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Best Inline Fans


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Old 11-10-2010, 08:07 PM
homegardener11 homegardener11 is offline
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Default Best Inline Fans

Anyone ever used Ostberg CK series? Hearing a lot of good things about them. If not, any recommendations?

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Old 11-10-2010, 08:46 PM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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They look expensive to me. What type of structure are you trying to ventilate? What type of restrictions do you have in the placement of the fan? What range of cfm are you looking for?
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Old 11-10-2010, 11:12 PM
NorEastFla NorEastFla is offline
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I use Tjernlund M-6 fans and I'm very happy with them. They draw only one amp and the balance of the fan and the quality of thier bearings are obvious to me.

The 1.1 amp draw makes it worthwhile to me and it moves 530 CFM.

Tjernlund Retail Store—High Performance Metal Inline Duct Fans (Models M-4, M-6, M-8)
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Old 11-12-2010, 02:05 PM
homegardener11 homegardener11 is offline
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GpsFrontier: They do seem a little pricey, but there are some good deals online.

NorEastFla: Good deal on the Tjernlunds, but Ostberg seems better all around. They're worldwide and push 600 CFM for 1.1 amp.
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Old 11-12-2010, 03:02 PM
NorEastFla NorEastFla is offline
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Originally Posted by homegardener11 View Post
GpsFrontier: They do seem a little pricey, but there are some good deals online.

NorEastFla: Good deal on the Tjernlunds, but Ostberg seems better all around. They're worldwide and push 600 CFM for 1.1 amp.
The reason I bought the Tjernlund was because a friend who had purchased and used a half-dozen brands of fans told me the Tjernlund had very good quality bearings on it's fans.

He was right. When I turn it off, it spins for about another minute with no power. All-in-all, I'm impressed with it's quality.

I've never used another type of in-line fan, so I have nothing to compare to.

I just checked the specs on the Ostbergs, and I like them. The price tag is about the same. I really like the 12" with 1000 CFM. When I get my outside shed set up for year-round growing, that looks like a real good fan for it.

Last edited by NorEastFla; 11-12-2010 at 03:11 PM.
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Old 11-12-2010, 05:25 PM
homegardener11 homegardener11 is offline
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The reason I bought the Tjernlund was because a friend who had purchased and used a half-dozen brands of fans told me the Tjernlund had very good quality bearings on it's fans.

He was right. When I turn it off, it spins for about another minute with no power. All-in-all, I'm impressed with it's quality.

I've never used another type of in-line fan, so I have nothing to compare to.

I just checked the specs on the Ostbergs, and I like them. The price tag is about the same. I really like the 12" with 1000 CFM. When I get my outside shed set up for year-round growing, that looks like a real good fan for it.
Yeah, I think I'm going to try out the Ostbergs. I've heard too many good things about them. Found a really good deal on them at Home | Concrete Jungle Garden Supply
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Old 11-12-2010, 06:39 PM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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I still cant see spending over $100 for a fan unless there was a specialized reason other fans wont work. If it's strictly based on cfm, there are way to many options I would consider first. Even if it needs to be a inline fan I can see other options.
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Old 11-13-2010, 12:02 AM
NorEastFla NorEastFla is offline
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I still cant see spending over $100 for a fan unless there was a specialized reason other fans wont work. If it's strictly based on cfm, there are way to many options I would consider first. Even if it needs to be a inline fan I can see other options.
What other options if you're dealing with an enclosed room indoors with HID lights heating it up? Plus, fresh oxygen and CO2 are needed.

What would you use in place of an in-line fan?
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Old 11-13-2010, 03:16 AM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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What other options if you're dealing with an enclosed room indoors with HID lights heating it up? Plus, fresh oxygen and CO2 are needed.
What would you use in place of an in-line fan?
Just because one is trying to ventilate a enclosed area, even with HID lighting does not mean that store bought inline fans are the only option. Even if it's the best option (depending on setup) does not mean a different fan/s cant be used, and just adapted to the situation with a little ingenuity. Who says you need to buy a pre-fab inline fan? Who says you cant build your own? That's the way I look at it. As I mentioned, with a little ingenuity taking just about any fan and making it a inline fan is easy to do, especially when you consider all the household ducting options available.

