Many suburban buildings need ventilation. Without it, houses and sheds become damp, cellars and basements get wet, and using a closet without a fan is, to put it mildly, uncomfortable.
Of course, equip the toilet or cellar with an electric supply or exhaust fan It’s not difficult, but many country houses are not always electrified. But the fan that I want to tell readers about does not require electricity - it is driven into rotation... by a rotary wind engine.
Anyone can make such a device. Its entire “mechanics” consists of a rotary wind engine and a 12-blade fan. Both are mounted on an axis bearing unit, which uses a hub from the front wheel of a bicycle. The latter is secured with M4 bolts and nuts in the center of a circle cut from a sheet of plywood 8 mm thick.
The rotary wind turbine is assembled from a pair of half-cylinders and two disks made of 6 mm plywood. An old one will serve as a good blank for half-cylinders. aluminum pan or a bucket. A plastic container of appropriate size will also work. The pan is carefully cut along the diametrical plane and secured between a pair of plywood disks as shown in the pictures.
1 – wind fan; 2 – play closet; 3 – ventilation pipe; 4 – sump
1 – rotary wind turbine; 2 – nut securing the wind turbine to the shaft; 3 – bearing unit (hub from the front wheel of the bicycle); 4 – fan impeller (steel or duralumin sheet s2); 5 – self-tapping screw for fastening the wind fan on the ventilation pipe (12 pcs.); 6 – ventilation pipe (square box made from s20 boards); 7 – nut securing the fan impeller to the shaft; 8 – receiver (plastic basin); 9 – M5 bolts and nuts for fastening the bearing assembly on the receiver cover (3 sets); 10 – receiver cover (s8 plywood)
1,2- end washers (plywood, s8); 3, 4 – rotor semi-cylinders; 5 – corner for joining half-cylinders and washers (6 pcs.); 6 – fastening of half-cylinders and washers (M5 bolt with nuts, 12 sets)
Making a fan impeller
(A – blank, B – finished impeller)
Fan impeller – 12-blade; It can be made from steel or duralumin sheet about 2 mm thick. After making a flat piece, each impeller blade is bent twice, as shown in the photograph, approximately 90 degrees, and the direction of bending will depend on what kind of fan you need - supply or exhaust.
The wind fan is installed on top of a kind of receiver, which is a small plastic basin, in the bottom of which a hole is cut for a ventilation pipe (asbestos-cement or made of boards). In the upper part of the receiver (above the fan impeller), holes are cut for the outlet (or intake) of air.
The finished unit is fixed on top ventilation pipe- and it will continuously (and completely free!) ventilate your toilet or cellar.
I. KHOROSHEVSKY
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The fan is not a complicated device. It consists of a motor, blades, various adjustment buttons and a stand-case. There are additional elements, such as backlight, clock, but these are options that are not so important.
It is not at all necessary to buy a fan, because you can easily make one yourself. Moreover, this does not require special skills of a master.
With the proper skill, homemade model It will turn out not as a way to get rid of old things, but as an opportunity to show imagination and, possibly, hidden talents. Some craftsmen quite easily create both functional and extremely attractive options. They harmoniously complement the interior and become the center of attention no worse than any art object.
How to make a fan from a regular electric motor
Probably the simplest and quick way To acquire a homemade fan assembled with your own hands, you need to find a regular motor, which is most often found in toys.
Standard electric motor from a toy
Ordering such a thing is not difficult. Moreover, today, without stopping for a minute, caravans of various trinkets from the Middle Kingdom ply. And if not, then it’s enough to buy an inexpensive one toy car and remove the motor from it.
But you definitely shouldn’t expect the impossible from such a device. Rather, it will only be able to move air slightly. But for a desktop model it will do just fine. He will be able to blow air onto the face of someone sitting at the computer.
For such a fan you can use absolutely anything. The main parts will be:
- blades;
- motor;
- on/off button;
- stand;
- power system.
Otherwise, the limit of the idea will only be within the boundaries of imagination.
