Explosion-proof fans on Amazon - can they be trusted?

ksungela said:
I've used this for my last few garage paint jobs.
www.globalindustrial.com

Global Industrial 12" Portable Blower Fan, 2 Speed, 1640 CFM, 3/8 HP

Global Industrial 12" Portable Blower Fan, 2 Speed, 1640 CFM, 3/8 HP. Ships in One Business Day. Buy it and Save at GlobalIndustrial.com
www.globalindustrial.com www.globalindustrial.com
Not explosion proof and I won't say you don't need it to be, but I'm still here...
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This appears to be the same fan available at harbor freight. Heard she blows some air for a small fan.
 
Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but if you accidentally blow up your house because you didn't want to spend the money on a proper and safe fan, your homeowners insurance isn't going to cover it.

I do a fair amount on on site spraying in customer's homes. I bought a small explosion proof fan, built it into a wood box that I could fit into most windows, and set up a filter in front of it. It was expensive, but blowing up someone's house is even more expensive.

I get it, lots of guys have sprayed lots of paint using box fans without incident. I'd be willing to bet that there are plenty of guys who have done it multiple times without incident, so maybe the odds are favorable.

But....what if you are the one guy who is on the wrong side of the odds? And what if someone else gets hurt?

I think that owning my own business for the past 28 years has given me a different perspective.
 
Agree it's always better to be on the safe side. But the number of us that have used a direct fired forced air heater when painting would suggest the concentration levels aren't high enough to combust, if they were every time someone used that type of heater there would be an explosion.
Gasoline is much more dangerous. I've heard of multiple incidents with Gasoline but never with paint fumes.
I'm not explicitly endorsing it but the empirical evidence would suggest it's relatively safe.
 
This is what I paint in. It's 15x20. I got the fans at tractor supply. They were about 200 each. I researched about explosion fans and lights and I ended up with these fans and so (8) 8ft LED that I got on offerup. I crack the roll up door 1ft. And I get good air flow. Is it safe? I don't know but it works, and the overspray clears out in less than a minute.
 

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This is what I have. I think it works very well. Well worth the $800.
 

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I watched a show on motor trend where some crazy guy from England or something was painting a race car (garage hack) and he was using house paint - thinning it with “petrol “! might want to use an explosion proof fan in that instance !
 
What if I trip and fall crossing the road to get my mail and bust my head open and bleed out? Just playing with fire here a bit. I try and do things as safe as possible, for sure. But I can’t wear a helmet everywhere.
 
When I was building my shop 10 years ago, the electrical inspector wanted explosion proof lights in the spray room. My electrician worked with the inspector and reviewed the relevant codes. They determined that I could use vapor tight (but not explosion proof) lights as long as 1. The lights were outside of a 10 foot radius drawn from each front corner of the spray booth and 2. That we installed an air interlock on the booth air supply, so that there would be no air unless the booth fan was operating.

I did have to install an explosion proof light in the booth and in my paint storage vault.

Again, we are all free to risk our own lives and property, but we have no such freedom with other's lives and property.

And I understand that 3rd degree burns over 80% of one's body is a painful way to die, so we shouldn't make light of the risk.
 
Don’t get me wrong I’m all about doing things as safe as possible. Even then things can go wrong. I try my best. I worked at a factory for years that was overboard with safety. You could lose your job if caught lifting anything over 20 pounds by yourself. I just hate how everything has to be idiot proof these days. Common sense goes a long ways. Besides…I can’t afford to get hurt lol.
 
I like to add that chances are low as long as fresh air is in the mix of over spray BUT the danger is always present Vapor tight lighting and NO electrical outlets in spray booth. Alum fan blade and fan motor outside of overspray travel ( explosion proof rated motor) is the best way to ensure safety. Switchs and motors will spark or arc . Yeas ago I visted a shop and they heated with a old pot belly stove and painted right next to it. I ran like hell out of there.
 
If spark sources are a concern in spray booths, why are there no static discharge preventative measures taken? Or are they? An arc is an arc.

Especially when you consider that some are using carpets inside the booths now.
 
123pugsy said:
A customer had this system when the fire started. A toasted, hot bearing sparked it off.
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Your guy must have some really bad luck. TEFC for those who don't know, just means totally enclosed fan cooled. Just kind of a minimum type of motor to use. Not really a system. I'm confused, was your guy painting?

