Reddit mentions: The best boat engine blowers

This is the fan I used for mine, it's borderline leaf blower status and fits 4" flexible dryer exhaust tube perfectly. Draws 2.5A. Highly recommended.

Attwood Quiet Blower Water Resistant (White, 4-Inch) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003EX02DA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_9XLCzbD3X657Y

Using a float switch is also a good idea, so you don't run it dry and burn out your pump.

The more holes you can drill in the bucket (without compromising its integrity and leaving a reasonable volume for water at the bottom) the better. More surface area means more evaporation.

I had issues with mine leaking the first year. I found I had much better luck cutting the outer pad so that it's pushed against the inside of the bucket. I put the vinyl tube hoop on top of the inner pad, and tied it with thread so it can't move. It doesn't leak at all using this method, as the outer pad only gets damp by soaking up water from the saturated inner pad. And it works better, because there is no gap between the pad and the bucket for air to go through, it has to all flow through the pads.


http://imgur.com/a/0SyOy

I got the mini k40 (would not do that again). It works great, but I didn't know it at the time that I would be getting a weaker laser. I was about a week too late learning about tube sizes being the better way to know the true wattage.

I have done a series of upgrades and then re-dos. So hopefully you can learn a few things from all my tinkering.

Analog Milliamp Meter

I bought this meter. I followed this link for the install.

Exhaust

I initially went with an inline 3" bilge pump that had a corresponding 3d printed exhaust mount. It was ok, but in the end I just wasn't good enough when I started cutting more leather/wood.

So I went a little overboard, but I am glad I did. I went with this blower instead. I made my own 3D printed mount for it. I printed 2 adapters for the blower to fit 4" ducting and then routed it up and outside my garage.

I also removed the small internal duct thing prior to installing the new exhaust. it gives me a little more cutting room as well.


Air Assist

I went with the Light to Object head and bought a new lens to fit it.


Drag Chain

I bought a 10x10 drag chain off amazon. I had originally printed one, it was ok, but I recently switched up the mounting of the drag chain to run along the X gantry which gave me a little more room to cut.


Laser Aim Assist

I made a mash of 2 different thingverse designs to hold 2 red line lasers and where they intersect is my laser beam. It works well, I made it this way originally when I had an adjustable table. Honestly, now I should switch back to a single red dot, but I am too lazy. The two lines will sometimes move on me so I end up having to do a test fire every so often to ensure they are lined up properly.


Spring Loaded Adjustable Bed

I followed this guide


Hopefully this helps you out a bit.

I have a 1st generation Odyssey with one of these on the roof. It works reasonably well, but people notice it. I've had a couple of LEOs ask me what it was. I think my next build will have something like this mounted in the floor. It also flows better than the one I have now.

I poked around and found this Jabsco marine blower that meets ignition regulations: https://www.amazon.com/Jabsco-35440-0000-Flexmount-Blower-Volts/dp/B000N9QZFC/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=marine%2Bblower%2B250&qid=1573667342&sr=8-2&th=1

Do you think this would be a smart option for my application? Also as far as a power supply goes, what should I look for and would there be any guidelines I should follow for hooking it up?

I appreciate your help!

I forgot to answer your actual question.

No, using PC fans is simply not suitable for this application. There just isn't enough surface area on the fan blades to create the amount of static pressure required to effectively pull enough air through a good carbon filter. If you want to go small and cheap, maybe try a smaller filter like a 4", coupled with an inline bilge blower.

Get a boat fan -- they're waterproof, 12V, and they put out around 200cfm. Also, they have mounting options that make it easy to connect a 4" duct to. If you use those 120mm computer fans, you'll have to make a duct and mount. Here's an example boat fan: https://www.amazon.com/Attwood-1749-4-Blower-Resistant-4-Inch/dp/B003EX02DA/

Hello everyone,

First time spray booth building and I have some questions. I heard using a Bilge fan will reduce the chance of catching fire when spraying lacquer. This is the model that I am looking at. Does anyone have any experience with using a Bilge fan and can let me know if it is too loud?

Thank you

something like this? Yes.

You could use that along with some aluminum tape to seal it to the back of the cutter.

I use this blower:
attwood Quiet Blower Water Resistant (White, 4-Inch) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003EX02DA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_3L18BbTB6G1FB

Along with this vent hose:
White Flexible Pvc Vinyl Vent Duct Hose, 4 in. x 20 ft. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G198P5A/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_4R18BbNJ19ANP

These clamps:
Cambridge Tension Clamps, 2 Pk, Zinc Plated Steel https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07737XRRH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_SS18Bb12827MZ

And this quick disconnect:
Dryer Dock Dryer Vent 6" for 4" Tubes, White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0028BAAWW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_4T18BbV6CJ1TW

If you put the blower near the window it will keep negative pressure upstream which helps put less smoke into the room.

I don’t exhaust out a window, but something like this might do the trick for you:
Window Dryer Vent (Adjusts 24 Inch Through 36 Inch) by Vent Works https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M17V4CO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_AW18BbDW0592D
Though there may be cheaper or better DIY options for that part.

awesome! yeah I'm going to be using that on the random hole around the machine that let smoke into the room and Weather striping on the lids to block it so that it ONLY goes through the exhaust!

any suggestions for blowers? I was looking at https://www.amazon.com/attwood-Quiet-Blower-Resistant-4-Inch/dp/B003EX02DA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1542672858&sr=8-4&keywords=4+in+blower+fan

No, they're inline fans. They only work went the software is running in the background. They are there to simulate wind speed. I only use the when in F1-ish position. An awesome gent over on the iRacing forums wrote the code for the fans. After another aswesome gent posted a way to run the fans via PC.

Was looking at one of these fans that I saw on this post (I like the 3D printed adapter). How did you connect the 12v to the system? Or did you just add a power inverter?

Just to throw another option out there - I use 12v bilge blower fans (similar to: SEAFLO 4" In-Line Marine Bilge Air Blower 12V 270 CFM Quiet Boat White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0166S2PA2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_SscDCbTQMY3Y9). If you go with a 4" you can just use dryer vent to get it outside. You can also put a motor adjustment switch on it (12V Motor Speed Controller, DROK DC Motor Driver Board for Brush Motor 7V-60V 20A 420W PWM Control 12V 24V 36V 48V Regulator Cooling Fans Dimmer Governor Pulse Width Modulator with Adjust Knob https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DVGGWC0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_vvcDCbXK0FE4Z). These move a lot of air, which could help depending on the size of your run, etc.

These guys (http://www.yurtcooler.com/index.html) tested a bunch of fans
and suggest something like: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001O0DE9E/

Tbh I would suggest a set of bus bars with some simple screw down connectors. Eventually you will want to connect lights, etc into the system also. Something like http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Systems-DualBus-BusBar/dp/B000K2MABA

I’ve seen guys with big systems use these.

Attwood 1749-4 Quiet Blower Water Resistant (White, 4-Inch) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003EX02DA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_CWYmDbCK4E8P3

Also, any opinion on this instead? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0166S2PA2?psc=1