After the motor is ready for use, it makes sense to take care of the power supply. These could be batteries, just like in the toy for which the motor was intended. But definitely this kind of energy will not last long. However, there is a plus - the device will remain compact and portable.
The second option is mains power. But in this case you need not to overdo it. Direct connection via a plug is a sure way to burn out the motor. So you should not experiment, trying to spin the engine to high speeds. On toys, electric motors are usually designed for 3-4.5 Volts, and the desire to provide more rotation due to powerful energy sources, firstly, will quickly drain the source (if it is a battery), and secondly, will seriously reduce the life of the fan, even to the point of failure. The engine will start to heat up and the brushes may melt.
But modern chargers convert the voltage in the network, reducing it to the specified parameters. You can find a power supply, including on sale, that is ideal for the motor.
To create blades, you can take any material. The main thing is that it is light. Due to the weakness of the motor, the less the blades weigh, the faster the rotation will be, and, therefore, the efficiency of the work.
- The easiest option is to take a cork from a regular one. plastic bottle, which will serve as a fastening for the blades. Make a hole in the bottle the size of the rotating axis of the electric motor.
- The blades can be made from a regular CD. A hole the size of a bottle cap is burned in the center. The circumference of the disk is divided into 8 sectors. They are cut to some distance, but not to the center. Afterwards, the disk needs to be heated with fire to easily bend the blades. A lighter is suitable for this.
Creating blades on a CD
- You can attach the disk to the cork with glue. The second option is when a hole is burned in the middle for the plug - immediately connect the structure. The melted plastic will harden and hold firmly.
- After all this, the structure is connected to each other. Wire is suitable for the stand. This is perhaps the simplest option. And for such a lightweight device, you can’t imagine anything better. You can bend the frame in such a way as to hide the batteries there unnoticed. Or carefully run the power supply wire going to the motor.
- The circuit does not have to be always closed if you use batteries, so you need to secure the button to the case. It's inexpensive. You can use it from a toy from which the motor was removed.
Another option for a propeller design is to use thick paper. The method is even simpler, but less practical.
Advice! When experimenting, remember that the larger the fan blade area, the noisier it will work. On the other hand, small blades do not move air as efficiently.
How to make a fan out of paper
Paper is not the most suitable material for a home fan for the simple reason that it is very impractical. Any ingress of water, even banal humidity, and the device will rapidly begin to lose its hardness.
But even despite all the disadvantages, craftsmen They even make quite nice samples from paper. Of course, we are talking about thick paper or cardboard. Strong material from boxes works well. You will also need a regular motor or cooler, an on/off button and wires.
The simplest table fan using cardboard
The approximate design plan is that the device can be simplified as much as possible. The impeller is easy to cut and can have many or few blades. Everything is at the master's request. The motor can be mounted on a wooden or cardboard block. The stand will also be made from paper or an old computer disk.
It is only important not to forget that such a fan is very light, which makes it shaky in operation. Therefore, it is necessary to further strengthen the body. Old batteries, bolts or nuts work well.
How to make a fan from a plastic bottle
Favorite raw materials " Crazy hands» – plastic bottles – are almost ideal for creating your own fan. The top of a standard round bottle works well for the propeller. You need to cut off the part with the cork just above the pasted label.
- The part of the bottle with the cork will be the blades. To do this, you need to cut the plastic down to the cork so that you get several different petals. After one, the petals are cut off at the base. The remaining ones are future propeller blades.
Fan blades made from a plastic bottle
- You can use a candle or lighter to shape the blades and twist them a little. The main thing is not to overdo it, because the plastic is soft and can catch fire. The goal is to warm it up a little, not set it on fire.
- The plug will be the base of the propeller. A hole is made in it according to the dimensions of the motor axis. To keep the connection firmly, you can put it on glue.
- Now is the time to think about the foundation. The rest of a plastic bottle will also work for this. A hole is cut in it to rigidly place the plug with the blades at a right angle. You must remember to weigh down the base - with nuts, bolts or any other metal objects.
- A hole is made on the base for the button and the chain is assembled. There is also enough space for a power supply.
