Snow fangun

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This is an ABSOLUTE waste of time, but it's probably one of the most amusing projects i have come up with in a long time. Despite the fact that i live in coastal SC, we actually get about 15-20 nights a year that work well for snowmaking. The body of the gun is an old bladder tank that wouldnt hold pressure. Fan is a HF 8 in ventilator, and the rest has been scavenged from industrial suppliers around town. I still have at least a month to finish her up.... Attached Images----------MM180Lincoln PrecisionTig 225Hypertherm PM45Dyn 200dx
Reply:lol, how far does it get the water to spray? are you atleast on a hill so that when you do make snow, you've actually got something to slide down. It will also increase the coverage area though, in doing so will reduce the overall coverage amount. (Have worked as a snowboard instructor for close to a decade now, so I'm at the mountain on a regular basis so I have some working knowlege with snow makers.)There are no problems. There are only solutions. It's your duty to determine the right one.Hobart Handler 210Airco 225 Amp MSM Stinger
Reply:Jeeze, some people will do anything to have a white Christmas!  I think the person in the background is a bit grumpy they can't get the skis out yet. It seams there's always something unique and interesting I'd never think of, that people here come up with for projects...No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Despite the grumpy appearance, she's actually cool with it. She was recovering from a minor procedure and not feeling well. All better now though...So, no hill though. The gun actually tilts backwards for operation. That fan is good for 2000CFM with the blade modifications and cowling. The bulk ring nozzles should give me around 8GPM, so IF i can get enough hang time with those things wide open, then it should amount to a good bit of the white stuff. If it's too wet, then i have different nozzles to try. Either way, this thing is loud!----------MM180Lincoln PrecisionTig 225Hypertherm PM45Dyn 200dx
Reply:Thinking about this, I've got a pesky neighbor up  the street I'd love to try this out on if it was quieter. I can see him walk out his front door one morning to find his driveway's the only one in the neighborhood with 2 feet of snow in it. Boy would that pizz him off! .No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Unfortunately, home snow making and quiet don't go together (at least not in any method that i've stumbled across)  If the neighborhood kids didnt have so much fun with it last year, There is NO WAY i could get away with this one. It's twice as big as the contraption i built last year. The sound of 15CFM@100PSI coming out of a 1/4in brass nipple cuts through the night air like a knife!----------MM180Lincoln PrecisionTig 225Hypertherm PM45Dyn 200dx
Reply:Originally Posted by bboydUnfortunately, home snow making and quiet don't go together (at least not in any method that i've stumbled across)  If the neighborhood kids didnt have so much fun with it last year, There is NO WAY i could get away with this one. It's twice as big as the contraption i built last year. The sound of 15CFM@100PSI coming out of a 1/4in brass nipple cuts through the night air like a knife!
Reply:very cool keep the pics coming please!! I have actually been thinking about building one of these for the last couple of months now that I have a big enough back yard to play in and have built a few small kickers for my snowmobile I would love to have a nice landing zone everytime.
Reply:That thing is really neat! its not a waste of time in IMO.. you have time fabbin/welding/playing not a waste of time... you can reallyl mess with your neighbors if its coled enough xmas go out and spray your yard withe snow and go over ask them what they thought of that crazy snow storm you had last night.. LOLOwner G&S Mobile Welding & Millwright Services, LLCSpencerville, Ohio Adult Ed. Instructor at Apollo Career Center Lima, Ohio
Reply:Snow making isn't quiet no mater where you're at.There are no problems. There are only solutions. It's your duty to determine the right one.Hobart Handler 210Airco 225 Amp MSM Stinger
Reply:I need to build a giant contraption that sits outside and gets rid of snow.   Attached Images
Reply:plus you could use it to vetalate when welding haha.
Reply:Few more photos.... Attached Images----------MM180Lincoln PrecisionTig 225Hypertherm PM45Dyn 200dx
Reply:Got the angle on the stand a little closer to what i want... Attached Images----------MM180Lincoln PrecisionTig 225Hypertherm PM45Dyn 200dx
Reply:Tried out the little HF clear water pump tonight to boost 60PSI city water. That little $35 pump gets me up to 140PSI... Not bad for HF! Attached Images----------MM180Lincoln PrecisionTig 225Hypertherm PM45Dyn 200dx
Reply:care to give a run down on how it works? Fan, compressed air expanding for cold, + water makes snow? Is that it?miller syncrowave 250hobart handler 140home made 400 amp engine driven in progress...
