THE BEST DIY SHOP AIR CLEANER! / SHOP AIR FILTER!

[@JLoganMarshall]

BEST build I've seen in an air cleaner. Right fan. Right principles (hanging from ceilings). Professional craftsmanship. Even nailed the air circulation good! Well done!

[@brewbuilds]

Thanks a lot man, I’m glad you liked it! Thanks for watching, and taking the time time to comment.

[@BrianStreetUnity]

the guitar player is the real star of this video

[@brewbuilds]

I thought so too! 😂Thanks for watching.👍🏻

[@brianmckinley3783]

When I discovered that my car was generating 1000+ CO2 during the winter as it cooled down after shut down, I installed a timer on my blower for 12 to 16 hours of cleaning and leave my windows down in my car. You have some awesome gear in your shop and if you are doing some intense work,you might want to track CO2 and/or PM 1.0/2.5/10.0 to keep you and your team safe. Tx for sharing your project work, I wish I had your space and gear!

[@brewbuilds]

That’s interesting, I’ve never heard about cars cooling off and not running still generating co2. I’m sure the only thing that generates co2 in my shop is my heater, but it’s also setup to exhaust to the exterior. 👍🏻 Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@shofarsogood7504]

Came here for ideas to do this to a dust collector. I didn’t think about using hvac blower straight away. Good idea!

[@brewbuilds]

Thanks man!🤘🏻i’m glad it gave you some ideas! This hvac blower has worked awesome! Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment.

[@schechnera]

Nice build. I have my blower motor from when I replaced my AC a few years ago, and this is exactly what intended to do with it. Thanks for the idea!

[@brewbuilds]

That’s perfect! Let me know how it turns out!

[@L98fiero]

Wow, a box with a furnace fan and a filter, *I'm* impressed!

[@ealdydar]

Love the giant spider on the ceiling at 6:07

[@brewbuilds]

😂😂

[@cpowerdesign]

Just found your channel. This is a good build, I need a squirrel cage fan now. This past weekend I realized I need a filtration system in my shed.

[@brewbuilds]

Thank you, it has been an awesome addition. It’s even great for just moving around air/ heat in the winter months.

[@rupe53]

I did HVAC for 10 years and I am with the folks who say there should be an air filter on both sides of that blower wheel. First to increase cooling to the motor and second to balance out the bearing load on the motor shaft. Basically, spin that cabinet 90 degrees and load filters from left and right. BTW, you'd be amazed at how much noise reduction you can get with some duct insulation inside that box. (velocity noise from moving air) Vibration from the solid mounting is another story. I'd bet the whole roof vibrates at times. (low hum) You could spring mount it with some minor engineering.

[@brewbuilds]

I’m sure having air being pulled in from both sides would add additional cooling, but over the last couple years I haven’t had issues with it getting abnormally hot. I haven’t noticed any vibration, it’s actually fairly quiet. 👍🏻thanks for watching.

[@jt9498]

Excellent concept! And nice build!

[@havenmakes]

Nice build. I built a mobile version, but plan to do a hanging one. I hadn't thought of the design yet, so thanks for this idea.

[@brewbuilds]

Thank you. A mobile one would be nice to have as well. 👍🏻

[@deaddadd]

10:33 Tool on the TV playlist. I subbed just for that lol

[@brewbuilds]

Heck ya! 🤘🏻

[@randallsmith7885]

Sweet build! Have you thought about running a two stage filter to take it to a HEPA level of air cleaning? Idea is to have a 1 micron filter on the outside and a 0.3 micron inboard of that. You could probably mod the box to make room for an outer filter.

[@brewbuilds]

Thank you. I have thought about that, when I built it I figured I would try different filters out, and or potentially stack different ones. I’m running a 2” merv-11 filter currently and I’m not sure if it’s worth going past this merv ratings because anything higher is rated for hospital type applications, and I definitely don’t keep it as clean as a laboratory type space. 😂

[@carlpetitt2241]

Nice job, only comment is you may not want to glue the plywood box pieces together, but just use screws instead. You may very well want to take it apart at some point in the future, or you may also want to have access to things inside and having it glued all up prevents both of those from being easily done. My .02 cents. All the best!

