Guibal fan

A slow-speed, large diameter centrifugal fan, invented by a Belgian engineer. It was one of the first mechanical fans used in Great Britain, they were easy to maintain and repair and some were still in use up to the 1950s.

Dismantling Guibal fans at Newstead Colliery circa 1950

1749 a ventilation furnace situated at the bottom of a shaft at Long Benton Colliery.

1756 A surface sited furnace ventilation system, called an air tube, was in operation at North Biddick Colliery in County Durham.

1786 An early underground sited ventilation furnace was installed at Wallsend ‘B’ pit. Underground furnaces were considered superior to those located on the surface.

1850 James Nasmyth provided Earl Fitzwilliam. via his agent Hartop, with a design (never patented) for an exhausting fan to ventilate his collieries. A 14 ft diameter fan was ordered and proved so successful that many Nasmyth fans came into use both at home and abroad.

1860 The Lemielle ventilator was first used in Great Britain at Page Bank colliery, County Durham.

1887 The ‘ Walker Indestructible’ Fan, a direct descendant of the Guibal Fan, was patented (no. 17141) The Bumstead and Chandler ventilating fan was also patented (no.17824)

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12 Aug, 2011