How to Make a Portable Fan Blower Attachment for an Outdoor Park Grill
Understand what this attachment will achieve., Consider the essential elements., Get the parts., Get a fan., Get supporting electronics., Get a duct., Get a hook., Have the fastening done., Mount the fan in the end boot., Assemble the electronics...
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Understand what this attachment will achieve.
Like a traditional street vendor's satay grill, laying the charcoal bed directly on a flat surface and fanning it from above
- now automatically
- may more efficiently use fuel for high-temperature cooking by preventing combustion on and radiation from its lower side to be largely lost into the grill body.
The powerful radiation from its upper surface may outweigh the fan's disruption of convective heat transfer up to the food.
A gentle breeze also blows off fire suffocating ash to the back of the grill before it accumulates., Feel free to be creative, but be sure you've provided for (or worked around) each of the basic needs, which include: a fan to move the air, and a power source, switch, and electrical connectors to support it; a duct to direct the draft to the charcoal while shielding the fan from heat; a means of attaching the device to the grill, such as a hook for the front edge of the food grate; and adhesives, fasteners, or clever forming to hold everything together. -
Step 2: Consider the essential elements.
You may need to order some items over the Internet.
Expect some lead time and keep total shipping charges in mind.
The fan typically comes from a computer store, small electronic parts are often cheapest when mailed directly from the country of manufacturing, and pretty much everything else can come from a home improvement store (especially their online inventory)., A low to medium speed 120mm computer fan is quiet, compact and efficient.
A speed-selecting switch allows straightforward adjustment of the fire's power and fuel consumption. (Pulse-width modulation or other computer-based speed control is not nearly as simple to implement--you need a physical control.) Be sure any switch is on the intake side of the fan or a cable so it will be easy to reach when the exhaust side is inside a duct.
You'll probably want a wire cutter and stripper to remove the standard computer fan-power or power connector these generally have and prepare the bare connections for splicing.
Or, a corresponding power connector and tools to install it on the power source.
There is no need to buy an expensive fan unless it is a special heat-and/or dirt-resistant fan probably meant for something other than computers that you will use heavily in a refined design.
A little fan's noise will not be noticeable outdoors and heat and ash will probably kill it well before it would wear out on its own. , You'll need a typically 12-volt or somewhat lower DC power source (roughly matching the fan; a high voltage system would be dangerous), a switch, some similar-sized wire if the component leads aren't long enough to keep sensitive parts away from fire, and a means of splicing the connections.
An 8-AA enclosed battery holder with integrated switch and tinned leads works well, costs little, and keeps the batteries clean.
Connect the wires with the cutter/stripper and, ideally, heat-shrink tubing over a basic soldered connection, or crimp-able connectors or even wire nuts if soldering is impractical.
Of course, you'll need matching batteries. , A galvanized steel household HVAC air duct "end boot"
smoothly tapering from a wide tubular end to a perpendicular long rectangular, flanged face, will prop against the open side of the grill, direct air broadly over a swath of coals, and allow for easy clean out while protecting the fan from direct radiation, dropped food, or taken-in ash.
Get one prefabricated with at least most of the edges safely bent over.
A six-inch round opening can bend to a square that will snugly hold a 120mm nominal size computer fan, which is actually 125mm square.
Use a pair of pliers, preferably one without serrations or angular edges such as round-nose pliers, to bend it without weakening kinks. , Wire from a basic disposable hanger, ideally a relatively tough one such as a gold-colored wire suit hanger rather than a white shirt hanger, works well.
Cut it with something tough like diagonal "pliers"
and bend it with the same pliers as the duct., Crimping and rivets (more bent metal) is perhaps the best strong, heat-proof, relatively convenient way to fasten sheet metal.
Drill holes through nonessential areas of plastic parts, such as the battery box to anchor them.
Machine screws and nuts can also work; beware overly long sharp points from sheet-metal screws where you may reach.
Flue tape (which is basically glued heavy foil, so carefully avoid slicing with free edges) works well to secure the fan in a mounting cavity, hold down wires, and general light-duty use not directly exposed to coals.
It will soften a little under heat.
Epoxy putty sticks more strongly but will be damaged by overly strong heat as well.
The duct's flange can simply be bent up and away from lying flat on its back against the sides of the rectangular end for a broader surface to prop square against the grate and bed on the open edge of the grill.
Do not unfold the blunt rolled edges of the flange, but you can open one up a little to admit the hanger-wire whose ends can bend into hooks to keep the top side along the grate. , It will go into the round end, which will have to be bent square (without weakening hard creases) to fit around; the constriction toward the rectangular end will keep it from sliding in, and some tape will keep it from falling out.
