Box Fans in Stables

for a stable you can get panel fans you place in wall opening and windows and you can flip them over the change direction they blow to suit the wind of the day.

Some are switch reversible

This is an established commercial item and they have built in temperature thermal breakers. Get ones with sealed ball bearings. Stable/farm supply houses sell them

You did not provide any detail about how the fans are mounted, but my sense of your situation is:

(1) That box fans are most likely used simply because they are inexpensive, both to purchase and to replace when they wear out...they are also easy to store due to their shapes.

(2) You would probably be best advised not to offer suggestions to a stable owner as to what types of fan equipment he/she should install...especially if you have no alternative stable, with vacancies, at a rate you're willing to pay. (And, having controversy at one stable can sometimes lead to being less that welcome at other nearby stables...so you must consider what information might be shared about you among neighboring stable operators.) Simply put, you would only risk being seen as a nuisiance, so doing so could backfire in unanticipated ways, don't you see?

As to potential for fire, of course anything is possible, but is it probable? Probably, unless the fans are placed in contact or where then might dislodge and fall into hay or other flammables, there is little credible reason for concern about the eventualities that you are suggesting. If a fan overheats, it is most likely that it will simply fail...and become an inert object, as it were. I have never seen or heard of a fire being caused by a box fan...even when used in fairly hazardous surroundings.

I would be concerned--if it is true--that the only personal observation of the horses occurs at start and end of day. You would be within your reasonable rights to inquire as to how often the horses are checked in on during the day? Is there always someone on premises? And what provisions have been made to ensure that the horses will be able to escape (to be let out) in case a fire starts for any reason? You should also take steps to assure yourself that code regulations as regards fire hazards--placement of extinquishers, fire lookout or sensing equipment and alarms...things like that--have been complied with. Also, the stable should be well posted so as to prohibit any smoking (or ignition sources of any kind) in or near the stables...by visitors or employees. (Smoking would probably present the greatest risk, by far to your horse.) You can check online to get some idea as to what the standards for stables are. The general conditions and cleanliness of the facility are also measures that can be taken into account to assess the welfare of your horse and the likelihood of injury. Taking a tack such as this with a stable owner, you are in much better position to have your concerns addressed. But offering fan equipment advise is something to which a stable operator is quite likely to take umbrage. Hope this helps.

Most fans are designed with sealed bearings, simply because they are used in such harsh environments. If you use a box fan out in your garage at your home, it is more likely to be exposed to more elements then the elements at the stable. If the fans at the stable are mounted above the floor out of the way of the horse, the it is actually safe to use in its given environment. Your garage would see just as much pollution and adverse elements as the stalls at the stable. Plus your house fan is prone and succeptible to more damage due to it being mobile and you moving it around on any given day whe outside working in your garage. Be happy your horse has such an amenity alloted for the heat problems. Maybe if you actually concidered on an improvement of a more efficient style of fan and a better system for the stable, the owner just might be up to you helping save on energy cost and welcomed improvements to benifit all who share the facility. Good luck.

I would love to help with energy costs and such, but the dust that you see in a stable that can kill solid-state electronics (I was shocked when I found that one out thank you very much! :) ) That is all that I was afraid of.

Actually there is an alternative set-up that would benefit your animals and save you the cost in power usage. Solar and wind generators is a good source of power. You can setup a 24v dc system, tie it into a transformer to increase your working power, then store the power that is generated between the wind generator and your solar collectors. Once you install the main power system, it will pay for itself pver the years in usage and designing an efficient cooling duct system for your stalls is quite simple.

Good luck and have fun......

Is one supposed to clean a solar power collector?

I'm Geuessing that you are talking about photovoltaics and not hot water. There is little wind there, but I do like the solar idea, the barn is in direct sunlight all day long. If I were to convert the power to 120 V AC, and lets take an 80 watt fan, 32 Stables. How much money are we talking about? Because The stable has switched hands to a person who is very cheap, not in a good way, and I am a little afraid to propose something that will take so long to pay for itself that the owner doesn't even see him self there in 10 or 20 years.

Not to mention, will all of that black panel on top of it be a large load for the roof? or make it hotter than what ventilation it has can keep it cool?

Can I use convection to suck air from the gates on either end so heat in the center doesn't build up? Because if a good ol' mother nature system does sound good. I think we are on the right track with that.

EVer try convective wall panels? These are air cavities that are exposed to the sun on the outside and gather inside air. They run to the roof line and the warmed air column rises on it's own and draws air from the building. You can also add wind expellers that use the venturi principal to remove air.

