Building a baker fan ????

[88-1175]

Our local antique club has a renewed
interest from young men,ages 15-30.they
are very willing to help,but need some
guidance,they are craving something to do
with thier tractors during our show,more
or less to make noise and put a load on
them,simply more than just driving them
around and our tractor pull.while going to
wauseon show the baker fans seem to get
used all day every day,with people
watching to.so I've decided to take on the
project of doing a build of 1 with the
young guys.while thinking about the build
I have a few different ideas I'd like to
run past you.1st-i highly doubt a steam
engine will ever be at our show,hasn't
been since the 80s..2nd-im thinking having
a pto drive somehow would greatly benefit
our club,most all on display have the
pto,quite a few dont have a belt
pulley..3rd-after watching youtube vids a
few hrs it looks like the smaller model
tractors struggle and the larger models
dont have enough load..
What I have to work with,access to 2 good
machine shops,3 certified welders,a very
good junk/recycling yard with an endless
supply of metal willing to help us,12-15
young men wanting this to happen..my
questions....I'm thinking I could use a
heavy wall box tube for the fan arms and
slot if to slide blades in to
increase/decrease the load,possibly use 8
fan blades instead of 4 to keep the
diameter smaller,then a pto could be used
easily..adding a tach to appease thier
curiosity..possibly a trailer mounted
one..what pulley diameter would be best
for tractors,again no steam engines...I'm
wanting to improve the design to make it
fit the younger guy,instead of expecting
them to acquire belt pulleys..oh,I dont
have a belt either,no big deal in getting
one I wouldnt think..my goal is to keep
the youth interested

 

[caterpillar guy]

Why could you not have 2 sets of fan blades that could be clutched with a dog clutch to use on bigger and smaller tractors to fit the size more or less then a pulley on one end and PTO spline on the other end. This would let you load bigger tractors with more fan and less for the smaller tractors also work for PTO or pulley tractors.

 

[88-1175]

Idea sounds good..what kind of clutch ??.please explain

 

[Centerplate]

I took an old M&W dynamometer to our local tractor/machinery show and dynoed a number of tractors. We do not have a way to work tractors with a pulley and no PTO. I did spring a leak in a hose and had to shut it down for the season, which I now have repaired and ready for the 2022 season.

 

[Cash4Toys]

I am not positive, but 4 blades would be better, as too many blades dont cut as much wind, becomes too solid. Pulley diameter has everthing to do with this, faster it runs, harder it pulls. Steam engines dont run fast but have large flywheels, gas tractors ran faster but smaller pulleys. You could build the standard fan, but then build pto to belt setup for those types of tractors, multiple pulleys to vary speed. Maybe use a stalk chopper gear box that splits from center to both sides. Could be fixed%stationary to ground or maybe 3 point attachment. This unit could then be used to run a separator, sawmill, etc.

 

[Cash4Toys]

You should go to Smokstack with this. There are some videos of one being made. There is a formula for this as well, blade size and rpm equate to hp generated. You should go to the Machinery Hand Book for shaft size/key way etc

 

[moresmoke]

I would think moveable cutoff plates on the outside of the fan would be the easiest way to vary the load.

I dont know the number off the top of my head, but there is a standard belt speed. Most tractors were geared to this speed regardless of them being steam or more modern.

 

[rrman61]

Being from south Louisiana we have plenty of airboats here.an airboat prop makes a great fan and it doesnt have to be at high rpms either.we used one at an outdoor wedding ceremony in august and not only does it put out a stiff breeze but in a wide area too.ours was powered by an electric motor but I am sure you could figure out how to use a tractor.also I have seen a high speed fan powered by a tractor pto used to accelerate burning of brush piles and it sure cut the burn time down

 

[Doug - Iowa]

I have a big fan off a grain dryer, I think it is rated at 50HP electric motor, all you need is a PTO shaft. You can have it if you want it.

 

[ss55]

I've seen one at the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion in Rollag, MN. They might be able to help you build one and give you some tips to operate it with a large crowd around it.

https://rollag.com/about/attractions/

The younger members might have more tractors have with PTOs than with belt pulleys. A dynamometer might be more appropriate for them to start with, be easier to setup and easier to add safety guards around it (wire mesh and fence panels are your friends). After that is working well then move on to a pony brake or Baker fan.

 

[Janicholson]

Put a 4 speed truck transmission in front of the fan and change gears to change power requirements. If you have in on a pivot on one side against a stiff spring, it can be calibrated to approximate horse power, or at least a pointer to a number ! Jim

 

[wore out]

MANY years ago, when I was young I remember my late Uncle being very leery around Baker fans at steam shows.

I don't remember the details, but he knew of one that had failed under load and done damage.

As simple of a machine as they are it would be good to have some professional engineering input into the design and construction of your project as a fatigue failure tossing shrapnel around in the middle of a crowd wouldn't be a good thing!

And, no, my Uncle wasn't a safety nazi or Nervous Nellie, for him to take note of the incident it must have been a serious and unexpected occurrence.

Keep in mind the arms and blades/paddles will need to hold up while dissipating some serious horsepower while being tugged on by centrifugal force.

 

[Butch(OH)]

Glad to hear your younger people want to do something at the show, keep bending over backwards for them!, Thats a rare bunch these days. We ran a husker shredder and sheller for many years at our local show but quit last year because we couldn't get one lick of help. Could even get people to bring thier tractor over and belt it up to the equipment.

 

[rustyfarmall]

It seems that a few folks do not understand just what a Baker fan is.

It basically is a device for testing the horsepower and performance of a tractor. It resembles the paddle wheel of a river boat. It is not intended to create a breeze or even to move air. It is only a testing device. It turns easily at low speeds, but becomes increasingly difficult to turn the faster you try to make it go.

 

[ss55]

You could try searching the archives, this subject has been discussed here before:

https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cgi-bin/viewit.cgi?bd=ttalk&th=86017

I like the otter method comment.

 

[IaLeo]

Not sure, but I thought the design sizing of driver pulleys was set for belt speeds of 3000 feet per minute by the SAE or ASAE societies and that might be helpful in deciding the Baker Fan driven pulley sizing.

It is fun to watch a tractor laboring under full load with operators tinkering with RPMs and carburetor settings and top tank water temperatures! One could always put different diameter pulleys on each end of the fan's shaft. Leo