The problem is more getting it in! Set the round end over the fan, squaring one of its frame's sides with the rectangular end's opening.
Identify the positions aligned with the corners.
With the pliers, bend the corners square and flatten the curves between them to neatly enclose the sides of the fan.
Slide it in
- this may require force and whacks against the fan's sturdy frame, but protect the weak hub.
Be careful not to chop or slice your fingers on sheet metal edges as you push! Orient the fan to blow into the duct (which generally means the mount will shield the moving parts from heat) and with its power supply and control cables (routed through its frame notches for neatness and protection) facing toward the downward, away-from-the-rectangular-face side when that is directed as the gadget will be in use.
The orientation is a matter of choice, but if you're right-handed, the fan will stay out of the way best if on your left when the rectangular hole is oriented horizontally facing away from you as if on a grill.
Secure the fan into the frame by its corners and edges with flue tape, keeping the tape, which may loosen in heat, away from the blades so it does not interfere with them. , Splice the switched battery holder's leads to the fan's.
Twisting and soldering with heat-shrink tubing (slid on and reserved out of the way beforehand) covers is most secure, but quicker methods such as twisting and wire nuts or electrical tape will work for a simple, non-critical gadget.
Add wire extensions if there is not enough slack to mount the battery box in a protected location.
Match polarity (wire insulation color)., Secure the battery box to the underside of the duct with rivets or epoxy putty and allow to cure.
Make sure the door is able to be opened, and if the body is riveted through its inside, that the batteries will seat! Neatly hold down and protect the wires with flue tape.
It's conductive, so the wires will need to be insulated., Bend the flanges around the duct's rectangular opening so that they project outward instead of lying back against the opening's outside.
Do not open up the final bend in the flanges, which would expose their sharp cut edges., Cut a piece of the wire hanger the length of the duct's rectangular opening plus two or three inches more on each end.
Bend it to comprise a straight central portion very slightly longer than the duct's rectangular opening, on each end turning perpendicular and bending over in the plane of the side of the opening so that it will hook over the edge of the food grate.
Slightly open the final roll-over of the top-side lengthwise flange on the rectangular opening, slip in the hook bar, and bend the flange edge back down to retain it.,, Remove piled-up ash from the area in the center of the grill where the blower will do its work: a space a little wider than the rectangular opening and extending backwards by somewhat less than a foot to be about square.
If there is unburned charcoal, put it here: free fuel! Remember that public grills should be cleaned before use.
Scrape it with at least scrap paper (not your food spatula) and let the heat take care of what won't come off as you prepare the grill for cooking. , Charcoal burns best where the pieces are facing each other, but the blower helps the process so that a deep pile is not needed.
Many little pieces facing each other is better than huge lumps or big briquettes; you can bring the remnants together to burn well or pile on more as they are consumed, but the food cooks so efficiently you likely won't need to.
Start what will be enough to cover the foot-square area
- or an area not extending so far back if you have little to cook
- about an inch deep ultimately.
A chimney starter works great, and a big one need not be thoroughly filled.
Most of the pieces should be burning on most of their sides but need not be ashed over.
Spread them out in the front center as described once they are started.
Set the chimney starter on the grill and direct the blower's exhaust toward its underside from a distance to start it very quickly
- but stay at arm's length and beware of sparks!, Lower the grate to an inch or so above the coals: the fan will blow back flare-ups so they don't add soot to or ignite the food.
Turn on the blower and hang it on the front edge of the grate.
The lower part of the rectangular opening or the flange below should rest on the front edge of the grill body, and, especially, not tip forward into the fire.
The air should project across the coals and make them burn bright, hot, and, relatively bare of ash.
Adjust the fan's speed or take the blower off periodically if the fire burns too hot, but keep the fan on to cool itself whenever the blower is mounted on a fired grill., The food should sizzle over the intense radiant heat.
Drippings' flare-"ups" will breeze inoffensively back.
The exterior will cook very quickly, so check the interior for adequate cooking too.
Reduce the heat (or, less efficiently, raise the grate) to finish insides without overcooking the outside, but a smoker or oven's wrap-around mild heat is better for slow, thorough cooking: better to grill relatively thin food, or that for which a less-cooked inside is desirable., Ash is corrosive and abrasive, so clean the blower, including the duct's inside if reachable, with a damp soapy cloth or paper towel after use.
Watch out for any sharp sheet metal edges. -
Step 3: Get the parts.
-
Step 4: Get a fan.
-
Step 5: Get supporting electronics.
-
Step 6: Get a duct.
-
Step 7: Get a hook.
-
Step 8: Have the fastening done.