I have never needed a fan to ventilate my plants as of yet (because I grow outside). But I have considered the possibility quite often, and of coarse it depends on the situation. But for starters to move a lot of air I would consider High Velocity blower fans, available at most hardware stores. Here is one that cost less than $50.00 and even on low puts out 1280 cfm, (1750 on med, 2180 on high). There are many manufactures of these type of High Velocity blower fans to choose from.

Lasko Stanley 3-Speed Blower Fan - Black/Yellow

For enclosed closets and smaller setups I would consider something like bathroom exhaust fans (or even oven exhaust fans). The cfm is generally between 50 and 80 cfm but the cost per fan can be as low as $15 ea, and available at any hardware store (no shipping cost). Lastly any box fan (12, 14, 16, 18 inch etc.) can be adapted to many situations and can be bought for $20 or less. I use one of these every night (18 inch, during summer months) for air circulation as I sleep. I don't know the exact cfm., but I know it puts out quite a bit. It has lasted 3 years now. I paid $19.95 for it, you can get them at the end of the summer for half that on clearance. Converting it to a inline fan would not be difficult to me.
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Old 11-13-2010, 12:35 PM
NorEastFla NorEastFla is offline
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I really do understand what you mean with your ideas for ventilation, and for the home gardener who wants to have something less expensive and is satisfied with the life span of the the items, it's a perfect solution.

However, the fans like the Tjernlund M series, which is all stainless steel, and will last 10-20 years of 24 hours per/day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, the less expensive ones don't stand a chance against them.

Something like the Lasko will last about two years if you're lucky. It's real good for a way to move air, but if the restriction of ducting is added, it's life will be shortened remarkably from the strain put on it's motor.

Fans are pretty much nothing more than blades, motors and bearings. They each have expected lifetimes under certain conditions. With a fan such as the Lasko, the motor is expected and built to have no strain from any ducting or restrictions. When those are added, the life of the motor will lessen.

Bearings have a range of quality and lifespans a mile long. During my time as an Industrial Mechanic, I dealt with thousands of bearings. Bearing failure is predictable in most applications.

The costs come down remarkably with some products because their lifespans are very limited by the parts used in their manufacturing.

I would risk to say that with only 6 feet of ducting added to the Lasko you linked to, it would live about a year...maybe.

I understand and have seen some "Saturday Night Rigging" in my 58 years. The ingenuity and imagination of some people just impresses the hell outta me.

But when dealing with my own Return On Investment, I'll stick with items that are made to deal with the use I intend to give them.

My $130 Tjernlund will outlive your Lasko by at least 500% and as much as 1000+%. It's cost is only 260% of the Lasko.

Another consideration is home insurance. If my Tjernlund has catastrophic failure and somehow caused a house fire, it is being used exactly as it is intended to be used. If the jury-rigged Lasko was used with ducting attached and caused your home to burn down, your insurance carrier would laugh and walk away with the money.

I always keep catastrophic failure in mind in reference to home insurance. I have some friends who are firemen, and they tell me of some things they've seen jury-rigged in houses that they have put fires out in. Their stories scare the heck outta me and make me use things that are made for what I use them for.

It's a calculated risk if you jury-rig things. The "What-Ifs" come into play.

I do understand where you're coming from however. For hobby use, I would probably do what you're suggesting. Fan failure wouldn't really be much of a problem that way.
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Old 11-13-2010, 10:35 PM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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NorEastFla
I know there can be a difference in quality in the way things are built (including fans). But for me it still doesn't justify the high costs. I have been taking things apart, and building things from other parts so long that it's just second nature to me. I guess that I just cant imagine why anyone would want to do things any other way.

The fan I linked to was just one example, there are hundreds when you look around (like I'm always doing). Personally I'm not needing a fan that has a life span of 1 to 2 decades, and I'm satisfied with the life span of the fans that I have bought in the past. Granted they are not on 24/7 for years at a time, but for the most part have lasted quite well. For instance the box fan that I use when sleeping is on almost 24/7 during summer. The only time it's off during summer (April to October) is when I'm not home, so it's on at least 15+ hours a day. It has lasted at least 3 years like this with no singes of slowing down, I have defiantly gotten my $19.95's worth from that Wal-Mart special. I do need to clean the dust out of it a couple of times a year, but that's all the maintenance I ever do to it.

