HVAC blower motor repurposed as a fan with two speeds

DYI hvac blower fan for garage cooling

[@PhillipBlanton]

Breaking Neutral is not the safest way to wire something up. You should put your power switch inline with the hot wire instead of the neutral. That way it removes power from everything except the power switch when turned off. The way you have it wired up, the fan speed switch is still energized when you turn the power off; the current just has nowhere to go. Of course in your case you can just unplug it to remove power from everything, but I'd still wire it right.

[@7t7o7]

You might want to consider blanking the side opposite the motor with a partial piece of sheet metal or something solid that will cover most of that inlet side. These blowers come from a sealed case and are able to maintain sufficient static pressure in that environment. Outside of it, they tend to freewheel, which ultimately leads to the motor over-heating and failing. You'll be surprised at how much more air it pushes and how many fewer amps it will draw.

[@RichardLavallie]

Great info! thanks

[@boreed5734]

I tried partially and all the way closing of that side and my motor runs too hot regardless of how I do it.. after 10-15 min it's too hot to touch. Any other suggestions?

[@amyh.2020]

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP?? I just did this exact wiring, but I did connect the on/off to the Hot/Black coming from the plug. It turned on but turned OFF when I switch to the other speed…… ? I think I’m wiring the backwards 3way connection incorrect. Any ideas?

[@stephengranger9019]

I was told that you block almost half of the outlet side that will decrease the running amps and put more air out. Fan motor will last a long time doing this. It sounds strange but my ac guy told me this about 30 years ago

[@MrJimgillnm]

Well Done ! - Love the simple switching. Thank You !

[@user-cd8er4ux1i]

sure would like to see back of the switches. i bought a two switch ..switch. ...one is 3 way and the other is single. have not been able to make it work.

[@cackleberryfarm4598]

I could see using this as an air filter for the shop. Grizzly's uses a squirrel cage type blower for theirs.

[@joli78363]

What motor are you running, 110v 220?

[@111111111Tiger]

Great shop fan

[@andrewpastor7998]

So is this motor not DC with an ECM?

[@WhiteboyRick96]

It’s a pcm motor. It has a capacitor. Ecm motors use 24v

[@AztecWarrior69_69]

There is no such thing as reversing a three way switch.