I think I'm on to something. I have an overhead dust collector, window box fan and several box fans scattered around the shop. I have an overhead 2 car garage door and a regular door. All the fans blowing the same way moves a lot of dust but seems like never enough. I got a fan from a home furnace. Put it on wheels, hooked up electrically, covered the places where your fingers might get caught. I use a wheel chuck to keep it from driving around the shop. I placed it behind me and plugged it in. WOW WHAT A WIND STORM. I felt like I was dust free and it was all blowing out the 2 car garage door. I have a couple pictures.

 

Preston

 

 

I put one of those in a box with side filters, once. Even on low speed it was too much for my basement shop. I ended up mounting it in the basement window.

 

 

I had a smaller version that I tried to use as an overhead circulator. It moved a lot of air but again it was almost too powerful.

 

 

I replaced the overhead one with a WEN filter system.

 

 

2 hours ago, steamshovel said:

covered the places where your fingers might get caught.

nice job...

now to protect the electrical connections..

Hang it from the ceiling and pipe it out through the roof.

Years ago I worked in a crating shop where we boxed up everything from air filters for M1 Abrahms tanks to autombiles to concrete pumps and everything in between.  The place was probbly 20000 sq ft or more and not air conditioned because of the dock doors. The management purchased a large commercially made area fan but it was rather pathetic in how much air it could move over a larger distance. 

Being a rather recent startup and a smaller entity at that the management understandably did not want to pony up more $$$ for more fans that really only got used 3-4 months out of the year. (Minnesota, dontchya know?) 

 

I had the bright idea of boxing up a furnace blower, putting it on wheels and aiming it at my work station. After the amusement of watching it propell itself across the floor wore off, they asked me to build another. Then my coworkers were competing for that one, Built another.   In all, we were running 6 of them by the time departed the company and as far as I know they are still using them.   And I still have one in my home shop that I made about that time and use I the summer still. 

  

Edited June 10, 20188 yr by joe the gas man

1 hour ago, joe the gas man said:

Years ago I worked in a crating shop where we boxed up everything from air filters for M1 Abrahms tanks to autombiles to concrete pumps and everything in between.  The place was probbly 20000 sq ft or more and not air conditioned because of the dock doors. The management purchased a large commercially made area fan but it was rather pathetic in how much air it could move over a larger distance. 

Being a rather recent startup and a smaller entity at that the management understandably did not want to pony up more $$$ for more fans that really only got used 3-4 months out of the year. (Minnesota, dontchya know?) 

 

I had the bright idea of boxing up a furnace blower, putting it on wheels and aiming it at my work station. After the amusement of watching it propell itself across the floor wore off, they asked me to build another. Then my coworkers were competing for that one, Built another.   In all, we were running 6 of them by the time departed the company and as far as I know they are still using them.   And I still have one in my home shop that I made about that time and use I the summer still. 

  

Did you have races at lunch hour? Just kidding, I used one in my shop in a plywood box hanging from the ceiling. Did you know those are usually 3 speed fans and can be wired to a remote to use all 3 speeds. so if they are blowing too fast a slower speed can be dialed in.

 

Herb

Many years ago I had a furnace replaced and I kept the old fan. I did the same exact thing in the ceiling of my shop and it worked really well. Sadly, I left my shop and moved to CO with a half garage shop. Sure miss all that space I used to have and that big ole fan in the ceiling.