I have never been one to limit myself to using any product only for it's intended purpose, that's just out of the realm of my comprehension anymore.
I guess I understand where you are coming from when you are concerned about possible fire's burning down your house, and insurance company's not wanting to cover it because of using a product in a way that it was not designed for. But again I have been fabricating my one things for so long that I'm very comfortable in my ability's to make things safe. In 30+ years of doing things like that I have never had any unexpected fire's. Safety is always a concern for me, and I'm always thinking about what's the worst that can happen. I check and recheck things to make sure problems like that won't be an issue before I ever trust it to be on it's own. But again that's just second nature to me so I guess I just take it for granted that everyone else would also.

Again I guess that I just took it for granted that everyone would adapt a fan the same way I would. That's part of choosing a fan that's easily adaptable for the particular application from the beginning. As for restricting the air flow, I would simply just fabricate it in a way that the air flow is not restricted. Not so much because I didn't want to burn the motor out early, even though that would be a concern depending on how much it was restricted. But for me, if it were restricted that would diminish it's efficiency in ventilation of the area (the purpose of the fan in the first place). In other words you would need a larger fan to do a smaller job, and that just does not make much sense to me.

I know that everyone is different and has there own comfort level when it comes to fabricating things, but for me I just can't justify spending any more than about $40 to $80 high end max for a fan that could not put out more than 1000 cfm. Even then I would just be spending that much because I wanted to be lazy, and just didn't want to deal with fabricating anything. But that's just me and how I do things.
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Old 11-13-2010, 11:05 PM
NorEastFla NorEastFla is offline
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I have never been one to limit myself to using any product only for it's intended purpose, that's just out of the realm of my comprehension anymore.
You and I are miles apart in how we think on this issue. My Mom used to say "A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still".

I don't think either of us will alter each others point of view on this. That's what makes the world go around.

I believe that it's professional and wise to use things as they are intended to be used when using them in a business. Safety is my primary concern, and the expending of a couple hundred dollars to do a job with quality equipment that is made to do the job it's being used for.

I've seen a lot of "Homemade" equipment. Much of it was a problem waiting to happen.

If you're willing to take the risks, I see no problem with *you* risking yourself and your own property.

I would temper that path of reasoning when it's offered as advice to others unless you're also willing to risk their lives and property or make them understand that there is a risk. That's what I'm doing in this thread.
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Old 11-14-2010, 04:51 AM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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I would temper that path of reasoning when it's offered as advice to others unless you're also willing to risk their lives and property or make them understand that there is a risk.
Just how far do you take that type of thinking. For instance my mom yells at me for using a dish towel to wipe the counter off with, or using it for drying my hands with, simply because they are not "dishes." Like it was going to explode or something if you use it for anything other than drying a dish. Is it also wrong to walk in tennis shoes instead of only playing tennis in them? Unless a electronic device was manufactured by a company that you can blame anything that goes wrong on the only advice should be you shouldn't use it? So where exactly do you draw the line? Even company's that make space heaters have the disclaimer that they are not to be used while you are sleeping, when they know full well that's exactly when people are going to be using them the most. They just want to cover their butt's from lawsuits.

Also by that same thinking then I could only suggest buying a hydroponic system that was manufactured by a company specifically for hydroponics, instead of building your own. After all, unless it was designed for hydroponics it simply cant be used for hydroponics unless you are willing to risk your life right? Heck I use fountain pumps for hydroponics (not a hydroponics pump), I guess I should stop doing that or I may wind up causing a fire or electrocuting someone. Not for me, I'm simply not going to live my life in fear. Even when we have thunder and lighting storms I love to go outside and/or have windows open to view it. Not because I'm ignorant to the danger, but I know the odds and I'm simply not going to cower under the bed in fear. If I really felt a need I would simply install a lighting rod on the house.