[@brewbuilds]

Thank you. I left the top of the enclosure unglued for that reason. 👍🏻 thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. 👊🏻

[@carlcarlssen4299]

Great build. Looks hard. On top of that some electrician stuff. I'm sacred of trying electrician stuff but I wanna learn.

[@brewbuilds]

Thanks for watching. Honestly the electrical portion is pretty basic, the mistake I made was just complacency, and was pretty embarrassing especially doing electrical for a living. 😂

[@daveedarevalo1]

Cue the guitar solo was the most important step!

[@SlackerU]

On version 2.0 I think the filters should be dual 20x25x4 double stacked(MERV-11 then 12), & possibly include a 3rd-stage of filtration with a 1-inch MERV-13. & the discharge should be larger than the blower's outlet to hopefully slow the air down & disturb less settled-dust in the space. Air-turbulence is why Dyson's HEPA fans get horrific air-quality results in competition, you want the air clean & not to be cleaning the room with the blower.
I've been wanting a surgery-room-style laminar-flow HEPA setup over my bed for the cleanest sleep.

[@brewbuilds]

Sounds like you’ve put a ton of time and research into this. 👍🏻 it’s nice to have some additional air filtration, but at the end of the day I know this is just a wood shop, and just having some airflow during the winter to help move the heat around, and help keep it cooler in the summer months along with some filtration was all I was going for.
As far as the discharge side, I made the duct size to add enough resistance to prevent the motor from drawing to much current. (These motors need to see some load to run efficiently), and I found this length and size to be the sweet spot. Thanks for watching, and taking the time to comment 🤘🏻

[@carlcarlssen4299]

I gotta do what youre saying for my bedroom too mate. Allergy problems have been killing me for the past three years....weird that thats how long ive been into woodworking but then I have stopped for long stretches and still get allergies.

[@SlackerU]

@@carlcarlssen4299 I haven't built my filter yet. I think I want to change my filters more often & I won't be using 4 inch filters probably. I think my studies/citizen-science needs a Magnehelic gauge so that I can better see how clogged the filters are getting. I do think I'll be building mine 6ft tall with a top inlet & bottom outlet using a 1TDT7 b/c it has enough pressure to clog a filter(99% of YT builds don't use fans with a high enough rated pressure).

[@Peter-pf6bz]

Excellent 10 out of 10.

[@brewbuilds]

Thank you! 👍🏻

[@2adamast]

The cooling of the motor is through air leakage only? I would have put the motor side down or rather put a filter on both/most sides. The slower the air speed, the finer those filters work anyway.

[@brewbuilds]

The motor is recessed into the assembly and appears to be getting plenty of cooling. I put the motor on the top side so the filter would be on the bottom because that is the direction the bulk of the dust will be naturally entering. You could add more filters on the sides, but that just means more filters to replace. This setup has been working great for my application. As far as speed goes the filters I’m using are designed for the air speeds of this blower unit, and although I have it wired for the low speed setting (roughly 1200cfm) the filter would work just as well on the high speed. I just didn’t need that much air flow and I wanted it on the quieter side. High was a little to noisy and to much flow for my needs.

[@2adamast]

@@brewbuilds Everything turns out right, you did put more thought in your cleaner than me in mine.

[@brewbuilds]

Yeah it’s been used almost daily for over a year and it’s worked great! 👊🏻

[@samuelfellows6923]

The furnace fan has 2 sided intake, and he only used 1 with the other motor side effectively sealed up, would that decrease the performance and risk overheating the motor? - I would have run a duct from outside and put it into the sealed side of the fan box to cool the motor and induce fresh air into the workshop

[@brewbuilds]

The real intake is on the side I put the filter. I’m sure if the other side where the motor is mounted that you’re referring to, were open could allow more air flow over the motor to a degree, but I don’t think enough to make a difference. The motor itself is housed almost directly in the center of the blower housing getting plenty of filtered air over it. I’ve had zero issues with it over heating or getting hot.
As far as running a separate duct from outside to the motor side wouldn’t be ideal in the winter months while I heat my shop forcing my heater to have to run way more than needed. Hope that makes sense.👍🏻

[@petem6503]

In a larger fan designed for two intake sides (DWDI), you'd throw the bearings off after some hours of use; I'm not sure it makes a big difference in a small fan. But if you start chewing motor bearings, might be a Thing. The alternative is to invest a bit more plywood, make the box bigger, intake air behind the fan, roughly double the filter area, double the air flow. BTW, the discharge duct improves the air flow by about 15~25%, so that's a good move.

