Can I Add A Rheostat To This?

I just bought a 3 speed blower ( http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/BB-3000.html ) &, because the speed selector is pretty inaccesible (on the fan behind the stove), I want to select the fastest speed & then work it off a rheostat to vary the speeds. Anyone know if this will work with this blower or what info would be needed to dsiclose if it would?

Wonder if this would work if I run a separate line to the blower? http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/sto ... 25#reviews

Unless it's a shaded pole type motor,may not work. Not sure how they switch the power settings, but if you take it apart and they just use resistors, a rehostat may work?

It didn't work. (I tried 2 different ceiling fan remotes & they each worked at higher speed but wouldn't do medium or slow.) The medium speed still turned the fan but way to slow. I'll just have to survive with a wireless on/off remote & adjust the speed on the fan itself. If I get real adventurous I will just take the fan apart, remove the selector switch & run a wire to a more convenient location.

Why not remove the selector switch from the blower and run the wires to a convenient location?

coaledsweat wrote:Why not remove the selector switch from the blower and run the wires to a convenient location?

Beat you by a good 8 minutes!

I bought a router speed control from a woodworking shop, for my Harman Mk 1 blower. It turned out to be a solid-state unit with a mysterious circuit board inside, which Harman says NOT to use. Sure enough, it didn't work with the fan. Instructions with the speed control say not to use it with a capacitor-start motor, whatever that is -- my buddy tells me the Harman fan IS capacitor-start because the cord goes into a little square box alongside the motor. Anyhow I gave him the speed control for his router. Merry Christmas. Now I'm going to Google to find out what capacitor-start means.

rberq wrote:I bought a router speed control from a woodworking shop, for my Harman Mk 1 blower. It turned out to be a solid-state unit with a mysterious circuit board inside, which Harman says NOT to use. Sure enough, it didn't work with the fan. Instructions with the speed control say not to use it with a capacitor-start motor, whatever that is -- my buddy tells me the Harman fan IS capacitor-start because the cord goes into a little square box alongside the motor. Anyhow I gave him the speed control for his router. Merry Christmas. Now I'm going to Google to find out what capacitor-start means.

The box is just to house the connections between the motor and the cord set. The one annoyance with the fan was I had to unplug it to shut it off. I installed a toggle switch in the square box to turn the fan on and off. If you are able to get a rheostat similar to those used with stoker stoves that should work for you. The fan motor plugs into it and it has a cord to plug into the wall receptacle. To the best of my knowledge, it is a shaded-pole motor. Sorry, no wireless remote!

Actually, I just emailed CFM Products (blower mfg) & asked them if there was a way to remotely adjust blower speed through a rheostat or whatever.
Then of course there is the cost......I got the Blue Blower at Lowes for $37.00 (a deal) as opposed to the Harman blower for $117.00 so I am not about to spend more for a rheostat than the fan itself, anyway! I have it sitting on the floor behind the stove blowing into a 90* 6" duct elbow connected to the blower inlet under the stove. This setup negates any need to have the fan actualy touching the hot stove & eliminates any possible vibration noises.....very quiet! If need be, I can live with this setup since most of the time I run the fan at low speed anyway.Will let you know