Can anyone identify this blower?

[Bob Rooks]

That impeller looks very primitive and I wonder if it was balanced, likely not which could explain the wear in the pillow blocks. With the square ends it must be very loud. How is the vibration in use?

Yes it does, and some ape has been in there before hammering on the impeller hub with a BFH. I couldn't find any evidence of balancing but the use of two 2 inch square head bolts in the hub may be an attempt - I'm going back using cup end set screws. I suspect this blower is a US made product of the '70's (one bearing seemed OK but the other was too loose in the housing). I'm speculating that it was also powered by an electric motor before since it had a multi-sheave pulley on it, and turned in the opposite direction. I have not run it yet, so we'll see.

 

[Bob Rooks]

@piper184 What do you think?

 

[piper184]

That is a pretty good find Bob. I have an overstock of projects from good finds, most are in my someday pile, some are in the just in case I need it pile.
First glace it looked like a snowblower fan assembly, but I've never seen one made that way. Then I thought it must have been for moving air only, but an impeller like that is not optimal for that task either so there must have been something else mixed in the air stream.
Things that come to mind are:
grain vac blower
combine or silage chopper blower
dust collector fan
blower for flour or some other fine product

The 1/4" bolts suggest it was meant to be taken apart for maintenance.
Was there a cover over the opening where the shaft comes in?
Do you think the red paint in the discharge is original? If it was moving anything other than air one would expect the paint to show wear where it impacted the housing.

 

[cwbyeng1300]

Looks like a blower fan for a IH or AC cotton stripper to me. Creates an air stream that sucks the cotton out of the header & blows it into the basket. Probably Allasion Chalmers.

 

[Bob Rooks]

That is a pretty good find Bob. I have an overstock of projects from good finds, most are in my someday pile, some are in the just in case I need it pile.
First glance it looked like a snowblower fan assembly, but I've never seen one made that way. Then I thought it must have been for moving air only, but an impeller like that is not optimal for that task either so there must have been something else mixed in the air stream.
Things that come to mind are:
grain vac blower
combine or silage chopper blower
dust collector fan
blower for flour or some other fine product

The 1/4" bolts suggest it was meant to be taken apart for maintenance.
Was there a cover over the opening where the shaft comes in?
Do you think the red paint in the discharge is original? If it was moving anything other than air one would expect the paint to show wear where it impacted the housing.

Both of the side pieces have slots next to the openings on the outside which suggests there were sliding sheet metal pieces that regulated intake air flow. I'm not sure of the reasoning behind that. I'm going to cover the openings with expanded metal after I get it running. The red paint is not original, I sanded all the rust off and repainted for a smooth surface. The impeller is very similar in design to a Billy Goat debris blower.

 

[Bob Rooks]

Looks like a blower fan for a IH or AC cotton stripper to me. Creates an air stream that sucks the cotton out of the header & blows it into the basket. Probably Allasion Chalmers.

I checked all the silage blowers and truck loaders I could find and none of them were this small (about 30 inches), and the side plates don't have provisions for loading material.

 

[cwbyeng1300]

Can't find a photo of a AC stripper blower fan, but here is a pic of a John Deere fan.

 

[cdaigle430]

At first it looked like something from the Homco line of vintage snowblowers.

 

[Bob Rooks]

At first it looked like something from the Homco line of vintage snowblowers.

Is this the Homko blower you were thinking of?

 

[Bob Rooks]

Can't find a photo of a AC stripper blower fan, but here is a pic of a John Deere fan.

View attachment 712724

That appears like it might draw intake air from both sides also. I think you might be on the right track.