The field for imagination when working with a plastic bottle is vast. You can use several bottles at once. One will become a propeller (more precisely, part of it), and the second will become a solid foundation. But then they will need additional materials. For example, ordinary drinking straws.
Simple and lightweight bottle fan
How to make a USB fan
But the most convenient and simple fan is an old cooler, which can also be used. For example, put it on a table, and it will cool, but not the processor or video card, but a person.
The advantages of this design are obvious: the cooler is very reliable, because it is its job to constantly turn the impeller and cool something. And it’s easy to get coolers. It is enough to either find old computer, either order a new fan or buy it in a store.
The cooler design is simple. This is a ready-made fan in a plastic case. There are two wires coming from it (usually red and black).
Regular computer cooler
Making a USB fan takes just a few minutes:
- The wires on the cooler are stripped 1-2 centimeters.
- Take a regular USB cable, at the end of which you also need to get rid of the insulation. The standard USB cable has four wires inside. Of these, you should choose black and red. Cut off the rest so as not to get in the way, and clean up the necessary ones.
- Connect the red wire of the cord to the red one on the cooler. Black - with black. Carefully insulate areas without winding. Ready.
- All that remains is to think about the holding device. Here the already familiar wire, which can take any shape, can come in handy. Even suitable for a fan housing carton, and if you spend a little more effort and time, you can even build a real designer object.
Design approach to fan design
It is very convenient when the fan turns on when the computer starts. Besides, modern blocks have several USB outputs. It turns out that such a device will not interfere.
Another point is that sometimes you want to turn on the fan regardless of the computer’s operation (especially since a device with a cooler turns out to be quite powerful, good and useful). Then you can use adapters. For example, today they make chargers for phones that easily turn into a USB cable when the connector with the plug is disconnected. Similar equipment can be used for a fan, making it universal: operating from the network and from the USB port of any computer. Another advantage of this design is the simplest electrical circuit. A cooler-based fan can even do without extra buttons: just a wire and a plug.
DIY bladeless fan
But a slightly unusual use of a free cooler (but you can get by with an electric motor) is a bladeless fan. Modern, interesting, with the right skill – no less effective – a solution that definitely attracts the eye. The thing turns out to be completely non-standard, spectacular.
For example, here is the ideal appearance bladeless or duct fan model:
This is roughly how you can make a bladeless fan with your own hands
The most important thing about bladeless models is, of course, their appearance. Therefore, if you make such a device yourself, you need to try to think through the frame in the smallest detail. Uneven edges, roughness - all this will spoil the impression.
Frame bladeless fan is almost entirely a work area. Don’t think that some kind of space technology is being implemented here.
Air circulation is carried out quite prosaically - with the help of rotating blades. They hide in the base tube. If you take a cooler from a computer, you can make a stand according to its shape. Here, as they say, at the discretion of the author.
The differences from the classics are in the location of the cooler - it is placed horizontally in a bladeless fan.
Cooler location in a bladeless fan
The top ring is made hollow inside, two-layered. There the main redirection of air in the right direction is carried out.
A hollow cavity is visible in the upper ring of the fan, from where the air blows
You can make the frame of a bladeless fan from plastic, wood, or thick cardboard. It is better to use a flexible material so that you can easily give it the shape of a ring. An alternative is to use a combined structure. For example, the rings are made of cardboard or plastic, and the rigid frame is made of wood.
You need to cut:
- four sides for a stand;
- Two circles of the same radius;
- Twist two rings of different diameters.
Then everything is put together and, if necessary, painted.
Meals can be arranged in different ways. Universal option– a combined wire for the USB connector and a plug for the socket.
The device can also be a little more complicated. For example, make a light strip of diode strip along the edge of the rim. The backlight consumes little energy, but will add beauty to the fan. And the power supply and wiring, if necessary, can easily be hidden in the stand.
How to make a powerful fan with your own hands
When it comes to powerful fans, you need to understand that they require completely different motors. Starting from old fan motors to others household appliances. Good fit:
- unnecessary ceiling chandeliers with a fan;
- old lawn mowers;
- drills;
- hoods.
