this time of year the barn fan is on a lot, sometimes for hours at a time. I use a brush to get the dust off the outside but dust still accumulates inside the cage. Does anyone use an air compressor to blast out the dust or is that somehow potentially harmful? Could it actually force dust into the motor? Any help appreciated!
I take mine apart once a year for a thorough cleaning. Most can be disassembled with nothing more than a screw driver. I spray and scrub the outer grates, and wipe down the blades and inner parts with a damp rag, careful to keep motor parts dry. When all parts are dry, I put the fans back together. Usually this is a fall chore, and I put the fans in plastic garbage bags to keep them clean over winter storage.
Every fall we take the fans down and they are sprayed with the hose (water) and/or the air hose and put away once they are totally dry.
The barn fans have closed motors so it should not be an issue with getting things inside the motor.
I also take mine down once a year and wash them with the hose and let them dry completely before storing. When they are up, we’ll periodically blow them off with a blower or vac with the shop vac to clean them. I won’t use the pressure washer on them as I worry even with the sealed motors that might force water somewhere I don’t want it – not sure if the same thought might apply to high powered air hose (would it push dust in where I don’t want it?).
I use a power washer to thoroughly clean them…oil generously then stack them in the tack room and cover with plastic sheeting. Mine have lasted for years with that method.
I worry about our barn fans. People buy their own, which tend to be the cheap models, not the more expensive sealed motor ones. I know that they are a fire hazard, but I don’t know what to do.
Same at my barn. Mine might be the only weather sealed one. Only thing I can think of is for BO/BM to require a certain type of fan or you get no fan. If you are a boarder, there’s not a lot you can do about it.
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Does anyone have recommendations for a safer, but not terribly expensive fan?
Go to Northern Tool. GOt mine for about $90. Sealed motor.
Ours are commercial sealed models. I still wonder though if compressed air might somehow force dirt into the motors. I will definitely see if I can dismantle them to clean all the blades etc. Barn dust is so pervasive, no matter how well you clean. There are such horror stories about barn fires started by fans, it’s on my mind whoever the fans are on.
Rural King has 18" wall-mount fans with closed motors for $60. I just installed 5 of them in my barn, in the upper corner of each stall. I LOVE having one in the grooming stall, so nice to have a breeze when you and horse come back hot & sweaty from a ride.
