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Lasko Blower Mod - Specially Modified for Cabinet Cooling Tube Ventilation

Quazi

Member
Hello everyone. Quazi here with another guide to help everyone along in their travels. But first:
:bongsmi:
Now then, I've got some good tunes on, and my photos are all finally uploaded so here goes.

If you are reading this thread near the creation date, then I would hurry and check your local Lowes. I was looking for other supplies when I noticed it sitting on the shelf for $30.09 on clearance. I assume this is either because it was out of season or it was my lucky day (both?). I don't remember what the regular price was because I was too busy pretending I didn't just pee myself in excitement a tiny bit. However, I believe it was close to $50.00 (still not too bad).

Anyway, here's what I picked up:


I brought it home and plugged it in (expecting the worst). It was quiet, strong, good suction. Not only that, but it has 3 speed settings and 2 plugs which can deliver 10 amps and a heavy duty cord to boot. This is when I started to get excited. Another thing that got me jazzed about it was the design of the fan itself. Instead of being one huge cylinder that rotates, the cylinder of the fan is split in half meaning there is equal suction on both sides of the fans from the start. This is wonderful for those growing in a cabinet as you can ensure you'll get ventilation inside your electrical room and inside your cooling tube.

The fan had one drawback when it started. It was a bit bulky and I'm trying to fit it inside the dimensions of my electric room in my cabinet. I, like many others, only have around 10-12" to work with in there. Not only that, but I didn't want any grating, I wanted a straight shot into the cooling tube. If you check my signature you can see the cabinet that I am working on to better understand what I mean.

--UPDATE-- I called the company to get the CFM ratings for this fan. They're very similar to the Stanley blower:
Speed 1: 318 CFM
Speed 2: 395 CFM
Speed 3: 455 CFM


The point is, the fan was too damned big and I didn't want any grating for the side my cooling tube was going to be on. Well, it's DIY, you know what that means:

Let's grab some tools (or :lurk: if you're just reading)!

:ying: :ying: Lasko Blower Mod by Quazi :ying: :ying:

Before you start, please be smart:


To remove as much bulk as possible, this guide is going to run you through removing the grey plastic framing and ending up with one solid plastic piece per side. This is important because when you're cutting, it will be much easier to cut through a thinner, single, solid piece. Rather than a thin piece of plastic on a solid piece held by a couple of screws. Anyway, each of these solid pieces can then be topped, and you'll end up with a great blower. Be sure to make some room 'cause there's gonna be a lot of pieces and screws.

The first thing we need to do is get a hex key and remove the large silver screws in the handle and for the feet:


The other large hey keyed screws are hidden underneath small pieces of plastic near the base:


Once you remove the rest of the screws on that side (you can switch to Phillips Head now) you can take off the outside part of the fan:


Here comes one of the tougher parts that you might want help for if you don't want to break things (or yourself). I personally did not want any grating because I know I won't stick my hand in there and I want to have maximum ventilation for my cooling tube. The grating is sort of snapped in there and the plastic is fairly strong.

Here's the method that I used to remove it: have someone pull away from you holding the grey part while you, carefully, start to push the plastic pieces towards the middle of the grate. I heard a small popping sound for each one and it was off. That was the hardest part:


Now that you're half way through (What? It's that easy? Yes Susan it is that easy!), you can start to work on the other half of the blower:


You should be getting a nice pile of pieces and screws by now:


I forgot to take pictures of the process of removing the screws from the fan half of the contraption. It's fairly easy though. Remove the silver parts and keep the screws that are around the electrics and on the large plastic piece closets to the fan.

Now that you have all the ugly extra framing stuff off: here is the contraption in all it's glory. You can see the divided fan structure that I was talking about earlier:


Post continues below...
 
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Quazi

Member
Lasko Blower Mod - Specially Modified for Cabinet Cooling Tube Ventilation Part 2

Lasko Blower Mod - Specially Modified for Cabinet Cooling Tube Ventilation Part 2

Now is the part where you're going to need something to cut. I used something like this:


You are going to want to make a cut just above below the fan and on the left as well. It's a bit hard to explain, but if you're smart you'll see where the cuts should go from looking at the pictures and using your noggin. The first one is a top view and the piece that was cut off:


Here's what you're left with from the outside:


Now you want to move to the other side. Remember the pain the in ass black frame piece that was snapped in? Make cuts in the same places. Here is the piece that was cut and what was left:


Now you can snap your black plastic piece back on the middle grey exhaust and put the fan portion on the other side:


Once you have done this, put the feet back in the black plastic pieces to hold it together:


Then, insert the hex screws into the appropriate places for the feet:


Before I continue: yes, you can turn it on and try it now, but please, do NOT do this when it is running:


Now that the pieces have been cut off, you can move the exhaust straight up and it extends past the black plastic pieces on the side making it much easier to attach exhaust.

Here's the dimensions for anyone wondering:


Now you can consider yourself the brand new owner of a nicely sized, dual-exhaust, nifty-spiffy, Quazi-fied Lasko blower for your grow cabinet:


... and also a s#&%-ton of screws and scraps:


I'll do a different thread on how I hook up the cool tube, ventilation, and DIY reflector so that it can be freely moved up and down in the flowering chamber.

However, I'm sure that others can find an application for this as it is. :smoke:

Any comments/questions or criticisms appreciated.

-Q :rasta:
 
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Nice DIY man. similar to the stanley blower mod. which do u think is better. its likely their the same. homedepot/lowes ill b looking around tomarrow.
Thanks man.
 