The only thing is that you need to get into the voltage corridor that is required to power the motor. For example, drills most often require 18 volts. But for ventilation purposes, it will be enough to supply less than half of this voltage. Even at 12 Volts, the fans are very loud and extremely unstable due to the strong inertia of the rotating blades.
Power for powerful electric motors must be supplied from the mains. Therefore, you need to think about installing a power supply or connecting a charger. The electrical circuit can be complicated by adding stray light bulbs, an electronic clock, a radio, a toggle switch or a board for switching operating modes. But it’s easier, of course, to limit yourself to only a fan with a button, if that’s enough.
In any case, such homemade variations of homemade fans are sometimes much better than even purchased options. With the right skill, you can get a very good thing, a real pride of the owner.
You are sitting at the computer, it’s summer outside, there is no air conditioning. My hand is already tired of endlessly fanning myself with newspaper, and sweat from my forehead is dripping onto the keyboard. Is this a familiar situation? If you don't have extra money, it will help homemade fan. To make it, you don't need to run to the store for parts. Everything you need for a leaf blower is in the house. Don't know how to make a free fan at home? Follow the text!
What does an air cooler consist of:
- engine
- fan blades
- stand
- power supply
The last point can be omitted if you do USB fan with your own hands. The computer has a voltage of 5 volts. You will need a printer cable, an old mouse, or any unnecessary device with a USB cable.
If you are a fan of DIY projects, you probably have some useful junk in your house. Otherwise, you have no need to know how to make a fan yourself.
Can't find an electric motor in a box of unwanted parts? You can make a fan from a motor from an old disk drive or a broken toy. Let's look at a few examples of how to make a mini fan from scrap materials.
Glue, cardboard, toy motor
To make a small propeller you will need a piece of corrugated cardboard 30x30 cm.
We glue the support in 2-3 layers, the area is at least two palms. We make the rack for the engine in the form of a prism 10–15 cm high. For cutting, we use a stationery knife. We bend the structure along a ruler.
How to make a mini fan durable and stable? Let's take advantage glue gun. No other glue will allow the connection to be made as reliably.
We connect with hot glue, and as thickly as possible: the structure should turn out to be monolithic. The blades can be made from thinner cardboard. The packaging for a mobile phone accessory is suitable.
This is the most critical element: the blades must be absolutely identical in shape and weight. Otherwise, your propeller will vibrate during operation and will quickly fall apart.
We glue the blades (carefully) onto a cardboard sleeve, observing aerodynamics. The planes should be rotated 30–45 degrees in opposite directions. To simplify the design, we assemble a USB fan with two blades with our own hands. They are easier to balance, and such a propeller can cope with cooling no worse than a three-bladed one.
Test run and balancing
We make a hole in the very center of the bushing (using an awl), place it on the motor axis, and carry out a test run. Of course, before assembly it is necessary to coordinate the angle of attack of the blades with the direction of rotation of the motor. Otherwise, the fan will blow in the opposite direction. If there is vibration, the propeller can be easily balanced by simply lifting the blades. After making sure that the propeller rotates smoothly and blows where required, we glue the motor onto the stand. Don't spare glue!
We connect the USB cable to the power wires of the engine. Of course, it is better to do this with a soldering iron, but given the meager power, you can get by with simple twisting. The main thing is not to forget to insulate the connection using electrical tape or tape.
How to determine the power pins of a USB cable
Any USB connector consists of 4 pins. We are not interested in averages, these are information wires. The 5 volt power supply is on the outermost contacts. Wiring in the illustration:
If you reverse the polarity, nothing bad will happen. The motor will just spin in the wrong direction. How to determine the motor supply voltage? There is no need to look for markings. If the toy (where it was installed) is powered by three batteries (1.5 volts each), then the motor is 5 volts. If it runs on two batteries, it will not be suitable for USB power.
CD
Don't know how to make an efficient CD fan? It's easier than it seems. We divide the disk into 8 sectors. An even number of blades is easier to balance if axial runout occurs.
We cut out the blades with ordinary scissors. You can do this work with a construction knife, or melt the sectors with a soldering iron - there is not much difference. If you accidentally break a CD, get a new one.