[@brewbuilds]

The duct definitely helps it run more efficiently, with out it, it draws more current (out of its nameplates spec) so I played around with the size of the duct to get it more to where it should be.

[@petem6503]

@@brewbuilds Didn't need to experiment: always use 3~5' of discharge duct sized at the fan outlet collar. The factory optimizes efficiency (etc) around this configuration. Without the duct, chaotic air flow ruins fan efficiency (drawing more current). Looks like you got a decent setup.

[@brewbuilds]

@@petem6503 thanks for the info! Looks like I built the duct right in the sweet spot. I knew these motors needed some load to run efficiently and the fan it self wasn’t enough, I tried looking up specs on duct sizing but didn’t have any luck at the time. 👍🏻

[@babytoy28]

Other solution to remote turno on or off use wifi controler and 2 wifi remote bottom switch config with google or alexa

[@TheLawngestYard]

That thing looks amazing! Have you noticed a difference with it yet? I’m sure it will help a lot in the winter like you said though.

[@brewbuilds]

Yeah I cleaned out my shop yesterday did a bunch of sweeping kicking up a lot of dust, and it really help! I’m really impressed with it!

[@TheLawngestYard]

@@brewbuilds that’s sweet. It will probably help with the sawdust boogers lol

[@brewbuilds]

@@TheLawngestYard I’m hoping so! 😂

[@mrtrader4628]

Damn good but what are the numbers for CFM and how fast will it clean the air in your shop?

[@brewbuilds]

It’s 1200 cfm on the low setting, and will exchange the total air volume of my shop in about 9 minutes

[@brettpeckinpaugh]

How is the motor holding up? My concern with the design is the motor is sealed in the box with no air flow over it to cool it down.

[@brewbuilds]

It’s working awesome! I use it almost everyday especially with the warm weather.

[@horsetowater]

Nice build. Bit dichotomous making a lean mean blowing machine yet using no protection jigsawing mdf or sanding ply.

[@brewbuilds]

You’re not wrong. I missed my mark on that one.

[@mesoed]

Most of these blowers are designed to perform with air restriction. In a traditional HVAC, the filter provides some of this just like you have. However, the long ductwork also provides resistance (static pressure). If you're trying to dial in air movement vs noise, add a baffle to your outfeed. Closing the baffle part way will actually speed up your blower, giving you more air movement if you need some more from time to time (like when messing with MDF).

[@JLoganMarshall]

Yeah. Restrict it and make the fan work harder. Nothing can go wrong here... Burn another motor up. They're so cheap!

[@brewbuilds]

@jloganmarshall These motors require some load/ restriction to run efficiently, without it they will burn up.

[@JLoganMarshall]

@@brewbuilds 1 cubic foot of air is about .08 lbs. 1200x.08=96 lbs of air moved per minute. That's a load.
Your point is the motor is designed to move that load against static pressure. No resistance allows it to over perform. Restricting it via damper does not increase air output, or motor efficiency, just brings its static pressure up to it's design limits.
This applies only to multi/single speed fans. Electric commutating motors are a whole different thing and don't look much different.

[@brewbuilds]

Before adding the duct I found 3 to 4 feet to be the sweet spot to bring the running amps to within the nameplate specs. And honestly that’s all I really cared about. This is just to move some air around and add a little filtration. I am by no means an hvac specialist, I do know a thing or 2 about motors. 👍🏻 thanks for your input it sounds like you have some knowledge in the matter.

[@JLoganMarshall]

@@brewbuilds Your build is the exact right way to do it. And the duct does prevent recirculation of already filtered air... So kudos man! I am linking your TH-cam everywhere.

