Does anyone use enclosed motor fans at horseshows, rather than box fans? How do you hang the things? I have enclosed motor fans in my barn, but they are bolted into the rafters. Not doing that at a horseshow…
I hang mine in the barn (so I can easily take them down to clean etc) and just use a couple of chains with carabiners. Nothing complicated or particularly sexy 
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I put mine in hay nets. Never had a problem with the cotton or nylon getting too hot even in 90+ deg heat. Secure with a bungee cord if needed.
I hang them the same way you would hang a regular hay net but just use a stall front or a post and point the fan into the stall. It’s helpful to have a second set of hands to hold it up since they’re quite heavy, but I’ve managed on my own with them with the help of a step ladder for a couple years now.
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I use zip ties. Easy to remove and strong.
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Is this going to be a show requirement? Because if you hang enclosed and the neighbor trainer hangs box fans, the whole barn will burn down anyways.
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That’s a crappy reason to not make a safer choice for your own stuff. It’s not like it’s all or nothing–fewer open motors, less risk. Just because risk doesn’t drop to zero doesn’t mean “less” isn’t still worthwhile.
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You can make the choice all you want. It doesn’t actually make a barn safer unless it’s applied across the board. Similar to smoking - one errant cigarette butt is all it takes.
Box fans are a leading cause of barn fires. One fan catching fire is all it takes. Why they are still allowed at all is beyond me. Similar to smoking. Just my opinion.
Being able to say “hey, it wasn’t MY fan that caught the barn on fire” doesn’t actually resolve the problem.
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Uh, reducing the number of fans does indeed make the barn safer. Each fan has a risk of sparking. That total risk value is additive. Reduce the number, reduce the overall risk.
1000 people smoking a cigarette in a hay barn is more risk of fire than a single person smoking a cigarette in a hay barn. Is there still risk with one? Sure. But the chance of the barn going up if you’ve got 1000 people smoking in there is a hell of a lot higher.
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I disagree, because the risk is based more on age and maintenance of the fan.
999 people smoking in a barn could never cause a fire. It’s the careless one guy that starts it. There could be 2 smokers or 1000 of them - if the careless guy is there, it’s lit.
Lol. Sure.
So you don’t wear a seat belt? It reduces your risk of harm, but not to zero, and one careless driver makes it moot.
If you can win $1M by hitting 33 black on a roulette wheel, and are offered 1 spin to do that or 100 spins, you’d go with one?
You should never do anything to improve risk unless buy in is 100% from everyone?
Risk is a continuum. Yes, of course, using enclosed motor fans is an improvement in that, even if someone else isn’t on board. Reducing the number of motors to spark reduces overall risk.
Weird that you note that old fans are higher risk, but I bet you don’t think that replacing the old fans with new reduces risk, either. Just keep those ancient, dusty fans running, I guess. No point in any action at all unless every single one turns into enclosed motor
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We aren’t going to agree here because you’re not considering the multitude of other factors that make up the risk, and the consequences of them.
I would not waste my money on 5 enclosed motor fans if there’s 25 box fans running in the barn. That’s not an improvement in risk. That’s being able to say “my fan didn’t start the fire that killed my horse”. It’s pointless.
Seatbelts are mandated for everyone. It’s law. Can you still die with one on? Sure, and an enclosed motor fan can still light on fire.
The roulette wheel isn’t even comparable to what we’re talking about statistically because the chance of hitting 33 black remains the same with 1 spin or 100 spins, so I won’t even address it. After 100 flips of a coin that land on heads, what’s the chances of tails on the 101st flip? Still 50/50. Taking additional turns has nothing to do with the statistical likelyhood of hitting it, unless the ones that miss are removed.
At any rate. We don’t agree this is a worthwhile plight, and that’s ok. OP, all I know is that my enclosed motor fans get REALLY hot. Much hotter in the casing than my box fans, and that’s likely because the motor is bigger and it’s working faster/harder. I would not hang them on the stall doors in anything plastic/meltable/combustible unless they could somehow be locked on “low” speed. I’d consider chains as the only option, and I’d still want them locked on low, in case someone accidentally throws something up against them that could combust (cooler, hair tie, whatever)
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You’re missing the point entirely. Every additional spin increases the overall chance of hitting 33 black. Just like how each additional fan increases the overall risk of fire.
Do you think you have a better shot of hitting 33 black with one spin, or 100?
It’s THE SAME with overall number of possible ignition points. More ignition points = greater risk that ONE of them will hit 33 black. (I should’ve picked a red number, lol.)
That’s nice you wouldn’t spend any money to move the overall risk lower unless everyone else did the same. But don’t rag on someone who WILL. Especially since you’re apparently depending on all of them to pull the trigger and purchase safer equipment before you’ll consider doing the same.
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Yep, but it has to start somewhere, might as well be me. At least my conscience will be clear if there is a catastrophe
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It is not pointless, since if you hang 5, then maybe people will ask why, you can educate them on the risk & maybe at the next show, there will be 10, etc. Change has to start somewhere.
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I haven’t noticed the ones in my barn getting hot, & I usually run at a med. They move so much more air than the box fans I used to use, I think low in a show stall would be plenty. Chains are a great idea. Thank you
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When I went to the KHP, the entry specifically said: No 2 prong fans (aka, no box or cheapo fans). Guess what everyone in my shedrow had, except me? Did anyone come around to check? Nope! So at the Horsepark, it’s a “thing”. Unfortunately it’s not enforced.
PS: I use bungee cords to secure my fan at shows.
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We use those long Royal Wire hangers.
Generally I think the whole thing would be solved if they required the fans to be unplugged from 9pm-7am.
That said, I have a shop fan that’s 3 prong that would certainly be capable of starting a fire. That sucker is banished to “under direct supervision only” duty. It does move a boatload of air though.
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Box fans don’t just arbitrarily catch on fire by themselves and burn the barn down.
They catch on fire when they hang up in the barn for years and nobody cleans them out and they get full of dust and dirt and crap and then the motor overheats and ignites all that crap. Then they catch on fire and burn the barn down.
I keep a set of brand new box fans that only go to horse shows, so they never get nasty and gross and filthy dirty while they’re hanging up at a horse show for a few days or a week. Plus I unplug them when I leave for the night.
And then if they do get nasty and gross and disgusting, which they don’t because I vacuum them out with my shop vac every couple of horse shows, but if they do, I get rid of them and buy another one.
**of course there is always the issue of anything electric having a wiring issue or a short circuit etc and starting a fire but the over head lights and the P.A. system can do that too and no one is flipping out about that
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