The extra segments are broken out, the rest are given the aerodynamic shape of a propeller. To do this, just heat the workpiece over a candle or using a hair dryer. If you make a mistake with the geometry, you can always correct the situation by reheating. This is the advantage of crafts made from a CD.
In the center of the structure we glue a thickening: any piece of plastic 5–10 mm. We drill a hole in it for mounting on the electric motor shaft.
Where to get an electric motor
This design uses a drive from a floppy drive. Power supply is 5 volts, speed is moderate. Most likely, you do not have a separate disk drive collecting dust on a shelf; it can be found in the system unit. Nobody uses floppy disks anyway, you can safely disassemble it for spare parts.
The convenient flat motor housing allows you to assemble the fan on a flexible leg. To do this, we twist a piece of single-core copper wire into a pigtail and attach it to the power cable using electrical tape.
The motor with the propeller is glued to the flexible stand either with hot glue or wrapped with the same electrical tape. Unless you're entering a fan design competition, you don't have to worry about aesthetics.
After spending 2–3 hours, you get a convenient, portable “device” that can be installed anywhere without leaving your computer.
Aesthetics from a plastic bottle
If you want not only fresh air, but also a product that pleases the eye, we use other materials. The basic components remain the same: a motor from a children's toy and an old USB cord. By the way, you can connect such a fan to a 220 volt outlet using charger for a smartphone (with the same USB port).
The highlight of the design is the body. The propeller is made from a plastic bottle. The twisted plug will serve as an axial bushing. The stand can be made from a bunch of cocktail straws.
We assemble the elegant base from a second PET bottle and a CD glued to the bottom. If you have free components, you can install a connector and a switch.
Despite the “lightness” of the design, the fan turned out to be quite stable. If necessary, you can put some weight in the body.
Use of factory parts
Let's return to the presence of conditionally unnecessary computer components in the home workshop. For example, a cooler from a power supply or system unit.
The electrical part of the work is reduced to a minimum. If the power is 5 volts, we work according to the scheme: USB cable. To supply 12 volts you will have to look for a power supply or a phone charger. In addition, there are “turbines” that are connected to a 220 volt network.
Actually, to make a fan from a computer cooler, you just need to fix it on some kind of stand. And if you use batteries instead of a USB cord, the flow of fresh air can be organized anywhere.
Video on the topic
It is very hot in the southern regions; nothing will prevent you from acquiring such a “super-powerful” portable fan.
You can take an 18-volt electric drill motor, an RC airplane propeller, and a laptop battery. 4 volts is best option, moreover, not too noisy during operation. At 12 volts, the device will be super powerful, loud, and will "rattle" (via vibration) on the table.
Required components
The motor and batteries are the most expensive parts. You can buy a cheap used drill with a bad battery and just use the motor. Used laptop batteries usually have 6 cells and will not work if one cell is dead. You can buy these batteries for next to nothing and take the working cells to make a powerful battery (http://www.instructables.com/id/Free-lithium-Ion-Battery-Pack).
Required parts:
- DC electric motor of an electric drill;
- laptop battery;
- plastic fan blades;
- 1/8" plywood;
- plywood and 2x1" blocks for engine mounting;
- switch (in our case, 2P2T switch for 2 speeds); - electrical cable.
Checking the engine and batteries
Secure the motor and fan to something solid.
You can try applying different voltages to it to adjust the desired wind strength. In our case, for a 4-volt battery, the ideal current was 1.5A. An 8-volt battery for good power corresponds to a current of 3A.
Use 4 batteries, 4 parallel 4V batteries and 2 sets of 2 parallel 8V batteries. So on low power They will last about 5 hours, and on high power for about 1.5 hours.
Connect the 2P2T wires with a switch to switch between series and parallel circuits.
Creating an air duct and mounting the engine
First, glue the 2x1” pieces together to form a T. Measure the pieces to give the propeller about a half inch of clearance on each side.
After gluing the bars, round their edges to make them streamlined.
