5 Must-Have Features in a Drum Fan Wholesaler

Drum Fans - Background

Mobile Drum fan

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Used for a variety of cooling and air movement applications, drum fans have for a long time been popular assets for companies and organisations. Used for cooling staff in factories, livestock in sheds, or creating a breeze in a photographic studio, drum fans prove themselves time again as very versatile machines. Looking at the market there are actually quite a variety of sizes and features that have significant effects on an individual fans usability. Before making an investment in a drum fan it is worth considering the variations and features in the different products. Sometimes called man coolers, or floor fans, barrel fans and sometimes known as cooler fans, these drum fans are indeed far more useful than that name suggests.

Man Coolers - Airflow, air velocity and air throw

Often advertised as 'massive' 30" Ø drum fan or 36" Ø drum fan, it must be remembered that size does not always mean large airflow. It is possible to get a 24" drum fan with a larger air flow than a 30" Ø. Air flow matters because the air velocity from a fan, which is almost never mentioned in the specifications, is of course a factor of the air flow and the drum fans physical size. It stands to reason therefore that a 30" drum fan with an air flow of say m3/hr will generate a lower air velocity than a 24" Ø fan that moves the same air volume.

The air throw is a term that is derived from the air velocity and is taken to mean the furthest distance from fan (or other discharge point) where an air velocity of 0.5m/s can be measured. Although very complex to calculate and time-consuming to set up and measure, the general truth is that the greater the velocity from the fan, the greater the air throw.

Drum Fans - comparison of air flow and discharge velocity

Generally for cooling applications more airflow and less velocity is good because means that light things like paper don't go flying, but on the other hand if cooling in a large area like a warehouse is required perhaps air throw is more important in order to get effective air movement further from the fan. With drum fans that have higher discharge velocities it is worth selecting ones that have more than one speed setting, so that you have the capability to choose a lower velocity if required.

Drum Fans - Electricity Suppl

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Drum fans are usually quite low power machines and equipped to run from a single phase 230v supply. Some models have the added flexibility of being able to operate from either 230v or 110v, i.e. they are what is referred to as 'duel voltage'.

Fan Mounting on Drum Fans

There is quite a variation in the mounting arrangements that actually support the fan of the actual drum fan. The following table explains some of the variants;

Drum Fan - Orbital type

A simple stand with no wheels is the simplest support, although with a stand you should at least expect a swivel mounting to enable the drum fan to be pivoted to point any angle vertical up, through horizontal to vertical down. The drum fan in this picture has an orbital which means it can be pivoted to point in any direction without moving the stand.

Simple Mobile Drum Fan

When the drum fan casing is fitted with simple wheels and stand without any pivot, the result is a drum fan that is actually very limited and can only discharge on a horizontal plane and to which has to be moved to blow at a different angle

Mobile Pivoting Drum Fan

With a wheel mounting frame the drum fan becomes much more flexible particularly if it is pivot mounted so that air can be discharged at any angle through its vertical plane.

Mobile orbital drum fan

The ultimate in drum fan flexibility comes when the fan is mounted on a wheeled frame and set in an orbital pivot arrangement. This means that the fan can be pointed in any direction without moving the wheeled frame .

Drum Fan - Variable output and speeds

• The more speed settings on a drum fan the better. Some are fixed speed fan i.e. on or off, which is of little use. Most of the drum fans we supply are 2 or 3 speed.

• 2 speeds - good

  If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Drum Fan Wholesaler.

• 3 speeds - better

• variable speed - best !

Hi-bred fans

Some fans are part drum fans and part ventilation fans. That is to say they look like a drum fan but have sufficient pressure capability that they can be used to move air along a limited length of ducting. Notable models with this capacity are;

Broughton VF600 drum fan/ ventilation fan hi-bred

Broughton VF600.The Broughton VF600 is a notable fan because it is so versatile and does not fall cleanly into any category. As a drum fan it has the highest discharge velocity of the range, it has casters, two of which are braked which is useful, and it has a lockable pivot within its frame. With such a high discharge velocity (nearly 14m/s) it will have more air throw reach for cooling in industrial applications, and would be ideal in photographic studios where a localised but strong wind is required. But with a much higher pressure capability than a normal drum fan, this unit can also be used as a large ventilation fan and can easily push or pull air along a 10m duct. Even when compared with other ventilation fans it is a bit of an oddity as it is larger than other axial type ventilation fans on our range; the next smaller one moves about half the air volume as the VF600 ! To cap it all it is even available as a 230V or as 110v version.