-
Step 9: Mount the fan in the end boot.
-
Step 10: Assemble the electronics.
-
Step 11: Mount the electronics.
-
Step 12: Construct the grill-bearing surface.
-
Step 13: Add the grill-mounting double hook.
-
Step 14: Install the batteries.
-
Step 15: Clear excess ash.
-
Step 16: Start the charcoal - you'll only need a little.
-
Step 17: Mount and start the blower.
-
Step 18: Clean up.
Detailed Guide
Like a traditional street vendor's satay grill, laying the charcoal bed directly on a flat surface and fanning it from above
- now automatically
- may more efficiently use fuel for high-temperature cooking by preventing combustion on and radiation from its lower side to be largely lost into the grill body.
The powerful radiation from its upper surface may outweigh the fan's disruption of convective heat transfer up to the food.
A gentle breeze also blows off fire suffocating ash to the back of the grill before it accumulates., Feel free to be creative, but be sure you've provided for (or worked around) each of the basic needs, which include: a fan to move the air, and a power source, switch, and electrical connectors to support it; a duct to direct the draft to the charcoal while shielding the fan from heat; a means of attaching the device to the grill, such as a hook for the front edge of the food grate; and adhesives, fasteners, or clever forming to hold everything together.
You may need to order some items over the Internet.
Expect some lead time and keep total shipping charges in mind.
The fan typically comes from a computer store, small electronic parts are often cheapest when mailed directly from the country of manufacturing, and pretty much everything else can come from a home improvement store (especially their online inventory)., A low to medium speed 120mm computer fan is quiet, compact and efficient.
A speed-selecting switch allows straightforward adjustment of the fire's power and fuel consumption. (Pulse-width modulation or other computer-based speed control is not nearly as simple to implement--you need a physical control.) Be sure any switch is on the intake side of the fan or a cable so it will be easy to reach when the exhaust side is inside a duct.
You'll probably want a wire cutter and stripper to remove the standard computer fan-power or power connector these generally have and prepare the bare connections for splicing.
Or, a corresponding power connector and tools to install it on the power source.
There is no need to buy an expensive fan unless it is a special heat-and/or dirt-resistant fan probably meant for something other than computers that you will use heavily in a refined design.
A little fan's noise will not be noticeable outdoors and heat and ash will probably kill it well before it would wear out on its own. , You'll need a typically 12-volt or somewhat lower DC power source (roughly matching the fan; a high voltage system would be dangerous), a switch, some similar-sized wire if the component leads aren't long enough to keep sensitive parts away from fire, and a means of splicing the connections.
An 8-AA enclosed battery holder with integrated switch and tinned leads works well, costs little, and keeps the batteries clean.
Connect the wires with the cutter/stripper and, ideally, heat-shrink tubing over a basic soldered connection, or crimp-able connectors or even wire nuts if soldering is impractical.
Of course, you'll need matching batteries. , A galvanized steel household HVAC air duct "end boot"
smoothly tapering from a wide tubular end to a perpendicular long rectangular, flanged face, will prop against the open side of the grill, direct air broadly over a swath of coals, and allow for easy clean out while protecting the fan from direct radiation, dropped food, or taken-in ash.
Get one prefabricated with at least most of the edges safely bent over.
A six-inch round opening can bend to a square that will snugly hold a 120mm nominal size computer fan, which is actually 125mm square.
Use a pair of pliers, preferably one without serrations or angular edges such as round-nose pliers, to bend it without weakening kinks. , Wire from a basic disposable hanger, ideally a relatively tough one such as a gold-colored wire suit hanger rather than a white shirt hanger, works well.
Cut it with something tough like diagonal "pliers"
and bend it with the same pliers as the duct., Crimping and rivets (more bent metal) is perhaps the best strong, heat-proof, relatively convenient way to fasten sheet metal.
Drill holes through nonessential areas of plastic parts, such as the battery box to anchor them.
Machine screws and nuts can also work; beware overly long sharp points from sheet-metal screws where you may reach.
Flue tape (which is basically glued heavy foil, so carefully avoid slicing with free edges) works well to secure the fan in a mounting cavity, hold down wires, and general light-duty use not directly exposed to coals.
It will soften a little under heat.
Epoxy putty sticks more strongly but will be damaged by overly strong heat as well.
The duct's flange can simply be bent up and away from lying flat on its back against the sides of the rectangular end for a broader surface to prop square against the grate and bed on the open edge of the grill.
Do not unfold the blunt rolled edges of the flange, but you can open one up a little to admit the hanger-wire whose ends can bend into hooks to keep the top side along the grate. , It will go into the round end, which will have to be bent square (without weakening hard creases) to fit around; the constriction toward the rectangular end will keep it from sliding in, and some tape will keep it from falling out.