As for solar, 24 VDC fans are available and avoid a conversion step to 120 VAC.

a 24 volt battery will power the fans when there is no sun. Choice of solar panel, battery and fan current used will allow you to size them all to fit your sunny days etc. One can assume that in your local winter less sun means a lesser need for venting. As a precaution get an ac operated battery charger for protracted sunless periods

Just curious but, what part of Maryland? I would guess you are using an urban stable location (meaning, inside the Balto beltway (or perhaps the DC beltway?!)) where urban heat island conditions are encountered. Why do I mention this? I lived many years in Maryland, much of it in the horse farm regions (we're talking thoroughbreds here) in northern Baltimore, Carroll,... counties. My experience was that as soon as one travels (on motorcycle in my case) outside the beltway, the ambient temperature aways drops (suddenly and quite noticeably, as if entering an air conditioned bldg!) by 10 degrees and more. Whereas 90+ degrees is common in the city, 80- degrees is typical outside the city. Non-urban areas in much if not most of Maryland are so much cooler on average...that the number of days in a year in which artifical "cooling" of a well made stable would be indispensible--except inside the Beltway--would probably be too few to justify a high capital investment, such as for solar power arrays. The point made about type and condition of roof as to suitability for solar panel(s) is, indeed, an important one. Competant solar panel suppliers/installers will typically decline to install on roofs with any deficiencies--including any signs of rot, even the apparent need for a reshingle. Having said all this, there might be a solar solution that could meet your need (if you owned the stable ) at a more sensible cost. That would be to install one or more solar powered, roof mounted attic fans to help keep heat moving upward into the "attic" space and away from the equines. These units move a suprising volume of air--one being typically sufficent to "cool" the entire attic of a typical house; they have the advantage of being self contained--no need or expense for inverters and wiring augmentations; they operate more or less productively only as conditions warrant--as sunray intensities increase or decrease; they are durable--typically having a five year warranty; they are quick and easy to install--subject to possible modifications in the case of corrugated roofs; they are reasonably priced--costing about $300 (+/_) each--installed--last time I checked. If this interests you, I will need some time to "recapture" vendor information about the fans.

Now, permit me to say something else--if you don't mind being made even more ill at ease by your dilemma. Thinking about these matters, seems to me that much of what has been said about "cooling" the stable itself might have strayed away from the original "concept"; and of the result intended by the present stable owner in his use of box fans in the stalls. Seems to me that the best that can (or should?) be hoped for is to maintain stall temps at no greater than the ambient shaded temperature. Yes, air conditioning (evaporative or refrigerated) is possible, but would also pose a risk to the equine tenants. That being the case, seems to me that the stable owner's intention is not so much to mitigate temperatures in the stable itself but, rather, to increase the comfort level of each stall (and of each stall resident) by creating a comforting (and skin drying) breeze for each animal. If such is the case, then it would seem that improving on that aspect--the breeze aspect--will accomplish more than any overall stable cooling/ventilation improvement; and would do so much quicker, easier, and cheaper. An obvious economical alternative to box fans in that case would be a solution already used in many horse barns: variable speed ceiling fans. These would be quieter and might allay your concerns about fire hazards. However, if the sound of box fans is soothing (as in hypnotic) to the horses, that aspect might be lost by such a change. Hopes this helps.......?!

I must admit that at first, I didn't think about that. This is a rural area, but that doesn't mean that it can't get up to 90. You are right about them enjoying the noise. and, the breeze. I am just concerned because every now and then when one fails, it is stored, not disposed. I was afraid that some idiot would torch the place with one of those "bad but not dead" fans. Most of the day the owner is hob-knob-bing about all day un town shopping for things she can't afford. while the few renters pop in and out. I am thinking about moving the horse because this little to no attention has been the death of three other horses in 06 because they coliced when th owners were away.

I guess the lesson might be:

If you are median income, and must rent space, be prepared to check in on (and exercise) your horse every day or so.

If you are in a more priveleged situation, be prepared to pay extra, above stall rent, for "extra" services; and gratuities to the stable's or your own horse handler. But, on the other hand, there are lots horse loving fellows there in Maryland who might be willing to help take care of your horse for not much money...just for the love of being around horses. Race tracks are good places to find such fellows. Hope this helps and good luck with your horse.

Amen to that.

Tune in next week for another episode of "Bad tenants"

Just kidding, but the truth is when you want those services, (I relaize more now) That people are not going to do something because they care, care does not pay the electric bill.