Ceiling fans for vaulted barn aisle

[Badger]

The basket fans in our stalls and run-in sheds are noisy, and I’m thinking about adding some additional ceiling fans along the barn aisle to QUIETLY help move air, provide some cooling breeze, etc. And I have some questions:

1. How high should a fan be for safety with horses? The idea of a horse inadvertently rearing up into a ceiling fan is gasp worthy, so I want that sucker out of the way. But on the other hand, the lower a fan is the more the air can be felt by the horses and people on the ground. There is a beam at 18’ up where the fans will be installed, so there is plenty of clearance. But by adding a down rod and lowering the fans the wind chill effect should be increased. So what is the best height?

2. Everything I read about the DC motors is that they are super efficient and really quiet. Anyone have experience with these that you can share?

At this point, I am looking at a few different large fans with DC motors that span from 65" to 84". I’m looking at outdoor damp rated as they will be exposed to dust and humidity but not direct rain/water. Aisle is 12’ wide. Barn is basically 36’ wide.

[msj]

I’m going to send your post to a friend who has several large and very quiet fans installed in her indoor arena that are above the rafters and hope she has a chance to respond. They certainly do seem to cool the air. I rather imagine that they are like a house ceiling fan where you can flip a switch and it will direct the air flow to either up or down.

[clanter]

[QUOTE=Badger;8243360]

2. Everything I read about the DC motors is that they are super efficient and really quiet. Anyone have experience with these that you can share?

.[/QUOTE]

DC motors are either “brush” or “brushless”… the least expensive is the brushed version but please note the brushed version does require maintenance i.e. replacing.serving the brushes if accessible.

Brushless DC motors are more expensive to build and to control

[Libby2563]

I’ve boarded at a barn that has fans like you describe in the aisle and the indoor, and they are very high, at least twice as high as any horse could reach while rearing. They still move air around, though individual owners can also elect to have fans in their horse’s stalls and a lot do.

This isn’t answering any of your questions, but be prepared to have decapitated birds fall from above once in a while. I’ve been hit by parts before while grooming a horse. :eek:

[msj]

[QUOTE=Libby2563;8243825]
This isn’t answering any of your questions, but be prepared to have decapitated birds fall from above once in a while. I’ve been hit by parts before while grooming a horse. :eek:[/QUOTE]

Neat!!! If I thought I could get rid of all the House Sparrows in my barn and Indoor I’d install a zillion fans. My luck would be that they could carefully avoid them.

[gumtree]

I installed a couple of these in our foaling and re-hab stalls that are 14X14. The ceiling is 12’ and the fan is 10’ from the ground.

They have been in use for several years now. Plenty of head room. We’ve had plenty of horses on long stall rest that haven gotten pretty rambunctious never been a problem. Horses know how much head room they have.

They work great pretty darn quiet. Excellent value. White being the only issue, they get dirt looking pretty quickly. If I find the time I will take down and spray them brown. I bought a 3 speed wall mounted fan switch also.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Westinghouse-Industrial-56-in-White-Ceiling-Fan-7840900/202759699

[SquishTheBunny]

I have one, its about 20’ high and not directly over stalls but in the middle of a 3 stall barn. It doesn’t really “cool” anything but it’s great when the horses come in to get out of the muggy heat. At first it brings the warm air down, then really gets the air moving well. I think the horses enjoy coming inside during the day when it’s super hot, but otherwise even with the
fan, I feel they are happier outside where they can move in and out of the shade as needed.

The fan itself is very quiet and gives an overall better air movement than stall fans. I worry about leaving stall fans on unattended so this option worked best for me

[gumtree]

[QUOTE=SquishTheBunny;8243988]
I have one, its about 20’ high and not directly over stalls but in the middle of a 3 stall barn. It doesn’t really “cool” anything but it’s great when the horses come in to get out of the muggy heat. At first it brings the warm air down, then really gets the air moving well. I think the horses enjoy coming inside during the day when it’s super hot, but otherwise even with the
fan, I feel they are happier outside where they can move in and out of the shade as needed.

The fan itself is very quiet and gives an overall better air movement than stall fans. I worry about leaving stall fans on unattended so this option worked best for me[/QUOTE]

At 20’ high the fan would have to have very wide blades to be of much help.

Just about all ceiling fans have a switch on the motor to change the rotation of the fan blades. One direction is for winter, which pushes warm air down, the other direction is for summer which pulls the cooler ground air up.

Our stall fans are kept on “summer direction”. Not used in the winter.

[Equibrit]

http://www.bigassfans.com/for-business/agriculture/equine/

[GypsyQ]

A word of advice when installing the fans…Make sure the blades do not cross in front of your light source. You’ll give yourself vertigo with the dark/light oscillations.

[Badger]

Big Ass gave a laughable quote for our barn. As in, $25,000 for the five fans they would recommend for my barn. So, um, no. I will be getting something more plebeian!