Reply:Yup, that's pretty much how it works. The center nozzle is an air/water nozzle called a nucleator. The expansion of compressed air supercools the water fast enough to allow an instant phase change. This already frozen mixture seeds the mist from the outer bulk water nozzles, allowing it all (hopefully) to turn to white stuff. The process doesn't work without a nucleation nozzle, unless it's really cold, really dry and the gun is really high, none of which are practical, especially in SC. All you get is ice. I've tried it. The fan is there to give hang time. Ideally, I would have more of a taper to the gun, increasing static air pressure and exit velocity, but I'm really just working with bits and pieces I have laying around. There is a lot more that goes into these things like droplet size, water/air pressure, flow rates, nozzle staging... List goes on.... Anyone who wants to know more about the process should head over to snowguns.com. That's where I picked all of this up.----------MM180Lincoln PrecisionTig 225Hypertherm PM45Dyn 200dx
Reply:Hey dere;It ain't never a waste of time if you enjoy doing it! That's about the coolest thing I ever saw.All the best Originally Posted by bboydThis is an ABSOLUTE waste of time, but it's probably one of the most amusing projects i have come up with in a long time. Despite the fact that i live in coastal SC, we actually get about 15-20 nights a year that work well for snowmaking. The body of the gun is an old bladder tank that wouldnt hold pressure. Fan is a HF 8 in ventilator, and the rest has been scavenged from industrial suppliers around town. I still have at least a month to finish her up....
Reply:So why is this "an ABSOLUTE waste of time"?Welding/Fab Pics: www.UtahWeld.com
Reply:Hey dere;Ya put a litle twist on it, and it is REAL siimiliar to the origianl ramjet design , back in the late 40's. Can you say "Sabre"?Yup!
Reply:Little progress.... Attached Images----------MM180Lincoln PrecisionTig 225Hypertherm PM45Dyn 200dx
Reply:Stator vanes for the fan..... Attached Images----------MM180Lincoln PrecisionTig 225Hypertherm PM45Dyn 200dx
Reply:That color scheme makes it look like a Cub Scout project. Your den mother would be proud. Seriously though, cool machine (no pun intended)Lincoln Idealarc 250 (circa 1962)Lincoln Weldpak 155 w/Mig KitLincoln Squarewave TIG 175
Reply:Got more detail pics of the nuculator nozzle?  I'm just curious because it seems like a real big orifice.  I work at a ski hill (in Iowa, believe it or not) and we have a couple types of nuculation-type snow machines (Areco snowsystem and fanjets), none use an orifice that big (biggest is probably 3/32"), just a thought to get optimal air/water mixture, the better your nuculation is the less hang time you'll need to make better snow, unless you are wanting to dump HUGE amounts of water out this gun.For the rest of you, yeah we manufacture snow because mother nature doesn't give us much choice.  Some areas are especially prone to foot/ski/board traffic (like around the chairlifts and ropetows) and because the snow gets dirty and trampled, melts faster, so even if mother nature gave us a 4' dumping of fresh powder, by the time it was tilled and walked on it would be less than a foot, in many places we need 36-48" of base or more to maintain more than a few days of heavy traffic.  This is hugely important when you have 1200+ skiers/boarders in attendance in one day (mind you, we're a tiny area with 2 chairs, 2 rope tows and a handle/tubing tow, so thats a LOT of people)
Reply:I ski, so I love snow.  That's an awesome build!  The mountain we ski at uses The Super PoleCat fanguns. They put out a nice product. The snow is much lighter than what you get from a regular air and water gun.Today's progress.... Attached Images----------MM180Lincoln PrecisionTig 225Hypertherm PM45Dyn 200dx
Reply:I cannot wait to see the video of this making snow on youtube. (hint hint get colder already )miller syncrowave 250hobart handler 140home made 400 amp engine driven in progress...
