Socling]

Seriously folks.  ;) i used to be a plant engineer for a sawing, drying and molding operation and everybody called those suckers 'material transfer fans'.  :D

[TexasTimbers]

Gary you are one smart cookie. I know we got off to a sort of rocky start on a certain thread but you have my utmost repsect. My ultimate compliment is to say "you're a pretty  f art smeller!" Well you are, DanGit! and I tip my hat to you. I have been re-reading several of your posts and you got some smarts.

HOWEVER!

I do disagree with you that it will not handle the planer dust chips though. I just cannot imagine that the dust chips from the planer, at any speed, will break down this massive impeller.

[Left Coast Chris]

Kevjay..... your blower is the same type used on walnut harvesters (I have one) that blow trash (leaves, small sticks, cull walnuts etc) through the blower.  They have heavy vanes and shafts to handle the load.   My harvester is driven by power take off and needs at least 25 pto hp with most of the load from the two blowers.

Suggest looking on the auctions for a cyclone blower.  It dumps out most of the trash before it reaches the blower and takes less hp.  Some good sized cyclones are run by 5 or 10 hp motors.   Your electricty savings for one year would pay for the cyclone?    The grizzly catalog has some now.   Granted they are for smaller operations but they handle 6" pipe for moderate runs.   They should do the trick unless you are chipping?

[Gary_C]

I thank you for your kind words.  ;D  But I must point out that I have never said that blower will not work for your planned use. Those blowers are made to handle some particle matter in the air stream. It's just the way you plan to use it is a very severe "particle" loading and it will shorten the life of the blower. If you stop and think of what happens with those planer chips as they enter the blower at a high speed and impact on the side plate and blades of the rotor. Then they change direction by 90 degrees and the impact of the rotor blades throws them out at the same high speed they entered the blower. Those impacts will be hard on your blower and will be like a constant sandblasting of the rotor. Plus you have to worry about knots and large chips that sometimes come out of planers. If that is a cast aluminum rotor, you could have more than wood chips coming out the exhaust.

The normal dust /chip collector would have a cyclone in front of the blower to remove the large particles before they get to the blower and then a bag collector after to remove the fines. This is what farmer 77 is recommending. I know there are blowers that handle large pieces, but they are built much heaver than yours and still are high maintenance items. Many of them have replacable liners and wear plates and replaceable rotor paddles of half inch thick steel.

[BBTom]

I pull all the shavings from my 20" Shelix head with a 2 HP Harbor freight blower that is (guessing) about 14" diameter.  The blades are about half as heavy as yours, Kevjay.  I have never had a plug and am running 5" from the planer to the blower and 4" tube from the blower to the cyclone.  If your 25" head is an insert type like the Shelix then you will find that the shavings are very easy to handle, Much easier than from a straight blade head or from a band mill.  They come off as light fluffy chips and are very easy to move in an airstream. 

To make certain that you do not overload the motor, do an amp check on the motor when running the blower with the tubing connected.  If you are pulling too many amps, then throttle down the intake, not the outflow, with smaller diameter tubing.  It takes less HP to spin a fan in partial vacuum, thereby lowering the amps.

I say go for it!  Let us know how it turns out

[TexasTimbers]

I snagged that 10HP motor from my buddy yesterday. It has some "clinks" in it when I turn it but I think it is just the cooling impeller hitting the dented cover. Will give her a go.