I'm not endorsing any of this. I like others are just sharing what we have done or used in the past.
 
Chris_Hamilton said:
Your guy must have some really bad luck. TEFC for those who don't know, just means totally enclosed fan cooled. Just kind of a minimum type of motor to use. Not really a system. I'm confused, was your guy painting?

I'm not endorsing any of this. I like others are just sharing what we have done or used in the past.
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If I followed it correctly the fan bearing inside the exhaust stack failed, overheated and started a fire while the booth was in use.

Don
 
I also believe (I could be wrong) that it’s one of those deals where the air/“fuel” mixture would need to be just right even if there was a spark. Too little no boom. Too much no boom. Just the right amount…boom.
 
64avanti said:
Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but if you accidentally blow up your house because you didn't want to spend the money on a proper and safe fan, your homeowners insurance isn't going to cover it.
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This ^^^ is my second concern, the first is NOT getting my wife hurt since she is the one who will be spraying all the products. I am visually impaired and she has eyes like a cat AND enjoys painting. My original question was can fans selling on Amazon for a few hundred dollars and listed as explosion-proof be trusted to be as they claim. I don't want BIG BOOM but I don't want a gaping hole in my budget either. After digesting the healthy debate and information provided above I am considering setting up as follows:

- Putting up 9mil plastic sheeting from floor to ceiling around the perimeter of the garage with a 3'- 4' offset from the walls
- opening the 3 windows in the garage and fitting them with A/C filters. (1 on the West wall and 2 on the North wall)
- Getting 2 inexpensive "Explosion-proof?" fans (Amazon or TSC) and building a plenum lined with 5 20"x20" activated carbon filters fronted by dust/overspray filters, either individual or continuous mat style.
-Creating openings in the west sheeting and venting the plenum under the garage door on the East wall.

My assumption is that this will create a cross breeze inside the paint area and the carbon filters will help reduce the volume of volatile fumes that will reach the fans. A sanity check and/or recommendations are welcome.

I know the risk is never zero but based on the discussion above the odds appear to me in my favor.

-----
Emil
 
orangejuiced86 said:
I am definitely not going to say what to do or not to do, you have to decide for yourself....I will say I have seen guys painting in a poor ventilated area with a god damn propane heater going the entire time full blast... If you have good air flow im not sure the concentration is going to be anywhere high enough that an explosion could happen, but in the end, crazier things have happened.

Here is my fan when I gutted my old shop....Talk about neglect!!
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Small shop, but it got the job done.
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New fan when I built the new place. It was a winter project to open up the sealed area and clean it all out. I am sure it looks just as bad as the old fan at this point.
24" deal
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New fan 24”…what was old fan? Looks smaller. Where were you getting them? I see you got the louvers as well. Never seen your old garage until now. Looked like it probably did the job ok. Did you have a plenum/filter box? Where were you pulling fresh/cold air from? I just picked up a contraption. Basically a 6ft or so long filter box on wheels that this guy built. Has a fan inside mounted to the top. Then a 8” or so pipe coming off. Then had a flexible rubber hose that hooked to pipe and went up and out thru the wall outside. I bought a bunch of stuff from the guy as he was going out. Some will be trash but a few of the good pieces were easily worth the lot price. I happened to look up into the “rolling filter box” and appears he actually has a Jenny explosion proof fan in there. I gotta tear it apart and pull it out. From the eye appears maybe 20”. I’m hoping it’s variable speed. Time will tell. But I’ll have to order a set of shutters cause it’s going in my wall like yours with a plenum built around it and filters.
 
I think the old one was 18 or a 20" I know I started with a 24" in the old garage and i think it burnt out or something happened, then I went to a furnace style fan and that didnt work out so I bought the dirty one you see in the pics. I've bought all of mine from www.northerntool.com

The old shop had many filter setups, here is the very first fan. I used furnace filters.....young and dumb....still dumb though!

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Then I built something to hold real booth filters...worked ok but I learned quickly how fast filters fill up. But it had door on it to help in the winter. This was the final setup before I moved.
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For some time I ran it without filters, but I really started to feel like a dick to my neighbors..
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