[@sailorstud21]

haha, you get a like just for the wig.

[@brewbuilds]

You are the only one who has ever commented about that! 😂

[@robertclason9212]

If the RLA of the motor is 1.3A at 220V I would be curious if that's actually what the motor is drawing with the current design of your system. It may be drawing more current than its rated 1.3.
One side of the intake is completely blocked with no hole cut and being mounted against the ceiling.
You may want to ask your HVAC friend about that if you haven't already.
Just trying to be helpful.

[@brewbuilds]

It draws 1.3 amps the way it’s setup. I designed the duct length based off the amperage. Without a duct current was higher than what it’s rated for. (Which is no surprises these motors are designed to work and need some sort of load.) as far as the intake setup, on low this unit moves over 1100cfm. That’s a pretty decent air turnover rate. Roughly circulating the completely air volume of my shop in less than 10min.

[@weltonlocklear7481]

Great build it looks very professional. How is the noise?

[@brewbuilds]

Thank you! It’s Actually pretty quiet. I still just have it on the low setting. Thanks for watching and commenting.👍🏻

[@koyomo2910]

Thank you for the video. Is there a difference between the direction the fan is facing (before the filter vs after the filter)?

[@brewbuilds]

You bet! It’s better to have the filter before the blower. That way the air entering the box is filtered. 👍🏻

[@adamweber3485]

How big is the shop? In sq ft that is. I ask because I have a single, and a double blower furnace motor. Mine is 750 sq ft with 12 foot cielings.

[@brewbuilds]

My shop is 30x40 (1,200sq/ft) with a 10’ ceiling.
This blower puts out 1,100cfm. hope that helps.👍🏻👊🏻

[@ChristIsLord229]

What kind of screws did you used to mount the blower to the box, on the intake side?

[@brewbuilds]

They were just some leftover roofing sheet metal screws.

[@jeremymcclanahan2389]

Killer idea...in regards to your Grizzly jointer, is there anything that you do not like about it or manufacturing issues...thx

[@brewbuilds]

Thanks man. No it’s been awesome. In fact all my grizzly tools have been great.

[@jeremymcclanahan2389]

@@brewbuilds Cool...I am on the fence about a stand alone jointer or the jointer/planer combo Grizzly sells 🤔 tough decision.

[@brewbuilds]

@@jeremymcclanahan2389 that would be a tough decision. I’ve never used a combo unit.

[@01GoodGrief]

Great build! I have one comment and one question. Comment: The music in this video comes through much louder than your commentary so I had to adjust the volume several times throughout.
Question: How is the filter secured so it doesn't fall out?

[@brewbuilds]

Thank you. Sorry about the music/commentary, that is something I’m working on, and improving going forward. Thanks for your feedback.👍🏻
I had initially planned on making some tabs that would spin in place to hold the filter in, but after I installed the filter it fit perfect and snug not really requiring anything to hold it. So it’s just held in place by friction. Hope that helps, and thanks for watching and commenting.

[@bjrnulstrup5420]

Nice build but why no dustextraction on your tools 😊

[@brewbuilds]

This was a few years ago, I’ve got a whole video on my 5hp clear vue dust collection system I installed last year. 👌🏻

[@bjrnulstrup5420]

@@brewbuilds ok just the first thought i had 👍

[@Colorado-Tinkering]

OK, I’m impressed. That’s a great design and excellent execution. Well done sir!
Now to steal a blower somewhere ….
Oh, do you mind sharing what one should avoid doing so as not to burn one’s motor up like an … idiot? 😜

[@brewbuilds]

Thank you, it works awesome too! It was me not referencing the nameplate for the wiring layout and when I was testing out the different speeds I crossed my wiring assuming the black was my common wire (which it wasn’t) and put 240v across a portion of the winding that wasn’t designed for that. 🤦🏻‍♂️😂 I had tested it all out when I first got it months prior, and I do electrical for a living, just a simple mistake that could have been easily avoided if I would have just double checked the wiring diagram real quick vs just assuming. Thanks for watching and commenting. 👍🏻

[@Colorado-Tinkering]

@@brewbuilds awesome of you to reply, and so fast. I’ve got an HVAC buddy who can probably score me an old blower.
Thanks for sharing all that.

