Replacing Paint Booth Fans - A Complete Guide
If you have an old paint booth there will come a time in its life that the fan will wear out. When your paint booth fan wears out it replacing it can seem confusing. This guide will help you to know what you need to know when replacing paint booth fans.
Factor 1 to know for your Paint Booth Replacement Fan – The CFM Rating of Your Existing Paint Booth Fan
The first factor to know when considering replacement of your paint booth fan is the CFM that your existing paint booth fan will move. This is critical because it determines the speed which air is moved in your paint booth. Air speed in your paint booth is required to be at a certain speed for safety regulations. It can also be beneficial to match the horsepower of your old fan to the new fan this will ensure the motor of the new fan is not over worked.
Factor 2 to know for your Paint Booth Fan Replacement – The Fan Size
A second critical factor to know is the size of your paint booth fan. Common paint booth fan sizes range from 24 inches to 48 inches knowing the correct size will ensure you match the replacement fan correctly. Other key measurements that can be important to consider include the measurements listed below.
Ring to Ring:
This is a measurement of the height of your exhaust fan. This is an important measurement because it will determine how much an existing duct may have to be lifted to accommodate the new paint booth fan.
Inside diameter :
This is a measurement from the outside edge of the fan ring to the other edge of the fan ring. This measurement determines if your paint booth fan will properly match your existing ductwork, it should be the same size as your duct work is from edge to edge.
Other paint booth fan size measurements that can be important include the mounting bolt locations as these will determine if the fan will line up with an existing duct ring that you have in place or if you may need to make slight adjustments to your new fan to mount to your previous fan rings.
Factor 3 to know for your Paint Booth Replacement Fan – The original fan setting
Depending on the age of your paint booth you may have a paint booth fan with a variable pitch pulley. Variable pitch pulleys make paint booth fans with adjustable CFM ranges. If your paint booth fan is adjustable you would want to ensure you know the CFM rating the fan is set for. If the original setting is hard to find you could also match the feet per minute of the new fan to the airspeed of your original paint booth fan which could be measured by a vinometer.
Factor 4 to know for your Paint Booth Replacement Fan – The Fan Motor Type
Paint booth fans are typically built to be a totally enclosed fan motor. However, in certain circumstances paint booth fan motors are built to be explosion proof. Explosion proof motors are a higher standard design allowing no spark to be potentially exposed to harmful vapors which makes it critical to replace your fan with the correct type of replacement motor.
Ultimately replacing a paint booth fan requires consideration of a few things to be able to ensure your replacement paint booth fan will match your existing paint booth well and provide proper paint booth ventilation. If you need additional help selecting the proper paint booth exhaust fan you can contact us or view our selection of paint booth exhaust fans here.