baker fan

I'd sure like to talk to you maybe via e-mail about how you built yours. I'm interested in building one with PTO drive, mayeb throw in a variable-speed sheeve from an old combine, not sure yet.

I need to know things like how big are the paddles, how large a shaft you used, etc.

Thanks!

Frank-in-Tallahassee
70D // 855 // VAC
wb8ens@aol.com

• F-I-T's webpage.....ALWAYS under construction....

It's a big, typically 4 paddle fan that beats the air. So, it's an air-load dynamometer. Of you keep the pulley size constant, and you measure the rpm your power source can make on a standard Baker Fan, so you have a decent comparison between steam engines or tractors. It's like "Mine can make 255 rpm on a Baker Fan".

I'm not sure, but I think they got their name from the AD Baker Co. of Swanton, Oh. They probably developed them for load testing their steam engines.

Frank

Frank, here is a picture of a good working Baker fan..
~Kind of slow loading [sorry]..

How big would estimate those paddles to be? Also, are they 1/4" plate?

If I tried to build one as a pto driven contraption, would a standard auto transmission (3 or 4 speed stick) support the load of say, 100 shaft hp?

If this thread gets too long, I'll start again above. I think this topic is of interest to many people.

Frank

~You could use a transmission but will have to support the input shaft as it only has an inner bearing, the other end is supported in the engine pilot bearing.

~I believe you might be better off using a jack shaft on your Baker fan to hook up your PTO, then belting that jack shaft to the main rotor shaft with a flat belt or V belts. That way it could also function as a flat belt Fan.

~For PTO loads I used a large water pump that I had a gate valve on & that could about stall most 2-cylinder tractors but a few years ago I belted up a 80 diesel & blew the pump apart.

~I was going to build another water pump set-up but think I will build a Baker fan instead.

~In the mean time I am just belting to another tractor [my 70 gas is the usual donor of friction] & that is how I am currently loading engines for tuning for power..

Being the curious sort and asking some techies at an HVAC air balancing firm we work with, I have applied some specific univeral fan law equations working out an RPM to HP table for our fan.

If anyone wants to build a test fan that is similar to ours and wants to run that fan with a PTO drive, they will have to install some reduction between the PTO shaft and the fan shaft if they want to see 540 RPM at the PTO shaft. On the other hand, I guess you don't need to see 540 RPM on the PTO to test for loading. According to my calculations, our fan requires 98 HP to turn the fan's shaft at 540 RPM.

Yes, please post it here. I think this topic has wide ranging interest.

I am also investigating the design of a Prony Brake. I think it might actually be easier to do, especially PTO wise.

Frank