ConceptOfSleep

Active member
I actually have the original version of the Lasko blower wich is IDENTICAL to the Stanley blower, only with black and grey plastic as opposed to the yellow on the Stanley... It works great and has been cooling my cab and 400W light with ease on the 2nd setting...

I also love the fact that it has extra plugs on it, which I use to power another small fan in the cab to move some air around for the plants to enjoy...

Great pickup for @ $30... I saw them last time I was at Lowes and thought that it was a bit slimmer than the Lasko I have... Ill try and see if I can get some pics of the blower I use now...It appears to be the same fan just in a different housing.

:joint:
 

ShroomDr

CartoonHead
Veteran
Its the exact same fan as the Stanley Blower, just a slightly different shell. If you look on the box of the Stanley Blower, you'll see its just a Lasko rebrand.
 

Quazi

Member
I am a huge fan of the Stanley blower mod thread.

This mod is different than the Stanley blower mod though. I was trying to get a blower that had an open end, and was an ideal size for an electrics room in a cabinet. So, there's a bit more to disassembling and modifying this blower. However, I'm honored that I've been compared to such a great and classic DIY thread.

I believe this fan is almost identical to the model used in that thread. While I can't find any detailed information about it, like CFM ratings, I've found that searching online for it reveals the Lasko Stanley blower, which is the one from the Stanley blower mod thread. That makes me think that others in this thread may be correct: this is just a Lasko re-brand of the Stanley blower fan.

I'll be calling Lasko on Monday to ask them for the CFM rating on this fan though.

Thanks for stopping by everyone!

-Q :rasta:
 
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Quazi

Member
CFM ratings

CFM ratings

Hello everyone! Just wanted to let you know I called the company to find out the CFM ratings and they are very similar to the Stanley blowers.

Speed 1: 318 CFM
Speed 2: 395 CFM
Speed 3: 455 CFM

:jump:

Woot!

-Q :rasta:
 
E

eLiguL

Quazi said:
I called the company to find out the CFM ratings and they are very similar to the Stanley blowers.

Speed 1: 318 CFM
Speed 2: 395 CFM
Speed 3: 455 CFM

:jump:

Woot!

-Q :rasta:

The numbers provided by the manufacturers are a little inflated. Most people agree that the Stanley/Lakso blower is approximetely 265cfm.
 
I

icon

i believe you can find these at walmart too. i was wondering if you knew the Db (desibles) on the different settings. or if you can try to explain how loud it is?
 

Quazi

Member
icon said:
i believe you can find these at walmart too. i was wondering if you knew the Db (desibles) on the different settings. or if you can try to explain how loud it is?
Well, I haven't installed it within a cabinet yet so I'm not too sure about the noise. However, there isn't really a high pitched noise of a motor or anything. Just the sound of a lot of air moving. Even on the highest setting, it's still pretty quiet. Even putting my hand over the intake did not cause much of an increase in noise.

I won't pass too much judgment on the sound until I get a chance to hear it in action.

I know that's not too great, but I hope it helps. I'll be sure to come back here and let everyone know how it sounds in the cab.

menial: glad you like it! Thanks for stopping by!

-Q :rasta:
 
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Quazi

Member
Just updating to let everyone know it is installed and running. I keep it on low and it keeps my temps under control just fine.

As far as noise is concerned: it's just the sound of moving air. The motor is very quiet. My whole cabinet runs quieter than a 12 inch desk fan sitting on top of it on the lowest setting.

I'm very pleased.

-Q :rasta:
 
ok so scence this is pretty much the stanley then i see the same problem with it
1 cant pull agenst negative pressure very well
2 dosnt last long and the more it has to pull threw the shorter its life

itd be better to buy a acctule real ventulation fan itd cost more up frount but better in the long run cuz itll pull better and last longer

id be more then happy to lisen to dumones feelings on it but i dont think its really good to do what youd spen on this fan at regular prize about $50 you could spend $75-$125 and get a fan thatll last years instead on a couple mounths
 

Quazi

Member
The doors to my cabinet are sucked shut from the negative pressure created from this blower. This is on the lowest setting.

Also, I have heard of many people using the Stanley blower for long periods of time with little, to no complaints.

If you have $150.00-200 to get a blower, then a DIY guide to modify a cheap blower isn't for you.

As a DIYer, it's an inherent risk that we accept using products in ways that they are not intended. We do this to save money and to entertain ourselves and educate others. We accept that things we build have a probability of failure. We're okay with this.

-Q :rasta:
 
I had this exact fan modded to pull 2 400w hoods. Worked solid for a couple months, but I came home one day to the most AWFUL racket in my room. Turns out the circular part had eventually warped from the negative pressure and now rubs violently against the chassis when put under pressure. Shoddy plastic construction.

This mod is very useful, but in the end, you get what you pay for. It was never designed to sustain negative pressure, especially on the highest speed setting.

I just think it should be mentioned there is a high rate of failure with stanley/lasko fans used for this purpose. Not something you want to come home to, especially if your temps are at risk with no ventilation. The sound it was making was VERY loud too.

GJ though Quazi, may your fan live long and prosper.
 

Quazi

Member
With the intakes that were added to my cab, the negative pressure is definitely not as great as it was. In addition: I've never had to turn the blower up above "Low" so I'm hoping that the warping you experienced won't occur.

If it does though: I've already planned for how I will replace the current ventilation.

Anyone who is relying on parts to do things they weren't designed to do should have a backup plan.

Frankly, for the price: I'll be happy if I can get 2 grows out of it.

-Q :rasta:
 
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