Reply:Few more for tonight. Electrical and plumbing are mostly done. Going to have to touch up the paint when all is said and done... Only thing missing..... Hmm.... Tomorrow's high... 79 Attached Images----------MM180Lincoln PrecisionTig 225Hypertherm PM45Dyn 200dx
Reply:Oil filed gages?Are you mixing air and water and spraying it out the nucleation nozzle?"Great spirits have always encountered violent oppostion from mediocre minds."  --  Albert Einstein
Reply:The oil filled gauges were picked up from HF for $8 a pop. Mainly chose those because the bodies are stainless. I am curious how they will behave in sub freezing temps though. The nucleation nozzle is an air/water nozzle, running about 120PSI water and 100PSI air. I am getting great results at 15CFM but it's far too loud for nighttime use in my neighborhood. I think i am going to spring for an internal mix air-atomizing nozzle that was built for this application. They arent cheap, but it should make a big difference in sound levels. Here is the nozzle i plan to use.http://www.bete.com/products/xaad.html Attached Images----------MM180Lincoln PrecisionTig 225Hypertherm PM45Dyn 200dx
Reply:I love Snow.  I really wish it would snow every winter, once, for a couple hours in the afternoon without sticking On Christmas eve.  Mac
Reply:Trial run.... Still have some leaks to fix, but nothing major... Attached Images----------MM180Lincoln PrecisionTig 225Hypertherm PM45Dyn 200dx
Reply:we're waiting, is it cold yet?
Reply:How much air does it use?  the temps got down into the high 20's here last night.   first time i can EVER remember it getting that cold.it would have been sweet to have something like that to play with.on the other hand i know building one would be cheep insurance that it never ever drops below 32 deg here.Vantage 500's LN-25's, VI-400's, cobramatics, Miller migs, synch 350 LX, Powcon inverters, XMT's, 250 Ton Acurrpress 12' brake, 1/4" 10' Atlantic shear,Koikie plasma table W/ esab plasmas. marvel & hyd-mech saws, pirrana & metal muncher punches.
Reply:Pretty cool.  Let us know when you get a chance to blow snow.Contrary to popular opinion, I do NOT have a pet turkey that craps molten steel.  It's a goose.
Reply:So did it ever get used? I really want to see this bad boy work.miller xmt 304 w/ 22a feederdynasty 200dx tig runnerspeedglas 9100xvictor journeymen O/Aesab shadow 5000 shape cutterClausing Drill Press setAVIA d.r.o. milling machine ercolina ercobender 76baileigh hsp-66mJD2 notchmaster
Reply:Originally Posted by somewelderguySo did it ever get used? I really want to see this bad boy work.
Reply:me 3.  if you post picks i can say i saw snow this winter.
Reply:It did work, but the nights that were cold enough were few and far between. Never got many great pictures, but here are a couple.-Brad Attached Images----------MM180Lincoln PrecisionTig 225Hypertherm PM45Dyn 200dx
Reply:That thing is just plain awesome.  I would definitely call that a success, good coverage too. How long it it run for to get that much snow?miller xmt 304 w/ 22a feederdynasty 200dx tig runnerspeedglas 9100xvictor journeymen O/Aesab shadow 5000 shape cutterClausing Drill Press setAVIA d.r.o. milling machine ercolina ercobender 76baileigh hsp-66mJD2 notchmaster
Reply:Very nice! How much money do you have in it?You ought to take that thing to Tozzi's place, he could put his old Gravley to workSafety 3rdGump
Reply:When you get a chance record a video (in action) and post on youtube, then post us a link. Although We get snow I'm still interested.Miller thunderbolt 250Decastar 135ERecovering tool-o-holic ESAB OAI have been interested or involved in Electrical, Fire Alarm, Auto, Marine, Welding, Electronics ETC to name a just a few. So YES you can own too many tools.
Reply:That was about a 90 minute run on a friday night. We had a few nights that were down in the low 20s, but being weeknights, figured the neighbors wouldnt appreciate air compressors and water pumps running ALL night long. They are in for a surprise when i finish the next random project, which trumps all others when it comes to noise making ----------MM180Lincoln PrecisionTig 225Hypertherm PM45Dyn 200dx