"Wind Dancer" Electric, No-heat Wetsuit Dryer

Wetsuit dryer made of ABS tubing that uses cool air (no heating) to prevent damage to seams.

This design was inspired by the very similar one created by "Mike W" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2pEs_catHE

Unlike Mike W's design, which used a blower from a lawn inflatable, this design uses a more powerful bilge fan. It also saves money and bulk by using ABS cement rather than T-junction fittings for each outlet (these design changes were made mostly because I had some of this stuff lying around, so I didn't have to purchase much in the way of supplies).

1. 19 inches of 4" ABS pipe (4" is inside diameter);
2. 36 inches of 1.5" ABS pipe (1.5" is inside diameter);
3. 4" ABS endcap;
4. ABS cement;
5. 1 7/8" hole saw;
6. hand saw;
7. electric drill;
8. 1/8" drill bit;
9. bilge fan: 4.3 Amp, 12 Volts;
10. fuse holder;
11. 7-Amp fuse;
12. electrician's tape;
13. soldering set (soldering iron, solder, flux, shrink tubing);
14. PC power supply;
15. quick-detach power connector, salvaged from old laptop power brick;
16. resistor;
17. 23-inch long, 7-inch wide, 3/4" thick cedar board;
18. 15-inch long, 7-inch wide, 1/4" thick plywood;
19. 20 half-inch screws;
20. 8 washers;
21. wood glue;

Use the hole saw to cut four holes in a line in the 4" conduit.

Use a handsaw to cut the 1.5" ABS pipe to four 9-inch lengths. Cut at a 45-degree angle at one end of each length.

Insert the 1.5" ABS pipes into the holes you made with the hole saw. Use ABS cement at the join and at the place where the tip of the bevelled end contacts the inner surface of the 4-inch pipe.

Drill a 1/4" drain hole about a half inch in from the blower end of the 4-inch pipe and another about 2.5" in from the far end (the endcap must not block the drain hole when installed). These holes will not allow too much air out, but should reduce the risk of water pooling inside the pipe.

Cut the cedar and the 1/4" plywood to size. Screw and glue them together. The plywood should be placed about 1.5" from one end of the cedar board--this allows enough room for the ABS endcap to be installed and a little space left over for a drain hole.

The purpose of the 1/4" plywood is to support the 4-inch ABS pipe at the right height to allow it to mate with the bilge blower and to give enough clearance for the ABS endcap to be installed.

Drill holes in the 4-inch ABS pipe, one directly below each 1.5" outlet pipe. Use these holes to drive screws into the wooden base. Washers will help spread the load. You'll need a long screwdriver to do this, or perhaps an extension bit.

Solder in a fuse holder (with 7-amp fuse) in-line with one of the power leads. Attach a quick-detach connector (salvaged from an old laptop power brick) to the end of the pair of wires. Screw the bilge blower down to the wooden base and seal up the join with electrical tape. Put the endcap on the far end of the 4-inch pipe (should be no need to glue it).

I won't describe how to do this, as a knowledgeable friend did it for me, but there are apparently tutorials available on YouTube for this step. Basically, you need to short together two specific leads from an old PC power supply (though "shorting" isn't quite the right word--for safety, you should put a resistor in line). This causes the power supply to output 12 volts on two other wires (again, two very specific wires that I'm not equipped to describe). The output wires should be attached to a connector to pair with that on the bilge blower. All other leads from the power supply can be cut and insulated.

Hang the wetsuit up so that the leg openings just reach the top of the 4-inch conduit. Two of the 1.5" outlets are for the ankles of the wetsuit; the remaining two are for a pair of booties.