TTV fan accessories

Trotec TTV series. The Trotec TTV series fans can be used both as a drum fans or man coolers, or with ducting on, as a ventilator fans. But more than that you can stack them to make a small wind wall, or put on a numerous smaller ducts to deliver air to different spaces.

An often overlooked feature on some ventilation fans is an open base, such as the TTV fans are fitted to. The benefit of this type of frame is that you can connect duct and have it hanging down through a hatch or manhole into a confined space. Conclusions Basic drum fans are not expensive to buy; at the entry end of the market there are numerous options available which are perfectly capable fans. If however your requirements are less straightforward and you require larger air flows, or more versatility, like duel voltage and orbital then there are plenty options Our advice for choosing a suitable drum fan or man cooler is to consider;

• Your requirement carefully, not just your immediate application for the fan but also potential future requirements

• Size of the area in which the fan is to be used

• Do you need fixed discharge direction, pivoting or orbital type

• Voltage;

  230v

  or

  110v

If you need any help to choose a drum fan or accessories, give us a call on

I ordered the 12" fan mainly for the lower price tag as I have used full metal 20" fans in the past. Now while this fan is not labeled as "industrial" it definitely fits the bill because of its build quality is much higher than those cheaper retail big box fans. And for 12" it works almost as well as a 20" equivalent and beats out those plastic ones.

Ive seen reviews of others having issues with the motor locking up out of the box and Im not sure how it could be that bad but I suppose defects do sometimes slip out. Mine the blades spin freely and I can also tell its ball bearing as when I was testing the fan and turned it off I watched the slowdown. The blades took a good while to come slow down to what I thought would be its stop point but instead then by physics rotated in the other direction slowly but smoothly before stopping. That was a wonderful sign meaning it was not binding and had zero friction. Just looking over the entire build just shows the care this manufacturer has taken with this fan. The control panel for instance is mounted to the back guard with a very short sleeved wiring harness going straight to the motor on the outside casing. The outer shell of the control panel is remarkably made of metal too but the back side that is pressed against the guard is plastic which means it doesn't rattle metal to metal.

Even the smallest touches like including rubber end cap covers for the nuts on the sides that you can tighten or loosen to adjust the fan how you wish. First time Ive seen that honestly they are a nice inclusion. Cleaning the fan will be a breeze too as it has only one small bolt and but on the bottom to remove then the rest are slide clips that you simply slide away from the joining guards allowing you to remove the front. The you can easily wipe down the blades and as I do with all my fans, add a little blue 3n1 motor oil to the fan shaft to help keep things spinning smoothly.

As long as maintenance is done to keep the fan clean it should last a very long time. It does have a replaceable fuse in the plug which is nice but there is a hidden thermal fuse on all these types of fans that is not user servicable. That is the fuse that is within the wire winding inside the motor casing and so if the motor gets too hot where its close to starting a fire, the thermal fuse pops for protection. This unfortunately means the motor is disabled indefinitely. Yes you can technically change the thermal fuse but unless you know what your doing and have all the time in the world to mess with it, its essentially considered non serviceable.

So it's very important to keep the motor clean as well with some compressed air (canned air is perfect for this too). Ive ran the fan for some time and it only gets slightly warm to the touch which is great!

Now for the fan speeds, you have your basic low, medium, high settings. Low speed on this fan honestly beats even a 20" lasko plastic fan on high. Its strong and the sound is modest so it would still be okay Id think for sleeping. Medium cranks the volume of air considerably and of definitely will notice the CFMs have become stronger. Again the sound level is just slightly higher than when it was on Low. Then finally, High speed.. this is when you'll of course feel the maximum force this fan can produce and its like a personal hurricane in your face! The sound is a bit higher but its not obnoxious but you can definitely hear the blades cutting through the air. For light sleepers it may be too much but for those of us who love white noise, its heavenly.

Ill admit since having it I mostly keep it on Low. Reason is simple, I eventually start freezing with the higher settings after some time! This fan may only be 12" but dont let its size fool you. It will hold up to even the quality built 20" fans and those plastic 20" fans cant keep up.

Oh and did I mention it also has a comfortable carry handle and cord wrap built to it just like the quality "industrial" style 20" fans?

If you're looking for a strong fan that is highly portable, easy to maintain, and works in small spaces then I highly recommend this fan. Heck if you dont want to spend over double for a 20" even Id recommend this one instead!

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