My business has a swamp cooler (evaporative), but none of the windows open so I have no way to vent air. There is a vent in the alcove (?) over my front door facing downward. The vent is about the size of a box fan. I have been thinking about putting one face down on top of the vent.
If this is not a good idea is there a better option? I have an outlet not too far from the area, but do not think that there is anywhere near to hard wire. I could run a wire out the vent for a solar panel, but the awning is north west facing.
Vent opening:
With fan laying on top:
13 Comments
genuineparts@infosec.pub · 5 pts · 1y
Aside from premature failure, the actual answer to your question is: Yes. There are no inherent dangers to running a box fan face down.
fuzzy_tinker@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 1y
Box fan bearings are not typically designed to run in that orientation. It will probably run for a while before failing prematurely. Might make it a couple months or just a few weeks.
This is a much more robust fan and they come in various sizes to better fit your opening. They move a lot more air, and many styles come with a thermostat and speed controller. Sorry for the Amazon link, this is just the general style: https://a.co/d/bLeBCeD
nokturne213@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 1y
And that one will be okay laying to push air down?
seathru@lemmy.sdf.org · 10 pts · 1y
Anecdotal, but I ran a box fan in that exact orientation (facing/blowing down) for years with no issues. I used it for an overhead fan in a garage.
fuzzy_tinker@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1y
The bearings are much sturdier as the fan is bolted to the motor, and the motor is a generic one meant to be used in any orientation. I personally bought [this](iLIVING 20" Wall Mounted Shutter... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVY8VCNZ) one for my house to cool it in the summer and at half power, every open window in the house has a stiff breeze.
nokturne213@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 1y
Thanks. I will look into that, but at that price 2-3 box fans over the summer would be a better way to go.
radix@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1y
You could always build a plywood box/cube thing to duct the airflow downward, but with an opening on the side so you can use any cheap box fan.
nokturne213@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 1y
That has been a thought too.
owenfromcanada@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 1y
If you don't care how it looks, and you're specifically blowing air in with the box fan, you can just use a large garbage bag to direct the air in. Mount the fan vertically facing the opening, cut open a trash bag, and attach it to the remaining three edges of the opening and your fan.
If it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid.
pdavis@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 359d
I have been running a cheap box fan face down on a Corsi-Rosenthal Box for a year now with no problems. Anecdotal of course.
nokturne213@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 359d
I decided to give it a try and have been running the box fan facedown nonstop since a couple days after posting this thread. So far so good!
Brkdncr@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 1y
A vented security door would work better.
nokturne213@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 1y
It is an old building with odd sized everything, and I have to get the landlord's approval for anything like that.