[@brewbuilds]

@@Colorado-Tinkering no problem, that’s how I got mine, my buddy does hvac for a living and I asked him to save me one if he ever got a hold of one.

[@davidwicker2428]

Why was I just thinking about using a squirrel cage this morning to do this and then your video pops up. Any pros or cons to doing this?

[@brewbuilds]

Mine has worked great! The only con I can think of is if you don’t have access to one.

[@matthewhegstrom8478]

After doing all this, was it worth the effort and how well does it work? I’m thinking about building one. Thanks for the vid!

[@brewbuilds]

It works great, and it’s nice to have on just to help circulate heat in the winter months.

[@lakewoodd9739]

This is definitely not for beginner. I love the shop.

[@brewbuilds]

It’s really no super complex, but does take a little know how. 👍🏻

[@mikebriggs2k]

How did you "blow up" the previous motor? Care explaining what happened so we can avoid this ourselves?

[@brewbuilds]

The motor is a 240v and 3 speed, there is 4 wires, a common wire, and 3 speed wires (hi, medium, and low) when I hooked it up I assumed black was the common (I was going off my memory from months prior when I first got it and hooked it up to test it) well the black was not common, so when I hooked it up using black and yellow and not the common wire(which was orange) it put 240v across a portion of the motor winding that was not intended to see 240v which in turn shorted the winding and burning up the motor. Always verify the nameplate before hand. I actually do electrical for a living so it was an embarrassing mistake. 😂 hope that helps and makes sense. Thanks for asking. 👍🏻

[@dontfit6380]

@@brewbuilds I’ve know a lot of electricians in my life. The fact that you admitted to this f up speaks volumes to your character. I’m now subscribed.

[@brewbuilds]

Heck ya!🤘🏻i’ve made plenty of mistakes, and probably will make plenty more. Sharing mistakes is key to helping others learn. I have no problem sharing my fails to hopefully prevent someone else from making the same mistake. 👍🏻
Thanks for watching, subbing, and taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it.

[@wheresbrent]

What was the HorsePower rating on that blower?

[@brewbuilds]

It’s a 1/3hp.

[@monteglover4133]

Cooling for the motor? Or did I miss something

[@brewbuilds]

The air flow through the filter has been adequate enough to keep the motor temp good. It’s been up and running for about a year. using an infrared temp gun I tested it before hanging it. 👍🏻

[@monteglover4133]

@@brewbuilds it was not clear Thank you

[@brewbuilds]

@@monteglover4133 it’s my fault, I missed the mark with that. Thanks for asking about it though. 👍🏻

[@rickstrole9634]

Ha!

[@angeluswilliamcalo9161]

How to clean it?

[@brewbuilds]

Just change the filter, and any other cleaning could be done with compressed air. It’s fairly low maintenance. 👍🏻

[@su-mu]

10:33

[@brewbuilds]

Was there something you had question on at the 10:33 mark?

[@Fredmullegun]

huge blower for 20x20. I think more filter would have been more better. total professional execution otherwise.

[@brewbuilds]

Yeah I think more filter wouldn’t hurt, but this has proven to work really well though.

[@pomonabill220]

You are wasting more than half of the blower's capacity by only using one side of the blower wheel.
You should have not mounted the blower to the side/bottom of the plenum box, but mounted the blower inside the box so that the blower wheel could draw from both sides.
Plus that is how the motor is cooled since it is an air over motor.
Oh well....

[@brewbuilds]

I’m sure having the other side open would be beneficial, but excessive heating hasn’t been an issue, and on the low setting the blower is putting out more than 1200cfm, giving me a complete air exchange in roughly 10min. I’d say that’s adequate for me and my shop. Saying it’s cutting the blower’s capacity by more than half is an exaggeration. Thanks for your input. 🤘🏻

[@dylanowens3173]

And this why you fail.
You took a motor that is designed to use minimum 2 filters and use one.
Needs minimum a filter on intake and exhaust. Most people use 5 to 9 filters on a shop filtration
Try again on your design.

[@brewbuilds]

Wrong