GrayBackgroundMusic

How to find a fan that blows 90° from intake?

https://lemmy.zip/post/60340344

How to find a fan that blows 90° from intake? - Lemmy.zip

I’m trying to circulate air in my house. We have a split level home (lower, middle, upper) and the lowest level is always too cold and highest level too warm. I want to move air from the lower level to at least the middle level. I need a fan, preferably small or thin profile that blows 90° from intake. Ideally a box fan that has a horizontal intake but exhausts up or sideways. What I’ve done in previous years is have a rotated fan that pointed up, intake from below, and was raised off the ground. The closest I’ve found is a carpet dryer drum style. It has round intakes on the side and a rectangular vent on the front. That would totally work but it’s way over powered for my situation. Also, it’s a bit wider than ideal, though slimmer than what I used last year.

Mar 7 at 5:33pmWeb
Show threadLemmy Sparkling LemonadeMar 7
I have a home air filter that pulls in through the front and blows out the top. Portable dehumidifiers can do the same on fan mode, blow air upwards.
Show threadbob_omb_battlefieldMar 7
Centrifugal fans exhaust 90 degrees from intake and are very common. Could also search for blower fan. Not sure if sizes meet your needs though.
Show threadGrayBackgroundMusicMar 7
Centrifugal! That’s a good word for this. Thanks.
Show threadlime!Mar 7

you’re looking for a radial fan, as opposed to the normal axial kind.

be warned though, they need to spin faster to move the same amount of air and so tend to be a lot louder.

Show threadRioting PacifistMar 7
Are they worth it vs just redirecting the input/output?
Show thread[deleted]Mar 7
Redirecting the input from the designed direction will slow down the airflow and often increase the noise level as it struggles to draw the air in.
Show threadGrayBackgroundMusicMar 7
Ugh louder. That’s not gonna go well with the spouse.
Show threadlime!Mar 7
unfortunately as others have said, any redirection of the air flow will cause extra noise.
Show threadOnomatopoeiaMar 7

Another term to search for is “centrifugal fan” - these are the type used where air flow restrictions are significant, as they can compress the air some unlike a traditional box fan.

Where’s the return on your air handler? If there’s more than one (one upstairs, one down), you may be able to cheat the system by blocking one seasonally.

Also most likely the air handler speed is set too high - installers are kind of lazy (they don’t want callbacks) so they typically set the air handler to max speed. Since most instalsl are also well oversized, this means the system will short cycle and move less air during that short cycle. Lowering the air handler speed may help lengthen the cycle, moving more air in total.

You could also try just turning the air handler on (fan mode orn"Always On" on thermostat).

This probably won’t solve your problem entirely, just maybe help.

Show threadGrayBackgroundMusicMar 7
Centrifugal! That’s a good word for this. Thanks.
Show threadGrayBackgroundMusicMar 7
Oh I don’t wanna mess with the air handler myself. I’d break it I’m sure. I could call the ac people I use tho.
Show threadKrudlerMar 7
Get Styrofoam blocks and plug vents seasonally. In summer plug the downstairs ones so AC feeds upstairs and drifts down, opposite in winter to make air heat the lower levels and slowly rise.
Show threadironhydroxideMar 7
If you have a variable speed fan this is fine. If you don’t then this can burn up the blower motor, so be careful with balance and flow when you do.
Show threadKrudlerMar 8
Dude’s not going to be burning anything out, his furnace can’t even adequately ventilate his house as it is right
Show threadironhydroxideMar 8
That’s not how it works… But you be you.
Show threadCortMar 8
If you have a central furnace you can close the outlet vents on one floor of the home. Downstairs in the summer and upstairs in the winter. Most air conditioners actually tell you to close the downstairs vents to keep the upstairs cooler.
Show threadZwuzelmausMar 8
Any fan from a laptop computer does this. They aren’t too noisy nowadays.
Show threadTjaMar 8

The first sentence from OP “I’m trying to circulate air in my house”. Your proposal: a laptop fan.

I love comedy.

Show threadVenat0rMar 9
I have a similar issue at my house, I put up a thermal curtain at the bottom of the stairs with an extendable curtain rail that wedges between the walls and that mostly solves it.