The problem is more getting it in! Set the round end over the fan, squaring one of its frame's sides with the rectangular end's opening.
Identify the positions aligned with the corners.
With the pliers, bend the corners square and flatten the curves between them to neatly enclose the sides of the fan.
Slide it in
- this may require force and whacks against the fan's sturdy frame, but protect the weak hub.
Be careful not to chop or slice your fingers on sheet metal edges as you push! Orient the fan to blow into the duct (which generally means the mount will shield the moving parts from heat) and with its power supply and control cables (routed through its frame notches for neatness and protection) facing toward the downward, away-from-the-rectangular-face side when that is directed as the gadget will be in use.
The orientation is a matter of choice, but if you're right-handed, the fan will stay out of the way best if on your left when the rectangular hole is oriented horizontally facing away from you as if on a grill.
Secure the fan into the frame by its corners and edges with flue tape, keeping the tape, which may loosen in heat, away from the blades so it does not interfere with them. , Splice the switched battery holder's leads to the fan's.
Twisting and soldering with heat-shrink tubing (slid on and reserved out of the way beforehand) covers is most secure, but quicker methods such as twisting and wire nuts or electrical tape will work for a simple, non-critical gadget.
Add wire extensions if there is not enough slack to mount the battery box in a protected location.
Match polarity (wire insulation color)., Secure the battery box to the underside of the duct with rivets or epoxy putty and allow to cure.
Make sure the door is able to be opened, and if the body is riveted through its inside, that the batteries will seat! Neatly hold down and protect the wires with flue tape.
It's conductive, so the wires will need to be insulated., Bend the flanges around the duct's rectangular opening so that they project outward instead of lying back against the opening's outside.
Do not open up the final bend in the flanges, which would expose their sharp cut edges., Cut a piece of the wire hanger the length of the duct's rectangular opening plus two or three inches more on each end.
Bend it to comprise a straight central portion very slightly longer than the duct's rectangular opening, on each end turning perpendicular and bending over in the plane of the side of the opening so that it will hook over the edge of the food grate.
Slightly open the final roll-over of the top-side lengthwise flange on the rectangular opening, slip in the hook bar, and bend the flange edge back down to retain it.,, Remove piled-up ash from the area in the center of the grill where the blower will do its work: a space a little wider than the rectangular opening and extending backwards by somewhat less than a foot to be about square.
If there is unburned charcoal, put it here: free fuel! Remember that public grills should be cleaned before use.
Scrape it with at least scrap paper (not your food spatula) and let the heat take care of what won't come off as you prepare the grill for cooking. , Charcoal burns best where the pieces are facing each other, but the blower helps the process so that a deep pile is not needed.
Many little pieces facing each other is better than huge lumps or big briquettes; you can bring the remnants together to burn well or pile on more as they are consumed, but the food cooks so efficiently you likely won't need to.
Start what will be enough to cover the foot-square area
- or an area not extending so far back if you have little to cook
- about an inch deep ultimately.
A chimney starter works great, and a big one need not be thoroughly filled.
Most of the pieces should be burning on most of their sides but need not be ashed over.
Spread them out in the front center as described once they are started.
Set the chimney starter on the grill and direct the blower's exhaust toward its underside from a distance to start it very quickly
- but stay at arm's length and beware of sparks!, Lower the grate to an inch or so above the coals: the fan will blow back flare-ups so they don't add soot to or ignite the food.
Turn on the blower and hang it on the front edge of the grate.
The lower part of the rectangular opening or the flange below should rest on the front edge of the grill body, and, especially, not tip forward into the fire.
The air should project across the coals and make them burn bright, hot, and, relatively bare of ash.
Adjust the fan's speed or take the blower off periodically if the fire burns too hot, but keep the fan on to cool itself whenever the blower is mounted on a fired grill., The food should sizzle over the intense radiant heat.
Drippings' flare-"ups" will breeze inoffensively back.
The exterior will cook very quickly, so check the interior for adequate cooking too.
Reduce the heat (or, less efficiently, raise the grate) to finish insides without overcooking the outside, but a smoker or oven's wrap-around mild heat is better for slow, thorough cooking: better to grill relatively thin food, or that for which a less-cooked inside is desirable., Ash is corrosive and abrasive, so clean the blower, including the duct's inside if reachable, with a damp soapy cloth or paper towel after use.
Watch out for any sharp sheet metal edges.
About the Author
Natalie Burns
Enthusiastic about teaching DIY projects techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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