This world is filled with inventions that were devised out of necessity. If we waited for some company to design something before we were allowed to use it, how would it ever get invented in the first place, especially when they were simply afraid to build it? We would not even have electricity if Benjamin Franklin was afraid to fly that kite. Have you ever flown a plane? Seen one? Before the Wright brothers, who was it that determined the plane parts were safe to use to build the plane with in the first place, much less could guarantee it would fly? If only using quality equipment is necessary and important (especially for a business), then I would think you would be buying a greenhouse and hydroponic systems instead of building your own. Ever think one of those panels might come down while someone was under it and slit their throat, or penetrate their skull. You couldn't blame a manufacture because it was built by you, and then where will you be.

So if the possibility exist of anything possible going wrong no mater how slight, even if you are not the one building it you simply need to suggest a commercially manufactured product right? Again it's about what one is comfortable with in their own ability that makes the difference. Inverters are not afraid to invent, nor am I. The way I see it, fear of ones own ability's can be projected into the fear of others ability's. If we all relied on the ability's of the least capable, then where would we be? Each and everyone of us needs to use our own common sense, as well as understand our own capabilities. Take that as a disclaimer if you wish, but I expect that anyone that wishes to build anything is capable of using there own common sense in doing so on their own.

Also the way I see it, I don't feel I have shown any disregard for anyone's life or safety (including mine). I more or less have just stated that the expensive products mentioned were not anything that I would consider (my opinion). I have just stated my feelings and opinions about using high priced specialized fans, as well as how I would go about things in that regard. I have also not given any specific directions on how to fabricate a fan system. Not that I would be afraid to give some ideas, but I did ask some questions about the particular application, and did not get any information about that aspect, so how could I.

Bottom line, that type of thinking does nothing but promote fear, impede invention in any industry. As well as keep making money for the large company's that want to charge anything they want for their products. Again that's just out of the realm of my comprehension as to why anyone would want to go on that way. I too have seen some things that you just have to ask "what were you thinking" but you simply cant blame everyone for the mistakes of a select few. And I simply cant recommend spending unnecessary amounts of money for something because of fear that one in a thousand may decide not to use common sense. To that one in a thousand, spend the money for the commercially built product.
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Old 11-14-2010, 11:47 AM
NorEastFla NorEastFla is offline
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Just how far do you take that type of thinking.
Wow, what a post. Most of what you say is nothing more than your opinion about how you feel. I believe that much of what you've said is wrong.

First, I was speaking of how a business should consider using equipment, not a private person in thier own home.

Secondly, right there in my post, I made it clear that if you are willing to take responsibility for your actions and the results of those actions, then it makes no difference to anyone what you do.

You've gone off on a rant about things that have nothing to do with what I was talking about and the tone of your post is starting to get aggressive.

Here's a plain fact for you; give the manufacturer of the Lasko fans a call. Ask to speak to one of their engineers. Tell him you want to install ducting onto one of their free-standing fans and ask if that will affect it's lifespan and/or safety.

Here's what they will tell you; The fans are not made to use with any restriction. Ducting adds restriction to the fan if the ducting is of any length at all. That restriction will cause unequal pressure to the bearings and cause the fan to bog down slightly. That slowdown will cause more electrical currant, more heat on the wires and the bearings and radically shorten the lifespan of the fan due to it being used in a manner that it was not made to be used for.

Most of your hypothetical questions in your post were nonsense. Your tone was a insulting and your insulting little questions throughout your post were those of an immature person.

If you choose to disregard common sense and do whatever you want to do, life will educate you. I certainly don't need to.

If you want to use this site to advise people to do things that are not smart to do, and then get all pissy with them when and if they disagree with you, then fine, you can do so without my seeing it.

Goodbye.

You've talked me into leaving this site.
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Old 11-15-2010, 04:03 AM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Goodbye.

