Can I use a blender motor as a fan?

[sim085]

Hello,

I am not sure if this is strictly an electronics question but to be honest I do not know where else to ask. I had a blender similar to this one. It was no good to blend food because one of its plastic parts was worn out. However the motor still worked. So yesterday I pulled the thing apart and I now have the 600w motor. I had an old small 60s fan with a burnt motor. Can I use this motor for it? or this type of motor (blender motor) is not good for that?

I am asking for this reason; the blender motor only ran as long as you pressed a run button. However to be used in a fan it would need to run for hours. I know how to force this motor to run for hours however what I do not know is if this kind of motor is able to handle running for so long. Needless to say I am just a hobbyist.

Also from my little knowledge of motors I believe this is a brushed motor.

 

[Arouse1973]

Yes just don't get it to close to your face The only two issue I see is the need to replace the brushes that will wear out after time if you continuously operate the fan. Also make sure the fan doesn't spin too fast, otherwise you will have to reduce the voltage to the motor.
Adam

 

[sim085]

Thanks for your quick reply. Changing the brushes should not be a problem now that I figured out how it works. Can I use something else instead of Carbon? or this is a standard? When I opened the blender I found a lot of carbon dust.

Regarding reducing voltage; I will have to read about that. The blender had two buttons. One button forced the blender to run faster than the other. I will use a multi-meter in the circuit that comes before the motor to see what happens

Yes just don't get it to close to your face The only two issue I see is the need to replace the brushes that will wear out after time if you continuously operate the fan. Also make sure the fan doesn't spin too fast, otherwise you will have to reduce the voltage to the motor.
Adam

 

[Martaine2005]

Just to follow up on what Adam said.
The RPM might be a problem. And if you are thinking of using the electronic speed control, it will get extremely hot very quickly and die.
Don't ask me how I know
Your manual would have said 'not to run for more than 30 seconds'. Or something similar.

My Kenwood stick blender is now a more powerful Dremel router..
Martin

 

[Arouse1973]

Thanks for your quick reply. Changing the brushes should not be a problem now that I figured out how it works. Can I use something else instead of Carbon? or this is a standard? When I opened the blender I found a lot of carbon dust.

Regarding reducing voltage; I will have to read about that. The blender had two buttons. One button forced the blender to run faster than the other. I will use a multi-meter in the circuit that comes before the motor to see what happens

You either wear down very cheap brushes or replace expensive motor when it wears out. Your choice
Adam

 

[sim085]

Ok point taken

You either wear down very cheap brushes or replace expensive motor when it wears out. Your choice
Adam

 

[sim085]

What would die? The motor or the circuit to reduce the voltage?

The RPM might be a problem. And if you are thinking of using the electronic speed control, it will get extremely hot very quickly and die.
Don't ask me how I know

 

[Martaine2005]

The circuit to reduce the voltage.
The motor runs perfectly fine without it. And high RPM.
Martin

 

[sim085]

The blender had a variable speed regulator (at the top, number 1 to 15). When I used it I did not notice any difference but now I am reading the manual and I can see I was always pressing the turbo button; the speed works only with normal on / off. I'll see if at low speed is slow enough for a fan.

The circuit to reduce the voltage.
The motor runs perfectly fine without it. And high RPM.
Martin

 

[Martaine2005]

Did the manual say anything about 'on' time?
30 secs, 60 secs, then allow to cool?
Martin

 

[sim085]

Read the manual and I did not find anything like that. The only time it speaks about heat is when it says not to use it directly in a saucepan while cooking to protect the blender from overheating.

Did the manual say anything about 'on' time?
30 secs, 60 secs, then allow to cool?
Martin

 

[Martaine2005]

Ok, perhaps yours is more 'industrial' and can be used for longer periods.
Mine is (was) just a cheap £30 Kenwood.

What model is yours?
Martin

 

[Minder]

The blender has a Universal motor which operates in a run away condition, i.e. rpm controlled by load, so if the load is less for the fan, it will possibly run quite a bit higher, a simple Triac style dimmer can control the rpm to a satisfactory level, also the fan operation should self cool the motor, high brush wear could be a issue however.
M.

 

[sim085]

It is a Braun Multiquick 5

Click here for image.

Ok, perhaps yours is more 'industrial' and can be used for longer periods.
Mine is (was) just a cheap £30 Kenwood.

What model is yours?
Martin

 

[shrtrnd]

It's an off-topic comment, but I'd be careful about how the fan-blade assembly is attached to this new motor shaft.
The odds are they'll be different inside and outside diameters, with set-screws to hold the fan blade assembly to the shaft.
At high speed, you don't want the blade assembly coming loose from the motor shaft.
If there's any wobble because the fan blade assembly is not centered on the motor shaft, things could get pretty lively.

 

[sim085]

So I cannot just reduce the voltage with a resistor? My electronics understanding is quite limited. I mostly worked with low voltage coming from batteries.

The blender has a Universal motor which operates in a run away condition, i.e. rpm controlled by load, so if the load is less for the fan, it will possibly run quite a bit higher, a simple Triac style dimmer can control the rpm to a satisfactory level, also the fan operation should self cool the motor, high brush wear could be a issue however.
M.

 

[sim085]

Thanks; I have not arrived to that part yet but I am thinking that for that part I will go to metal worker to get a custom fitting if need be.

It's an off-topic comment, but I'd be careful about how the fan-blade assembly is attached to this new motor shaft.
The odds are they'll be different inside and outside diameters, with set-screws to hold the fan blade assembly to the shaft.
At high speed, you don't want the blade assembly coming loose from the motor shaft.
If there's any wobble because the fan blade assembly is not centered on the motor shaft, things could get pretty lively.

 

[Minder]

So I cannot just reduce the voltage with a resistor? My electronics understanding is quite limited. I mostly worked with low voltage coming from batteries.

As pointed out in post #13 a simple dimmer should suffice.
Resister will not work at all well and be very inefficient , especially if you want rpm control
M.

 

[morphingstar]

Before you invest a ton put an incandescent bulb in series, starting at 25W, increasing. Make sure there is comparable load on the motor or it may kill itself by the ("unlimited") r.p.m.'s once you use higher wattage bulbs.
Whether the fan is too heavy I can't tell. As faster as more vibration you'll get. The frequency of the vibration is related to the rpm's.
The application is not all that good to match a high rpm device (async. motor) to a low rpm load - a fan. Do some measurements, mainly volts at motor and its current. Observe.
Try to approach good results with you dimmer and fan size (load). Or keep the bulb (1 or >1 in parallel). The number of bulbs can be switched to control speed (r.p.m.)
Do not exceed the rated motor current. Watts / volts = current. Read the label. E.g: 450Watt / 127Volt = Amps, or 400W / 115V =Amps. Try to balance the motor at 50 watts or less: Volts x Amps = Watts, measure current at motor and voltage over motor terminals.I would limit continuous current to 50% of short run current. (mixer application).
The motor does not like light dimmers. It has to do with magnetic characteristics.

 

[Minder]

The motor does not like light dimmers. It has to do with magnetic characteristics.

This motor in particular or Universal motors in general?
A vast majority of hand/mains power tools routers, spindles are controlled this way?
M.