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Lift blower
Mongke
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Posted on 04/26/2024 5:03 PM
Hello all,

I am in the process of trying to build a fluid bed roaster. I am hoping to build something that can handle from about 150 to 500 gram batch sizes. The first thing i am trying to sort out is a "blower" for the lift. I have seen builds on here using the small air pumps for air mattresses and the like, but near as i can tell something in that size (around 130 watts) would not provide enough lift for 500 grams. The problem I am running into is I am not 100% sure what specs to look at for lift motors and where would be good places to source said motors in the USA.


Any help or guidance would be appreciated
 
btreichel
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Posted on 04/26/2024 11:49 PM
Motors with high static pressure.
 
renatoa
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Posted on 04/27/2024 3:26 AM
You are right, 130W is for 2-300 grams.
For 500 grams you should look for a leaf blower style machine, which are in the 4-600W range.
High pressure is the realm of centrifugal fan blowers.
Motor alone is not everything, is the whole assembly that define what you get: a high volume and surface breeze, or a focused air blast.
 
allenb
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Posted on 04/27/2024 11:58 AM
Hi Mongke and big welcome to HRO! The world of blowers and fans with so many varieties and sizes makes choosing one very difficult if one doesn't have an engineering background and can be tough even with that.

My own personal favorite, and one that doesn't require any guesswork in regards to "will it get the job done" is the trusty vacuum cleaner blower as this one: https://www.amazo...&psc=1

This one is 120 volts but you will be able to find 220 volt versions if you are non USA.
Don't worry about the air watts listed. The actual electrical watts will be somewhere in the 500 watt range at the power level you will drive it at in your roaster. Any 5.7" diameter or larger, whether single or 2 stage will be more than adequate for a 1 lb fluidbed charge and you will need to be able to vary its speed either by variac or other power controller of choice to keep your bean lift at optimum height.

While any high rpm blower will be noisy, many leaf blower designs can be way more noisy than a typical vacuum and some can be almost impossible to find a way to mount it in your roaster enclosure and to connect the output to it.

The typical vacuum blower as in the link can be mounted via the threaded holes in the blower body face. You simply cut a hole in your roaster enclosure body to allow the motor end of the blower to reside inside and secure via the 4 threaded holes.
Edited by allenb on 04/27/2024 12:04 PM
1/2 lb and 1 lb drum, Siemens Sirocco fluidbed, presspot, chemex, cajun biggin brewer from the backwoods of Louisiana
 
Mongke
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Posted on 04/29/2024 9:58 AM

Quote

allenb wrote:

Hi Mongke and big welcome to HRO! The world of blowers and fans with so many varieties and sizes makes choosing one very difficult if one doesn't have an engineering background and can be tough even with that.

My own personal favorite, and one that doesn't require any guesswork in regards to "will it get the job done" is the trusty vacuum cleaner blower as this one: https://www.amazo...&psc=1

This one is 120 volts but you will be able to find 220 volt versions if you are non USA.
Don't worry about the air watts listed. The actual electrical watts will be somewhere in the 500 watt range at the power level you will drive it at in your roaster. Any 5.7" diameter or larger, whether single or 2 stage will be more than adequate for a 1 lb fluidbed charge and you will need to be able to vary its speed either by variac or other power controller of choice to keep your bean lift at optimum height.

While any high rpm blower will be noisy, many leaf blower designs can be way more noisy than a typical vacuum and some can be almost impossible to find a way to mount it in your roaster enclosure and to connect the output to it.

The typical vacuum blower as in the link can be mounted via the threaded holes in the blower body face. You simply cut a hole in your roaster enclosure body to allow the motor end of the blower to reside inside and secure via the 4 threaded holes.


Allen, thank you for the info. I have decided to order the motor you linked to I will be 3d printing a shroud for the motor to bring it to a 1.5 inch pipe to be able to then bring it into the roast chamber. I will mock things up with out a heating element to test loft and current draw so i can plan the largest heating element i can..
 
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