 My
Inflator Fan Pics
Here is some pics of my 8HP 30" Inflator Fan
that separated on 9/24/2005 on my AM flight in Knoxville, Tennessee.
I have seen two other fans disintegrate (Not Mine). One inflator
fan was wood and used a cheap Dayton Fan Cage, and the cage did
not hold the blade, it flew out of the cage about 75 feet. The
second fan one I seen explode was a composite blade and it turned
into a pile of plastic chips and threw shrapnel about 20 feet
on both sides. You couldn't pay me to use a composite blade. After
dissecting the fan, if you look at the front washer plate that
the bolts are inserted into, you can see that 3 of bolts are about
1/2" to 3/4" shorter than they should be. So 3 out of
4 bolts sheared off and the 4th bolt fell out undamaged. I use
a 30" 3 blade fan blade from Arrow Prop and a Briggs 8 HP
Motor with the "Big Shaft" and even though I disagree
with about everything in the world when it comes to Balloon Works
Balloons, I use their 30" inflator fan cage because it is
the toughest fan cage that I have ever seen. My only complaint
is that the welds tend to come apart on the outer ends of the
fan. But it is still a heck of a lot better than the Dayton Cages.
I also used some Big Ass Black Heavy Duty wire ties to help hold
the cage together in case of failure. It blew 3 of the wire ties
off, yet all in all, it still held the cage together and contained
the fan blade and no one was injured. This fan was checked out
in May of 2005 and completely retorqued. I have posted these pics
for educational purposes only. These pictures and text may not
be used or reused without Z-Balloon Adventures express written
permission.
Call us at 515-265-2402
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