# Explosion proof fan?



## plugman (Jul 15, 2008)

I've been giving serious thought to giving automotive type paints a shot. Given their flamable nature, as well as the fumes, a good exhaust system in pretty important. I've heard various pro's and con's on the importance of having a fan with an explosion proof motor - one that won't arc or cause a spark, which in turn could start a fire or cause a small explosion, depending on what the fan was drawing thru the system at the time. Then there's the question if it's critical, where to get one? I would assume that a furnace fan or the exhaust fan in a kitchen exhaust hood would have such a motor. I'd like to hear people's thoughts on this.


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

Anything explosion proof is not cheap. We never used explosion proof equipment in my friend's garage and the cloud of paints and clear coats was sometimes so thick you could barely see through the garage.

http://www.blowerwheel.com/fans-explosionproof.htm


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## eyesman_01 (Jan 4, 2007)

The right fuel/air mixture has to be present to create an explosion/fire. I first used a small inline vent fan, not knowing the why's and wherefore's. Luckily the paints I was using at the time were low in flammability. You can go back a year or so in our forum to a post about building a paint booth. After some research here are a couple links to information about the booth I ended up building...

Paint Booth

Video


I paint in the basement with the fumes vented to the outside. I don't want to take any chances, and the house is still standing.

Hope this info helps.


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## rjbass (Aug 1, 2007)

Plugman,

I also built one exactly like the one in the video with a 1200 CFM blower. Can spray anything and never a problem. Can't even smell fumes in the paint area. Awesome design.

Rod


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## FISHERBALL (Apr 7, 2004)

Furnace blowers are not explosion proof. I used to sell commercial garage door openers that had explosion proof motors, makes a $1,000.00 motor cost about $2,500.00! That was 17 years ago.


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## Minivin5 (Dec 17, 2008)

I think you just need a sealed fan unit, which can be found on you clothes drier, and/or kitchen exhaust fan, both will do the trick and can be found for short money in junk yards.


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## plugman (Jul 15, 2008)

Thanks guys! This helps me narrow down my search quite a bit!


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