Greetings all.
I'm putting together an iron melting furnace called a cupola. it needs a big blower to supply combustion air to foundry coke inside the furnace. i bought a blower from eBay that is just right. thing is, i need a controlled input of 20ma 0 -10vdc to a just the blower.
blower specs:
AMETEK NAUTILAIR 150231 8.9" 226 MM 480 CFM VARIABLE SPEED BLOWER FAN 120 V VAC

the 120vac input is converted to DC inside the fan. then it needs a control signal to tell it how fast to go.

what i need is something brutally simple. i figure i can use a battery and a voltage pot and a resister but i don't know what exactly to do and i don't want to make a bad mistake and blow the blower.

i own a foundry casting bronze aluminum and iron. i would gladly cast something in trade for a bit of bench electronics.

thanks for the help folks!
regards
Guss

 

Looking at the info you control the speed with an isolated DC supply 0 to 10V, so yes a battery with a regulator would do.

 

Probably the easiest thing for you to do is get a 4-20 ma. test box from Digikey or B&K or Newark. These typically use a 9 v battery or sometimes 2 in series giving 18 volts and a switch that converts 4-20 ma to 0-10 volts. You can get fancy by using a PID Controller that can output a proportional signal according to whatever feedback element is available; ie air flow sensor, thermocouple etc.
That's probably what you'll end up doing when you get more familiar with your process.

Cheers, DPW [ Everything has limitations...and I hate limitations.]

 

Are you sure it only accepts a 2 wire 0-10v? Or does it have 3 terminals, (3rd terminal being +10v) so that you can connect a pot? I'm not familiar with your fan but the majority of devices I have seen that accept a 0-10v signal have this 3rd terminal. If yours does, simply connect it to the input.

 

hi there
thanks for the help so far

i think i'm on board with what you all had to say. the trick is that although i know a lot about meting and pouring metal, I'm only vaguely familiar with electronics. i need the solution spelled out. i'm willing to pay for help if need be. i can PayPal for the solution.

@Strantor- the motor has 4 wires(plus one ground wire off to the side), two for 120vac and two for the control 0-10vdc

regards
Guss

 

You want brutally simple, attach a 9v battery to it. Done.

 

Guss, rather than play Blind Mans Bluff...I would suggest that you contact Ametek directly, give them your blower's Nameplate data and tell them to send you a basic wiring diagram.
Now, you can communicate with some knowledge instead of just guessing.

Cheers, DPW [Everything has limitations...and I hate limitations.]

 

Datasheet here (though you may have to register):http://www.ametektip.com/index.php?option=com_catalog&view=models&which=catalogs&id=48
From that spec sheet:
"0 to 10 VDC with a speed control input current of 5 mA to 20 mA at 10 VDC Input with multi-turn potentiometer set to minimum resistance ( fully clockwise ). Mechanical: A potentiometer is available for speed control of the blower. The potentiometer can be preset for a specic speed. Access for speed adjustment located in motor housing."

I don't think I would use a battery...except for testing. What would happen when the battery goes dead and drops the blower speed with it?

Ken

Or, here's the PDF attached