Where to buy vacuum impellers

[ubermeister]

Our team is looking for a vacuum impeller to use on our robot. We want to get an effect similar to a shop vac, but do not want to purchase an entire shop vac just to get the impeller. The shop vac one is appealing since it is thin, metal, fairly small, and enclosed on both sides except for the vacuum hole. However, any reasonably powerful impeller will do. Any thoughts as to where to purchase one?

[scottydoh]

MSC has impellers listed here;

http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/GSDRVS...ILSEQ=13&SIOR=

But they seem a little pricey, more than a shopvac...And Grainger has them listed here for a much better price;

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/hva...search&sst=All

[ubermeister]

In case anybody else is wondering, I found a very nice impeller inside of this vacuum:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053

It is only a $20 vacuum, so I have no qualms about tearing it apart just for the impeller. The impeller is the kind normally found in larger shop vacs. It is made of sheet steel, and is 5" in diameter and about .3" thick. It is enclosed on both sides. The intake hole is a bit under 2" diameter, and it has a 5/16" hole for mounting to a shaft. The impeller easily comes off by clamping the motor still with vice-grips and unscrewing the nut that holds it on.

We haven't tried attaching it to a kit motor yet (need to turn an adapter), but so far, I highly recommend this impeller.