You've talked me into leaving this site.
Sorry you feel that way,
you have definitely misunderstood my intentions. True I was not sugarcoating my words, and simply just spoke straight forward. But my "little questions throughout" were not meant to be insulting, they were meant to make people think about all the contributions that were made from people that were not afraid to try. Even when they only got flack from all their friends and family's for doing so (I don't see trying as wrong). Personally I get that type of flack all the time, but when they see what I was talking about (when they see it built), they understand and pretend like they knew it would work all the time. That kind of thing wears thin on me, so I just don't feel like sugarcoating it. And the comparisons of using one product for a different purpose was also not meant to be insulting, but was meant to take a look at how general that comparison can be if someone wanted it to be. That's why I asked "how far do you take that thinking" (because I really don't know). I have talked to so many people that take that kind of thing to extremes, that it's just ridicules. But never-the-less, that's their true beleif. That's why I gave the example of my mom yelling at me for using a dish towel for the counter and hands (as an example of that type of extremes).

By the way, as long as it's brought up. To be honest using terms like "Saturday Night Rigging," "jury-rigged" and referring to "homemade" equipment just being a problem waiting to happen, well I have to say that was all insulting to me. As well as "temper that path of reasoning when it's offered as advice to others unless you're also willing to risk their lives and property," that suggests that I have no regard for the lives of others, and I take that as a "major" insult towards me. Even going beyond an insult, that's saying I have no character or ethics, and really cuts me to the bone. Talk about getting pissy, I have no idea why you would even want to make such a statement towards me, but I'm still offended by it.

Also this statement "If you choose to disregard common sense" is also insulting to me, but just like the type of flack I run into all the time, that just shows that it's only based on your own ability's (not mine), and your obviously just perceiving your ability's onto me. That's not meant to be insulting, but just straight forward (I am not you). Also 99.8% of the people who read this forum are home gardeners, not businesses. Keep in mind that only about 2% to 3% of the people who read them even register much less even post anything. They register just to see the pictures. Why? because hydroponics is new to them and there looking for ideas. Same goes for the ones that don't register, except they don't feel that taking the time to register is worth it to see the pictures.

As for the comparison about building your own greenhouse, again that was not meant to be insulting. But it was meant to point out that sometimes things can happen (even when not intended). And sadly in today's society most people are just out to assign blame on others, and then just sew people. Instead of taking responsibility for not using their "own" common scene. So in the absence of a manufacture to blame, the blame would be placed on the person who built it. It may be a one in a thousand fluke, but that's what you focus on with regard to someones house burning down. So I just brought it up as another thing to worry about, as long as you were looking for things to worry about anyway.

I was not assuming that you didn't have the ability to build one that was safe, but by the same comparison does not imply that everyone can either. That's my point about ones 'own" comfort level in their "own ability's" when it comes to building something. By the same token just because you are uncomfortable about building something to operate safely, does not mean that everyone is limited by that same knowledge and comfort level either. The way I see it, it's just wrong to assume nobody else can either.

I have no problem with pointing out possible problems (I will always do the same), but at the same time it's only paranoia to just assume that just because you either herd of, or read about something bad happening to someone else, that everyone else is destined for the same mistake. You here about the one mistake, but you never here about the thousand's of successes. If you only want to focus on the negative and be paranoid, then that's what you wind up with. It would be much more wise to learn from that mistake, find out exactly what the problem was and take measures to eliminate it (seems like "common sense" to me).

I don't need to call a fan company to ask what would happen if you restrict the air flow. I'm not even disagreeing with you there (I actually agree with you on that if you haven't noticed), so I don't know why that is even mentioned. However do disagree that it's simply impossible to duct air flow from a fan without restricting the air flow. Obviously I have spent more time at Home Dept and Lowe's looking at, and asking questions about all the options they have in ducting connectors and ducting tubes. There's simply no reason a tube the same shape, and/or larger size than the output of the fan in the first place will restrict the air flow. And again there are hundreds of options in fans to choose from, they come in all different shapes sizes. So it's easy to find a fan that works with what's available locally to them.

Then if there are still any questions about safety, there are even many options for inline fuses, heat senors and thermostats that will prevent any possible overheating of any device, even environment (if necessary). Yes 30+ years (sorry not 58) of building things without any safety problems (well except a few jolts of electricity now and again) has thought me a lot about doing so. So despite your insult, "my common scene" is alive and well. But regardless, again I say that I'm sorry that you feel like you don't want to be part of the forum community.

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