Furnace Fan Makes Great "Alley Sweeper"

Furnace Fan Makes Great "Alley Sweeper" DAIRY EQUIPMENT & IDEAS Dairy Equipment & Ideas 23-4-6 "It's a quick and easy way to sweep alleys in my dairy barn," says Barry Clohassey, Tignish, Prince Edward Island, who converted a home furnace fan into a low-cost portable electric blower. Clohassey used a 3-ft. wide, 2-ft. high fan that's driven by a 1/4 hp electric motor. He mounted the fan on an angle iron frame equipped with four lawn mower wheels and a push handle. A metal deflector diverts air out the front side of the fan and down toward the floor. He uses the rig to blow straw bedding off an alley between two rows of cows. He simply plugs an extension cord into an outlet, then walks down one side of the alley and back up the other side. "It works as fast as I can walk," says Clohassey, who has an 85-ft. free-stall barn with a 5 1/2-ft. alley. He beds with straw. "It was a time consuming job to sweep straw by hand. Now it takes only about two minutes to get the job done." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Barry Clohassey, Tignish, P.E.I., Canada C0B 2B0 (ph 902 882-3439).

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