It was suggested to me by a knowledgeable tech that performing the "leaf blower" trick could damage your exhaust fan by causing it to spin at much faster RPM's than it is design for, thereby potentially damaging the bushings, etc. What say ye all?
Can the Leafblower trick damage your fan motors?
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I say I think it's highly possible.
When I was first learning computer repair,
I damaged a computer fan in this manner
with compressed air.
Now what I do is hold the fan blades so
they can't spin at all. Not sure how you'd
do that while doing the leaf blower trick.
Maybe remove the blowers before trying it.
However, lots of people on here have done it and I
haven't seen anyone mention that they destroyed
a fan....yet. Still, I wouldn't want to be the first sorry sucker
who had to spring for a new blower so I think I'd
remove them and clean them by hand before attempting.
When I was first learning computer repair,
I damaged a computer fan in this manner
with compressed air.
Now what I do is hold the fan blades so
they can't spin at all. Not sure how you'd
do that while doing the leaf blower trick.
Maybe remove the blowers before trying it.
However, lots of people on here have done it and I
haven't seen anyone mention that they destroyed
a fan....yet. Still, I wouldn't want to be the first sorry sucker
who had to spring for a new blower so I think I'd
remove them and clean them by hand before attempting.
The answer is no... the vacuum from the leaf blower simply isn't strong enough to spin those fans at high speeds... my dealer has been doing it for many years during hundreds (maybe thousands) of service calls without any problems.
I am just to lazy to do it by hand now that I know about this . I am just a little worried about my neighbors pool .I was on my roof yesterday and noticed it is frozen over with no lid . i wonder if I would fill it with soot . Maybe I can do it on a windy day ,and it will blow far enough that no one will know what that dust is .
In my Harman, if I was concerned about this, I would take all of the front plates off and then the air wouldn't move past the fan. My fan is not directly inline with the exaust pipe, so if I take off the front cover, it is out of the system.
The fun thing is, you might also be able to generate voltage in the system this way also.
Mark
The fun thing is, you might also be able to generate voltage in the system this way also.
Mark
Maybe maybe not for the fan damage.
I would be more concerned about the vac switch..
So disconnect the hose from the vac switch before leaf blower trick.
I would be more concerned about the vac switch..
So disconnect the hose from the vac switch before leaf blower trick.
I've wondered the same thing, can't be good for the exhaust blower. I've been considering buying a pool and hooking it up to my 6.5 hp shop vac to clean my liner. The pool hoses are available up to 50 ft in length for around $30 which is less than an electric blower. I figured I could brush and then drop the vacuum hose from the top down. The bonus is all the ash would be collected instead of dusting the neighbor hood. Any thoughts?
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I don't know about the blowers, but I have worried about the vacuum switches. I would disconnect the vacuum switch hose before doing it for sure.
RETIRED GVA said:
I appreciate the feedback. I have a flat roof next to a 12 foot stack so I would only need a 25 foot hose tops. I'm not quite sure a 50 foot run would matter much, it's not like we are trying to suck up water, we are talking about fly ash. Just a thought, both my leaf blowers are gas models and I've been reluctant to buy an electric just for cleaning the stack.
You should always leave the door open a bit when doing the leafy thing. I have the wife,son etc.. open and close the door as i suck the stove clean with leafy blowy..... easy as pie...
Groundhog said:
A shop vac just ain't the same deal... the leafblower creates a 150-200 mph suction. Kinda like comparing Linda Lovelace to Mother Theresa...IMHO.
I wouldn't worry about the vacuum switch .It probably wouldn't get low enough to hurt any thing .But is my neighbors yard going to be covered in black soot ?
When I did mine I listened to hear if the blower motor was spinning and there was no indication that the motor was turning.
I sure if it was overspeeding then the whine from the motor would be pretty load.
I sure if it was overspeeding then the whine from the motor would be pretty load.
krooser said:
But isn't that the point of this thread. It seems like using a high cfm blower for suction at 150-200 mph might be a little harsh on a blower designed for say 80 cfm. I'm not expecting a shop vac to create the same suction as the blower. I am thinking that with a long pool hose you could run down the stack it would do decent job of sucking up fly ash and would be a lot less taxing on the components of the stove.
Groundhog said:
First of all... those photos/videos of big plumes of black soot and ash that have been posted here are from the FIRST cleaning OR after burning two, three or four tons of pellets. If you use the leafblower after every ton burned the volume of ash is much less (at least with my stove).
Second, there's no way a shop vac will ever match the leafblower... plain and simple. It's a simple, effective and foolproof way of cleaning your stove. No damage to the fans... no BS. My stove has been subjected to the LBT (leafblower trick) at least seven times in the last three heating seasons.... I'd say my stove is in better shape than if I had not used this technique... it''s clean and happy.
krooser said:
X2
you'll never get your stove that clean any other way.
do you think a dealer would risk damaging hundreds of customers stoves?
it's not quite the same, but I used a 150 PSI air hose from a compressor to remove the dust from an Orek air purifier that had a metal (Aluminum I think) squirrel cage for a fan. Spun it so fast the damn cage blew apart in the middle so it ended up shaped like a football. Fat in the middle nad skinny on both ends. Ruined the purifier.
I look forward to trying the leaf blower trick after my first ton.
Does anyone brush the pipes before hooking up the blower? or do you just hook it up, switch on and stand back?
I look forward to trying the leaf blower trick after my first ton.
Does anyone brush the pipes before hooking up the blower? or do you just hook it up, switch on and stand back?
Using a brush is a good idea... although I haven't but I really have so little creosote in the vent pipe it really doesn't matter... my horizontal vent is only about 5 feet long. But if you have a long vent it would probably be a good idea.
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