Featured Guessing game: Why would visitors be blown away by this tool?

Just bought this “used.” Will have to test rotation by hand now that I noticed a dent that might be in blade path. Nothing a ball pein hammer won’t fix. Engineers: Why might visitors be blown away? Motor is 3 hp., think fan is about 5’ diameter, 350 lbs.

 

Reminds me of a movie set fan.

 

Looks like it might have come out of a Greenhouse......but don't understand your question either........

 

Hi,
I had friends that bought a huge mansion built in 1929. It had a huge fan like yours in the attic to "cool" down the house. It is a three story house and when the fan was on you could feel air movement on the first floor.
greg

 

We had a huge fan in the attic too, mind you we did not have a mansion like Greg's friends did. That top floor in our house got so hot, you could fry an egg in the summer.

My other guess is like someone mentioned it is for a movie set or for a model shoot to keep things cool and maybe let snow fly around perhaps?
Just guessing.

 

Hi Aq, hey get some coffee or tea inya then my 1/2-Azz pun will probably hit you. Guess it blows right by the unsuspecting reader!

 

I thought of airboat only....doesn't look like one I don't think. To me it's a barn fan that would blow the flies away

 

We ALL know it's a BIG, BAD FAN.........................

 

Must have the power for a wind tunnel.

 

It came from some kind of of factory , no more info than that. I bought it because during the summer here in the mid-Atlantic area, our un-air-conditioned buildings get unbearably hot and humid. We already use “barrel fans” that look somewhat like this but they have motors under 1 hp, and only help avoid heat stroke if you’re within about 20 feet in front of them. The “new” 3 hp one pictured will have much greater effect whether blowing on us or pushing air thru the building. I noticed that the blades are shaped like those of a helicopter rather than the “lobe” shape of a typical fan blade.

 

That thing will knock you down, never mind cool you off.

 

While ventilation comes to mind first, could it be used to inflate something?

Something big...

 

Well when it gets here it’ll sure inflate my ego-I’ll have the biggest fan in the industrial park!

Seriously folks, the design of it seems to me to be optimized for air volume and velocity only, not pressure. It wouldn’t hold back enough pressure to inflate say, an inflatable structure. Fans made to inflate things are usually snail-type aka centrifugal; those will maintain a significant air pressure differential between intake and exhaust. How do I know all this? My warehouse neighbors ran a “kids bounce house” business, setting up inflatable bounce houses shaped like cartoon characters at birthday parties etc. They gave me a few of the centrifugal fans they no longer needed.

 

my wife uses one to dry her hair....flat blades...and yes ...it's much smaller...

 

Here’s a centrifugal one I was just offered. These are usually caller blowers. This one has a footprint and weight that’s manageable, like 4x8’, 2500 lbs. I have no use for such a monster blower, but I couldn’t power it anyway, the 150 hp motor draws 175 amps at 460 volts, roughly 50 times the power you can get out of a home electrical outlet. The thing is new and pretty but I’ve got enough massive boat anchor items already, and I don’t think I’ll be called upon to inflate a dozen bounce houses in a couple minutes which this blower will do.