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

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Evil_Fiz

Promoted Users
I am setting up my 20' x 20' garage to paint and plan on getting 2 or 3 filtered "intrinsically safe" or "explosion-proof" fans to evacuate fumes and capture overspray. I have read through as many posts as I can find on the subject, here and elsewhere, but no recent posts say what fans have been used. I see several on Amazon in the 1600 - 3600 CFM range priced from $120 - $300 that are listed as explosion-proof. I also see explosion-proof fans listed elsewhere starting at $1200.

I am looking for reasonably priced fans since this will most likely be the only paint job I ever do.
Has anyone used any of the Amazon fans?
Can you recommend a fan model to use?

One additional request:
Where can I find the activated charcoal filters I keep seeing referenced in related threads? What search terms should I use to find them?

Thanks,
Emil
 
dhutton01 said:
www.ebay.com

Paint Spray Booth Activated Carbon Adsorption Filters 20x20x1/2" 10pcs/Case | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Paint Spray Booth Activated Carbon Adsorption Filters 20x20x1/2" 10pcs/Case at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
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Thanks for the link.
- Do these require a particulate (fiber/paper) pre-filter or are they a one-filter solution? (The product description is not clear on this matter.)
- Will this type of filter capture enough volatile fumes to allow the use of standard box fans instead of explosion-proof/intrinsically safe fans? (looking to SAFELY save money where I can)

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Emil
 
I think they are all you need but a standard exhaust filter in front of them may extend their life.

Lots of guys using box fans and no filters. One might assume using these in front of them are safer.

I don’t think anyone is going to go out on a limb and tell you what is safe and what is not. Use your best judgement….

Don
 
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dhutton01 said:
I think they are all you need but a standard exhaust filter in front of them may extend their life.

Lots of guys using box fans and no filters. One might assume using these in front of them are safer.

I don’t think anyone is going to go out in a limb and tell you what is safe and what is not. Use your best judgement….

Don
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Thanks. I am leaning in the direction of using a pre-filter with the carbon filter. As far as safety goes I am looking for personal experience rather than a safety endorsement; only OSHA or NIOSH are qualified to make those and we all know where they stand. Your comment about box fans and no filters is comforting but that scenario scares me.

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Emil
 
I can tell you I went through a similar thought process when I built my last home brew booth. I ended up using fans to push air into the booth to avoid that potential issue. I used tacky intake filters on the intake air and booth exhaust filters on the exhaust. A good solution imho.

Don
 
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.
1642782253495.png



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
1642782321989.png

1642782409684.png
 
Agree with the above, use your best judgement. Here are some thoughts for you and what I did.

-While the National Electric Code may not like this, I put my left over house a/c squirrel cage blower outside my Harbor Freight tent paint booth blowing outside fresh air into the paint booth. So I had outside fresh air intake and a positive pressure booth.

-My common sense thinks putting the fan inside the paint booth exhausting fumes exposes the fan to a higher concentration of solvents and so your risk goes up. The real question is does your concentration get high enough to get into an explosive range which is hard for the average backyard painter person to determine.

Hope this might help.
 
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Most paint booth fans aren't explosion proof either. All are TEFC and most are non sparking (aluminum fan blades) but not explosion proof.
 
Whatever you get you want it to be rated TEFC.

I should correct myself about paint booths. The motors are outside of ducting running the fan by a pulley
 
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@orangejuiced86 that dumb ass painting in a low flow home made booth with a propane heater inside would be me. lmao. before i built the sop i have now my booth would pull outside air so in the winter it would get really cold. had a 220000 btu jet heater in the booth with me running at all times. painted in there every day like that for prob 4 years and lucky me never had an issue. i personally think the explosion proof thing is a bit overrated.
 
My buddy would do that, and I would drop by his house and open the door and couldn't see 2 feet in front of me.. I'd just wait outside!
 
Jim C said:
@orangejuiced86 that dumb ass painting in a low flow home made booth with a propane heater inside would be me. lmao. before i built the sop i have now my booth would pull outside air so in the winter it would get really cold. had a 220000 btu jet heater in the booth with me running at all times. painted in there every day like that for prob 4 years and lucky me never had an issue. i personally think the explosion proof thing is a bit overrated.
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I bet you went through some fuel with that thing. Propane or Kerosene?
 
home heating oil. Yes i still use one to this day but not while spraying. I roll it in the booth to force dry stuff. Surprisingly its not really bad. Last quite awhile. I just switched my shop over to nat gas so i still use it but not as much
 
Haha well glad I’m not the only one running the kerosene torpedo heater while spraying. I thought everyone did that? No? Hahahaha…how else am I suppose to make up for the -10 air coming in? And like OJ said…in my younger years I was that guy doing a complete and low to no flow and could hardly see my hand in front of my face. I’m not condoning any of this…but I never exploded…knock on wood.
 
Side note, I did just receive my infratech ir lamp. Thinking if I keep surface temps warm maybe some cool air won’t be a major problem. Never used one surprisingly. Hopefully I don’t have to redo a bunch of work. And advice is appreciated lol.
 
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