wagner Posted April 4, 2018 Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 So I'm looking at a small project for my scale model car building hobby. I am kicking around building my own airbrush spray booth to do painting in. I can pick one up off of Amazon for $90 or less, but the motors in the fans are brushed. I want to get a brushless setup so I can shoot non-acrylic paints if needed and reduce the risk of things going kaboom. I've been trying to do some research and the results aren't 100% clear, but are bathroom exhaust or computer case fans brushless? I could possibly build something using these or other ventilation type fans. Does anybody have experience with ventilation fans like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwashmycar Posted April 4, 2018 Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 Computer fans dont pull too much...maybe a bunch of them. I Googled and this idea popped up...maybe grab a cheapo range hood on Craigslist? Probably put a air-filter over it anyway to catch the paint. Shouldnt boom. Shits dry by the time it would get there anyway. http://pages.interlog.com/~ask/scale/tips/booth.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagner Posted April 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 Computer fans dont pull too much...maybe a bunch of them. I Googled and this idea popped up...maybe grab a cheapo range hood on Craigslist? Probably put a air-filter over it anyway to catch the paint. Shouldnt boom. Shits dry by the time it would get there anyway. http://pages.interlog.com/~ask/scale/tips/booth.htm It's not the paint that's the problem, it's the fumes from what I understand. I saw those plans in my research and they aren't bad, but most of the DIY builds I saw CensorTube all use a system where the fan pulls from the back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Cranium Posted April 4, 2018 Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 Do you have any idea what CFM of air you are looking to move? You can buy brushless PC fans. Running them off an old PC power supply would be easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeto67 Posted April 4, 2018 Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 modern bathroom fans are usually brushless. You can get really cheap ones from lowes or home depot (like under $20) when I lived in Flushing, I had a small spray booth I built out of an old ultrasound machine crate and a bathroom fan that was left over from an office remodel. Here is what I can tell you from that experience. You don't want it to pull a lot of CFM. The things it is removing are already vaporous so they move quickly, anything pulling a lot more air is just going to start sucking things into your spray booth and put junk in your paint. I originally vented mine to another part of the garage and found out pretty quick this wasn't smart because the area sometimes would have spray residue buildup. I vented it outside next to a tree and the same thing happened. I put a uni filter on it and it just ended up becoming a trap for fumes and paint. In the end I used the end of an external dryer duct and that helped because it directed it at the ground. Something I always wanted to try was using the blower motor fan setup off a junk car. Because the motor is displaced from the fan cage in most of them you can isolate the motor out of the air stream. It's not worth it to buy it new since the bathroom fan will probably be cheaper, but if you had a junk car around, or access to one you could probably score one for free or next to nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagner Posted April 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 Do you have any idea what CFM of air you are looking to move? You can buy brushless PC fans. Running them off an old PC power supply would be easy. Based on the size of the booth I'm going to build I calculated it out to around be at least 100 CFM of air that needs to be moved. I'm really thinking about making this even simpler by using a large clear storage tote as the main booth so when it's not in use I can pack in my fan assembly inside with the fan and hose. I'll probably add some cheap LED lights to the inside too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cordell Posted April 4, 2018 Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 A model car paint booth? Am I the only one who finds that a little silly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeto67 Posted April 4, 2018 Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 A model car paint booth? Am I the only one who finds that a little silly? There are professionally made ones. Hobbyland has one that it lets it's customers use. Considering that there are model car building competitions, and that particulate matter affects model car paint more significantly than full size car paint because of scale and depth of paint, it makes sense that these would exist. What is silly is that most model car pro paint booths are several hundred dollars. The really high end ones can get close to $1000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Cranium Posted April 4, 2018 Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 1 fan, 99CFM https://www.amazon.com/Adda-AD1212US-A71GL-LF-Brushless-Tubeaxial-99-12/dp/B005T7IHLS/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1522867510&sr=8-7&keywords=brushless+pc+fan Another option would be to run more fans, but spinning slower to cut down the noise some. You might want to look into options to push air into the box, as an exhaust fan would be getting coated. Maybe that doesn't matter, maybe the fan is just disposable. If you're powering it off an old PC power supply, then some LED light strips would be easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagner Posted April 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 A model car paint booth? Am I the only one who finds that a little silly? I thought it was first too, until I saw the results from those who used them. Even on rattle can paint jobs it helps to eliminate stuff getting into the paint on the body. I really don't want to have to sand out dust and other