# Recycling 24" whole house fan



## JGarver (Dec 16, 2013)

I have an old whole house fan (120V) that I pulled out when skim coating my foyer, and I was just curious do you think I could somehow reuse this fan's motor as some sort of exhaust fan or dust collection for my detached garage. I have zero dust collection in my garage workshop besides a 6.5HP Contractor Shop Vac with HVAC filter used in conjunction with a fine dust bag...I wear a full P100 respirator while working in my garage at all times, but the fine dust gets in my eyes unless I wear my chemical splash-resistant goggles, and this dust bugs the crap out of me when I get done working. 

Not to mention, I have no idea what type of damage that stuff is doing to my eyes. I bought some Honeywell fogproof goggles that are fantastic if I'm in the mood to really tighten them and the respirator mask down tight on my face, but that's not comfortable for a few hours in the garage. 

I'm not sure if I can repurpose this motor to do any type of dust collection without having to create access to the exterior. It's belt-driven, and is a big enough motor to turn 36" steel blades. I don't want to just scrap this motor or fan if it can be used to create a better shop experience.


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## tvman44 (Dec 8, 2011)

IMHO all you could do is make a air filter with the fan passing the air through a couple of A/C filters. Should :thumbsup: turn over the iir in the shop fairly quick.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I have a ceiling exhaust fan in the shop*

It's not a 24" monster, but when I make a lot of dust like blowing out the shop with a leaf blower, I'll turn it on and clear the air. It moves so much air that in extreme heat or cold it wouldn't be economical to run. It's not really a substitute for a dust collector. A air filtration unit would be vastly overkill in my opinion. Folks in the south use them as "swamp coolers" by putting a radiator full of in front of them. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporative_cooler


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