To mount the engine, cut 2 triangles from wood. Soak a piece of 1/8" plywood in water, then bend it and let it dry. You can cut 3 strips of 3.5" each wood fibers perpendicular to the workpiece to make it easier to bend. Use timbers held together in a T as a base and cover it with 3 pieces of plywood, overlapping the joints and leaving one joint. Then glue the 3 ends of the T to the duct plywood. It is also important to try on the engine mount to make sure there is enough clearance.
Then cut two pieces of 1/4" plywood about 4.5 x 1.5 to form the duct support at the top. Glue these supports to the duct and to the "T".
Glue a piece of wood to the "T" to stop the motor from sliding backwards as the motor pushes the air forward and the motor then pushes back.
To secure the motor from below, you can use 2 zip ties.
Battery layout
Use a 6-cell laptop battery to power the fan. For a bicycle fan in motion, you need a 12V fan. As a desk fan, 4V or 8V is more than enough.
Wires to the engine
Solder two 14 gauge wires to the motor. Insulate with electrical tape. To prevent wires from getting caught in the blades, secure them to the fan support.
Testing
Power the motor in parallel with 2 sets of 3 combined cells. The voltage should be about 11.8 V. Even the multimeter should show 3.38 A. The multimeter has some resistance, so the current is actually about 4A. More than 47 W. This is already a very powerful little fan. At 16 V, this fan can already push a bike decently.
Installation of protection
The propeller rotates too fast, so protection will need to be installed.
Using wire cutters, cut a circle from the large fan guard so that its radius is about half an inch larger than the duct. Loop the wire around the duct. Then hot glue the protection to the front and back.
Switch installation
Install the switch. The fan can now be turned on and off easily. You can use a 2T2P switch and get two rotation speeds.
So, all you need to prepare is sharp knife, electrical tape, an unnecessary USB cord and, in fact, a homemade executive body. As for the latter, it is customary to use one of two options: an old cooler from a computer or a motor from a typewriter. Next, we will look at two instructions that will clearly explain how to make a USB fan at home with your own hands!
Idea No. 1 – Use a cooler
As a rule, it will take no more than 15 minutes to assemble a USB fan from a cooler. First you need to prepare the cooler. There are two wires coming out of the device - black and red. Strip the insulation to 10 mm and set the prepared element aside.
Next you need to prepare the USB cable. Cut off one half of it and peel off the insulation at the cut point. Under it you will see four contacts, of which two are necessary: red and black. You also clean them, but it’s better to trim the other two (usually green and white) so that they don’t get in the way. 
Now, as you understand, you need to connect the prepared contacts in pairs, according to: red to red, black to black. After this, you need to carefully insulate the cable connections and make a stand. As for the stand, it’s a matter of your imagination. Some successfully use wire, some very interestingly cut out a seat in a cardboard box.
In the end, the homemade mini fan is connected to the computer, and you can enjoy the operation of your own electrical appliance.
Cooler idea
Idea No. 2 – Use a motor
In order to make a USB fan from a motor and a CD, it will take a little more time, but you can still easily make such an electrical device with your own hands in an hour. 
First, we prepare all the elements of the device. In this case, you will also need an impeller (blades). 
To make the impeller, we recommend using an ordinary CD. Draw it into 8 equal parts and carefully cut towards the center. Next, heat the disk (you can use a lighter), and when the plastic becomes more elastic, bend the blades (as shown in the photo).
If the impeller is not bent, while the disk rotates air flow will not be created. Here you need to use moderation so as not to overdo it.
When the blades are ready, move on to creating the main mechanism. We recommend inserting it inside the disk plastic stopper, in which you need to make a hole for the motor barrel. Carefully fix the core and move on to creating a USB fan support for the laptop. 
Here, as in the previous version, everything depends on your imagination. Of all the available means, the option with wire is the most suitable. When homemade USB the fan is ready, we connect the motor wires to the cord wires, carefully insulate the twist and proceed to test work.
Visual video instructions:
Disk idea
CD idea #2
As you can see, in order to make a fan from a cooler or a motor from a machine, it does not require much time and skills in working with electrical appliances. Even a beginner can cope with this task!
