Blowhard technologies & Designs
Performance Density:
Large jet streams have higher performance so are naturally more efficient and effective. However, they take up a lot of space on the truck. Small fans take less space on the truck, provide for easy portability, and reach places more quickly, but they are inefficient and have low power…until BlowHard. Getting the performance of a large fan into a small fan body is a little bit of BlowHard Magic, aka: “Air-Flow Mo-Jo,” Baby. And we call this concept Performance Density…Small Fan, Big Performance!
High Flow Jet Technology developed by BlowHard is a new expansion jet airstream that increases Performance Density by giving a small fan the ability to generate a larger jet stream and performs as though it is much larger than it actually is.
Cones vs. Jets:
Historically, cones have been the airstream chosen for PPV fans. The goal with the cone is to expand to create a good seal around the door to prevent air from escaping and they are great at this. However, because the airstream expands too wide, the air becomes turbulent, the air velocity drops, the pressure drops, and there is a lot of wasted air.
Along came jets which provided a high velocity/speed airstream with high energy and pressure. But because the airstream is small, tight, and condensed, it doesn’t expand or bring more air along with it to build entrainment. It cannot seal the door properly which results in air coming back out of the structure. In order to try and expand the airstream, jet fan owners must set the fan way back to wait for the air to become turbulent which slows the airstream down causing low performance.
Expansion Jet:
Both of these ineffective airstreams moved BlowHard to develop an innovative solution we call High-Flow Jet.
The BlowHard High-Flow expansion jet provides a large, powerful jet stream of air right out of the fan, which then expands beyond the size of the shroud as it exists, bringing in more air to be entrained and driven into a structure. The expansion of the jet stream increases the volume of air, or CFM, by nearly 125%. It expands but does not become turbulent like a cone, rather stays a jet that does not require a long set back, providing the best of both worlds.
High-Flow jet accomplishes 3 objectives: 1) increase air flow, 2) increase area for door seal, and 3) create high air pressure. The result of High-Flow Jet technology is a fan that is ultra-compact for storage and maneuverability yet provides the high level of performance of a larger fan.
The first foldable PPV fan on the market was developed by BlowHard and we call it “Ergo-Fold.”
Other manufactures have now made copies however, they have not been effective. BlowHard believes that having sub-par tools just plain sucks! You see, it’s not just about having a fan that folds. BlowHard actually designs around the needs of firefighters so there are key components of Ergo-Fold that they or maybe you don’t know about…
Only BlowHard has a true 180 degrees of operation with an infinite number of angles. Full articulation. One copy claims to have 180 degrees, but the air is blocked by the Power Supply. Others have pins that you have to pull out, adjust, and put back in with only staggard positions available. Yet another version gives you only a (+) or (-) 15 degree limited angle of each section and you have to adjust the whole fan.
BlowHard knows that when you get called out to a scene, you’re heading into environments and situations that are unpredictable. You need a product that allows you to effectively deal with all situations and not be confined or limited by your tool.
With BlowHard you can quickly and precisely set the shroud where you need the air to flow. It can be angled to use down into basements, absolutely flat for getting fresh air down into manholes, and even the opposite… BlowHard’s shroud design optimizes airflow even when closed. Because the shroud of the fan articulates away from the base, it only needs to be opened slightly to achieve full airflow to blow straight up like into an attic or crawl space. Yet again, copies are significantly limited, if they work at all, when closed.
Other versions have to be set down on either a flat surface or only a sight angle or else when turned on, it can blow over. BlowHard’s Ergo Fold is designed so that the mass of the fan is the base for stability, so it’s not going to tip over if the ground isn’t perfectly flat. In fact, it’s super stable on steep slopes- inclines or declines. That stability becomes particularly important when you are increasing the power and thrust capabilities of a BlowHard.
Now, we didn’t think about weight dispersion only when deployed, but also for you carrying it. Ergo-Fold keeps that weighted base of the fan close to your body for easy walking and maneuverability.
Size always matters with BlowHard and from a storage standpoint we know that your apparatus space is limited. So, we compressed all components of the system into the smallest possible state to give you more space and to keep your compartments clean and organized.
To sum it up: Ergo-Fold by BlowHard was quite literally designed for you: For easy, light-weight carrying and maneuverability. For stability and full-range options in unpredictable situations always giving unrestricted airflow with maximum performance. All in a small, compact design allowing for more space on your apparatus.
BlowHard Ergo-Fold…it’s more than just a folding fan!
Opti-Max is short for Maximum Optimization which is BlowHard’s design philosophy to maximize a fan’s performance while minimizing its size. This design philosophy results in maximum Performance Density: Big performance, small size.
BlowHard engineers almost every part of our fans, no off-the-shelf-parts. This means we have control to leverage physics, mathematics, and fan law into our designs to increase the performance of the fan within the footprint of the fan-no wasted space.
We do that by maximizing the working area. If you look at the shroud, the size of it is as big as the entire area of the base. But also note that the blade diameter is also nearly equivalent to the entire footprint of the fan, which means our airstream exiting the shroud is as large as the fan is! We’ve maximize each fan’s full space potential. We encourage you to do your research and see how that’s a big difference from other fans on the market today!
BlowHard Opti-Max design excels in space efficiency which maximizes power and performance for each fan size. And speaking of performance relative to fan size, that’s really important to research too, so understand this…
Other companies may offer different sized fans but they keep the same battery. They don’t scale up their power which is inefficient which results in a large fan with limited performance. You wouldn’t want the same power and just lug around a bigger fan! Other companies do the opposite: they increase the battery but keep the same shroud size, so they don’t scale up their airstream and that’s inefficient and ineffective.
Only BlowHard delivers both! When we scale our fans, we scale everything. So even our smallest fan starts with a big battery, and because of our Opti-Max design, it has a big shroud and blade for its size. Then, when we go to increase the size of the fan allowing for a bigger airstream and air volume, we also increase the size of the battery for more power which increases the fan’s performance. On top of that, when you add in our High-Flow Jet Technology (watch that video), which increases our volume of air by nearly 125%, you’ve got one powerful fan in a super compact state. That’s the magic of Optimax! That’s the magic a BlowHard Fan!
The BlowHard Opti-Max design: Physical limits exist; therefore, performance limits must be broken.
