fan addition

[dugndeep]

I have a chicago electric 90 amp flux core welder that needs a little better cooling because the fans that come in them aren't the best in the world.I tried putting a different fan blade on it but it could barely get the blade to turn so I put the original back on it.The other day I was a welding and heard a screeching noise for a split second then it quit so I thought no more about it.When I get done welding I always let the welder run for a few minutes just to let it cool down,I could feel no air moving and looked and the fan blades weren't spinning,so I took the side off and then the fan out and apart and it had a small piece of metal shaving stuck to the magnet preventing it from turning.So I reckon I was a welding without the fan working.Lucky it didn't shut down on me so I am going to add another fan.I have a 3 1/8 inch ball bearing muffin fan that came out of a computer to add to it.You can mount the ball bearing one's in any position but not the sleeve bushing type,they have to be mounted horizontally.I drilled a bunch of 1/2 inch holes in the bottom of my welder and put the fan in there so that it would blow out the bottom and draw air into the welder and maybe help the other fan out.I have a 1200 watt microwave oven out in the barn that I am going to take apart and maybe see what kind of fan it has.I took the microwave apart and I don't think the fan is any better than the one I have.I am going to buy a 4 or 5 inch muffin fan to replace the original fan ere shortly.Here is a link to some cheap fans and stuff here in the states. www.surpluscenter.com here are some pics,I love looking at the pics in the forums myself(ol)...doug

 

[wyn]

That looks like it should keep it working for longer, Doug. Will it run all the time the welder is plugged in.

The tractor looks interesting, what sort of work are you doing with it to need chains ?

 

[pedrobedro]

Two fans will only perform the same as the larger of the two if you have one sucking in and one blowing out. If the larger of the two is blowing out more than the other is sucking in you may as well just have the extra holes in the case.

 

[dugndeep]

Thanks for the reply,yes,they both run all the time.They are hooked to the on-off rocker switch.
About the chains on the john deere,it is retired for the year as to plowing,mowing,etc,getting it ready for it's winter job.I live out in the boon-docks on a one lane deadend at the kentucky river county road,I just put them on over the week-end,if we get any bad weather,snow or ice,it is usually 3 or 4 days before we will see the county road crew,i work factory as well as alot of my neighbors,so we have to get out of here,slick roads or not plus I keep an eye out for the elderly and keep their driveways passable,we had that ice storm last winter and didn't have electricity for almost 2 weeks,pray that don't happen again this year
about the fans,the big one on the back blows in while the little one on the bottom blowsout.....doug