imperfections going forward. Honestly this is by far one of the more relaxing and stimulating things I've done as a hobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagner Posted April 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 1 fan, 99CFM https://www.amazon.com/Adda-AD1212US-A71GL-LF-Brushless-Tubeaxial-99-12/dp/B005T7IHLS/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1522867510&sr=8-7&keywords=brushless+pc+fan Another option would be to run more fans, but spinning slower to cut down the noise some. You might want to look into options to push air into the box, as an exhaust fan would be getting coated. Maybe that doesn't matter, maybe the fan is just disposable. If you're powering it off an old PC power supply, then some LED light strips would be easy. I'm not worried about the fan getting coated, I'll have a good filter in place. What kind of power supply would I need to get a couple of fans and some LEDs going? If I go this route I kind of have a plan in my mind on how to route everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractor Posted April 4, 2018 Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 If you do use a computer power supply. Remember it's built in fan has brushes. Not sure if it matters in your setup but be aware of it. Most household exhaust fans also have brushes though there could be some brushless models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagner Posted April 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 If you do use a computer power supply. Remember it's built in fan has brushes. Not sure if it matters in your setup but be aware of it. Most household exhaust fans also have brushes though there could be some brushless models. The power supply will be mounted away from the air flow so that shouldn't be an issue. All of the air, paint, and fumes will be sucked through at least one filter and through the fans in the rear of the booth. My plan is to use a similar design to the pre-made booths and combine it with a DIY type setup. I'm going to check out a couple of big box stores tonight to see what kinds of fans they have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagner Posted April 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2018 Well bathroom fans are out. The price point for one that I know is brushless and moves enough air doesn't make sense. The next option is going to be computer case fans, I just need to figure out how to wire them up. I thought about converting some to be USB powered, but I don't know if that will have enough juice to spin the fan hard enough to move the air. After I get the fan situation figured out the rest of this will fall into place pretty easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGU Posted April 5, 2018 Report Share Posted April 5, 2018 computer fans are easy to wire. yellow signal, red 12v and ground is black as long as the fan is a 3 pin. 4 pin usually has a green wire which is PWM signal and for your case not needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagner Posted April 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2018 computer fans are easy to wire. yellow signal, red 12v and ground is black as long as the fan is a 3 pin. 4 pin usually has a green wire which is PWM signal and for your case not needed. Would I be able to plug the fans into something like this, then plug them into some connector on the power supply to get juice? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078M1KF2R/ref=sspa_dk_detail_3?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B078M1KF2R&pd_rd_wg=m1G3z&pd_rd_r=D6HT6797P9AS1S4CDRG6&pd_rd_w=utfVl I just want to be sure that I'm spinning the fans to their max CFM rating with enough juice to get the job done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Cranium Posted April 5, 2018 Report Share Posted April 5, 2018 Would I be able to plug the fans into something like this, then plug them into some connector on the power supply to get juice? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078M1KF2R/ref=sspa_dk_detail_3?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B078M1KF2R&pd_rd_wg=m1G3z&pd_rd_r=D6HT6797P9AS1S4CDRG6&pd_rd_w=utfVl I just want to be sure that I'm spinning the fans to their max CFM rating with enough juice to get the job done. You could, but you don't need to. I'm sure I have an old power supply laying around. If I don't someone does. Order the fans from Amazon or wherever you want to get them. I can help you wire them. We can use the supply to power an LED light strip as well if you like. I have 30 or 40 feet of them I bought to install in my trailer. I'm sure I can spare a few feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagner Posted April 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2018 You could, but you don't need to. I'm sure I have an old power supply laying around. If I don't someone does. Order the fans from Amazon or wherever you want to get them. I can help you wire them. We can use the supply to power an LED light strip as well if you like. I have 30 or 40 feet of them I bought to install in my trailer. I'm sure I can spare a few feet. Okay, I'll get some stuff purchased and hit you up. This should be a 6 pack or less job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted April 5, 2018 Report Share Posted April 5, 2018 Just dig around for some old ac/dc wall wart adapters for junk you don't use anymore. Anything 9-14V should be fine for the fans. They don't pull much power so 1-2 per adapter will be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractor Posted April 6, 2018 Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 You could buy a computer power supply from Micro Center. They usually sell cheap ones for like $15-20 and then you do a simple mod to put a switch on it or they may actually sell the switch kit in the store which would be even easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfunnyryan Posted April 6, 2018 Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 I have a bunch of fans you can have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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