Hair dryer into hand dryer

[chingyg]

I have recently been tasked to renovate our school's bathroom with hot air hand dryers, to emphasis the importance of creativity they said I have to make them from old hair dryers.

I am thinking about a controller that work on optics, maybe IR LEDs and photo sensors. does anyone have experience with these things?

and what can i use for the switching device? SCR, relays, or MOSFET?

thanks in advance.

 

[ke5frf]

For the switching device, I would use an off-delay timer relay with a SSR output (solid state relay). You can get timer relays fairly inexpensive from companies like TYCO or Potter-Brumsfield if you are not keen on building your own circuit too in depth.

The sense or drive contacts could easily be connected to a simple IR circuit driving a comparitor/transistor or a logic gate. You might even find a ready-made circuit for that too.

I mean, that is if this isn't something you're keen on spending time working out yourself, of course, and if you have a sufficient budget for the parts.

 

[Sceadwian]

You're going to need to put a temperature sensor in there, most hair dryers can get hot enough to burn someone, though you could compensate with an addition room air inlet.

 

[Boncuk]

I'd not be worried about a control circuit but about the diameter of the air stream.

It's just wide enough to dry chicken feet reasonably fast.

Use at least 6 hair dryers in parallel to dry hands.

Boncuk

 

[HarveyH42]

I hate those things, prefer paper towels. They take way to long, some people don't mind hanging around in a public restroom, I'm just not one of 'those' type of guys.

Anyway, if you increase the diameter of the inlet/outlet, you should get a wider air flow, wouldn't be as hot.

 

[BrownOut]

and what can i use for the switching device? SCR, relays, or MOSFET?

thanks in advance.

SCR's and realys are good. MOSFET not so much for A/C.

 

[3v0]

Have you ever tired to dry your face with one ?

They blow !

3v0

 

[chingyg]

Thanks guys,
hahaha, yes, they are quite hot actually so some modifications might need to be taken, but HarveyH42 paper come from trees, and trees are living things.

 

[Boncuk]

, but HarveyH42 paper come from trees, and trees are living things.

take a rough guess what mineral oil is derived from. It probably powers the the generators at your electric power plant.

Boncuk

 

[HarveyH42]

Thanks guys,
hahaha, yes, they are quite hot actually so some modifications might need to be taken, but HarveyH42 paper come from trees, and trees are living things.

Paper can be made from other fibrous materials, not just trees. Trees are just the cheapest and easiest to process. Trees can be replaced. Paper hand towels are frequently made from recycled paper products these days.

At work, they removed the paper towels, because of the sloppy people employed there, and we got those lousy hand dryers. I wash my hands in there, then drip water down the hall, to the breakroom, and use the paper towels there.

Probably would mind them so much, but it takes way too long for water to evaporate. Don't see anyway to speed it up, maybe compressed air would blow it off quicker, but hands would still feel damp. I wash my hands, and arms up to the elbow, and at 6'4", it's a little awkward trying to get dried off. Damn urinals are knee too, which is another complaint... Least they flush automatically.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Probably would mind them so much, but it takes way too long for water to evaporate. Don't see anyway to speed it up, maybe compressed air would blow it off quicker.

Dyson (the vacuum cleaner people) make a hand dryer that uses a high pressure 'knife edge' of hot air, which dries the hands pretty fast.

EDIT:

Just googled it:

**broken link removed**

 

[Sceadwian]

Yeah, doesn't dry so much as it blows the water off.

 

[chingyg]

take a rough guess what mineral oil is derived from. It probably powers the the generators at your electric power plant.

Boncuk

mineral oil is from trees, we have a nuclear plant which is much cleaner than the coal ones.

 

[KMoffett]

Another amazing hand dryer besides the Dyson is the "XLerator": Excel Dryer | XLerator The Fast Hand Dryers Like putting your hand out of the car window at 100 MPH.

Ken

 

[JimB]

I have recently been tasked to renovate our school's bathroom with hot air hand dryers, to emphasis the importance of creativity they said I have to make them from old hair dryers.

You have to be joking! This is a wind-up!

What sort of hair dryers, the hand held one you wave about at your head or the ones which cover your head as you sit in a chair?

On to this you are going to cobble some kind of control system to start and stop the thing when hands are put near it.

And to top it all, these things will be in a school bathroom, near to water.

Have the idiots who told you to do this ever heard of safety?

OK, I know the RSA has a way to go to catch up with the rest of the "western world" but this? You cannot be serious!

JimB

On edit:

I just noticed:

we have a nuclear plant

What do they use to operate the control rods in the core, electric window winders out of old cars?

 

[chingyg]

You have to be joking! This is a wind-up!

What sort of hair dryers, the hand held one you wave about at your head or the ones which cover your head as you sit in a chair?

On to this you are going to cobble some kind of control system to start and stop the thing when hands are put near it.

And to top it all, these things will be in a school bathroom, near to water.

Have the idiots who told you to do this ever heard of safety?

OK, I know the RSA has a way to go to catch up with the rest of the "western world" but this? You cannot be serious!

JimB

On edit:

I just noticed:



What do they use to operate the control rods in the core, electric window winders out of old cars?

I think so, old electric window winders, hahahaha. the SA is a messed up country, messed up to the core.

and lol this is not a wind up, see I am the head of the school's study representative, on one of our meeting with the headmaster we mentioned something like this - using old cheap junk to make improvised devices, ghetto style. the head master seems to be quite attracted to this idea. and he wants us to try this hairdryer thing.

He is also kinda messed up, running around and supporting the homos in the school by painting the bathroom totally purple (male) and pink (female).