[Badger]

Whoa, Gypsy! Tell me more. I have wonderful wide skylights running the entire length of my barn aisle. If I put fans along the aisle they will definitely be below that light source. (I almost never have to turn on the actual aisle lights.)

[Bluey]

I have always wondered, with all the dust and molds in a barn, would fans not stir that up too much, keep that airborne more than the air moving around helps?

There is a local horse trainer that has an enclosed barn with five stalls on each side, center aisle and door only on one end, the other end is closed and has a big fan on it.

When the morning sun shines in there and the fan is running, you can see the air full of dust particles and it gets on everything, I assume in horses and people’s lungs also.

Just wondering about that, if anyone really knows if that is a concern?

[Black_Points]

ceiling fans

I have theses canam ceiling fans in my indoor arena. They are set to blow down and they do give a nice breeze when underneath them. I have 7 of these in a 64 x 148 ft indoor and they help during the summer but it’s still hot.

https://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/prod1;ft_greenhouse_equipment-ft_greenhouse_fans-ft_greenhouse_ceiling_fans;532b6baa.html

but I wouldn’t put them in a stall. For a stall I would use these ceiling mounted fans

http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/prod1;ft_cooling_fans-ft_circulation_fans;pgcf1502.html

Mary in Western NY
http://www.bpequine.com

[Equibrit]

[QUOTE=GypsyQ;8244164]
A word of advice when installing the fans…Make sure the blades do not cross in front of your light source. You’ll give yourself vertigo with the dark/light oscillations.[/QUOTE]

This can actually put you out. A friend of mine passed out driving along a treed road with the rising sun behind the trees. He passed out and crashed the car.

[Badger]

I called Canam about their fans earlier this week and got the decibel ratings for them and for basket fans that I already have mounted. They are basically the same. So they are off my list.

Luckily, my barn is very open and airy and not closed up, so I’m not worried about ceiling fans making it dusty. Though I do know exactly what Bluey means about some barns and seeing all that dust swirling in a sunbeam is pretty gross.

I am however concerned about the light above blades issue. I actually asked a vet about it when she was at the barn this week, and she didn’t seem to think it would be an issue, but I think I need to think about that further. Not sure how to research it.

Instead of three fans down the aisle I could change it to two centered over the edge of the aisle, so half the blades are over the aisle and half are over run ins that come up to the aisle. There are supports that limit my placement options if I don’t put them down the center of the aisle under the skylight. Hmmm…

[Badger]

The Westinghouse fan in the link above is indoor rated. I prefer an outdoor rated fan for the barn environment, even though it will be under a roof.

[Badger]

Because the fans wouldn’t block out all the light, as the skylight running the length of the aisle is 72’ long and will only be obstructed by the fans in three places, is this something I should be concerned about? I can see how it would be a problem if the sole light source was a lightbulb above the fan blades, as the running fan would be constantly making the light blink on/off/on/off/on/off. But with the generous skylights in my barn, unless it’s a moonless night, there is always some ambient light.

[gumtree]

[QUOTE=Badger;8244325]
The Westinghouse fan in the link above is indoor rated. I prefer an outdoor rated fan for the barn environment, even though it will be under a roof.[/QUOTE]

There is not a lot of difference between indoor and outdoor. No “outdoor” rated fan is meant to be installed in an unprotected outdoor location where it will be exposed to wet conditions. The main difference to pass the safety police and get an “outdoor” rating is the way it grounded and insulated (electrical). In case some idiot installs it “outdoors” like in a tree. But it won’t last through many rain storms. For slightly extra grounding and little extra in manufacturing cost to get the BS “outdoor” rating they can charge substantially more.

So unless you will be installing in an area that is prone to getting wet or the roof leaks the fan I linked to perfectly suited for the job. Even an “outdoor” rated fan installed in that kind of locations will fail. I know what I am talking about. Qualified to install residential electrical.

The fans I suggested do an excellent job and have been for going on 10 years. I clean them at the beginning of the season and use compressed air to blow out dust. As should be done with any fan in a barn. These fans have been running 24-7 for weeks on end at times. The motor gets warm to the touch at best.

To each their own on.

Your welcome for the suggestion based on experience and the additional information.

[gumtree]

[QUOTE=Equibrit;8244115]
http://www.bigassfans.com/for-business/agriculture/equine/[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the chuckle and a funny memory of Lexington where I lived for 20 years. When Bigass Fans opened on Winchester Rd and put their name and logo on the side of the building it created a bit of controversy. I lived downtown at the time used Winchester Rd all the time. I remember the first time I drove by the new sign and doing a double take and cracking up.

An number of “towns people” and a couple of city counsel members were not please and put it to a vote to have them change the logo and make the name much smaller on the side of the building. A lot of people showed up at the counsel meetings in support of Bigass. We had some T-shits made up. Save Bigass