Electricity - it blows my mind

[LutzSpearo]

I need more box storage space since discovering the bittersweet pleasure of the 24:24 thread. I move every couple years for work, so having an Aristocrat, or large converted freezer etc. isn't the best option right now. I like the idea of the coolerdor because it is more portable.

I'm looking at the Igloo 120 qt ice chest. I will keep it in my home office, which I keep at 68 deg F at all times. I plan to use 2 lbs of Heartfelt Beads spread around for humidification.

And now to my point. I want to rig up a fan on a timer for periodic circulation, something like a 80mm or 120mm PC fan with a timer. Power here is 220v, 60 Hz. I understand I would need a power plug to convert that to DC.

However, I'm confused on how many volts it should convert to, and if amperage matters.

The only power plug I can find in my house is from an old wireless router. The data on it says:

Input: 100-240v AC, 50/60 Hz, 0.2A

Output: 9.0v DC, 0.5A

So, do I need to find a fan that runs on exactly 9v DC and 0.5A? If I find a fan that says it needs 24v, or 12v, will this power plug work? What about amperage, should the fan requirement and the power plug output also match?

Thanks in advance for helping me not start a fire in my house. : )

Matt

[Fuzz]

If you have a 24v fan, but your output is only 9v, the fan would either run very slowly or not at all. Conversely, if your fan is a 9v and your output is 24v, the fan motor will run extremely fast or possibly burn out.

[LutzSpearo]

Thanks for the reply! So it sounds like the voltage output of the DC power plug should be equal to or a little less than the voltage need of the fan. Is there a generally accepted percentage of flexibility?

And on amperage, does it matter very much, or should it also be close, as with voltage?

[Blace]

Go for a fan that uses ~9V and that doesn't draw more than 0.5A. Current doesn't matter so long as you're not trying to draw more than 0.5A.

[Fuzz]

Amperage should be higher than the device to power. If the amps are too low for the device, it will try to draw more power from the power adapter than it can give and probably blow.

You can buy regulated power adapters.

[Miner]

Hi Matt,

It's a bit crude but this worked for me. Got the same volts etc as you, so what follows should work for you....

Computer fan @ 12 v and 0.18A hooked up to an old 12v output charger. The charger is self contained and plugs into the mains supply. The fan works for any charger that outputs 12v. There are many chargers out there now that will take a range of input voltages from 110v to 240v. Any input is fine so long as it outputs 12v.

You can buy the charger and the fan from any computer spares shop for not many $$. If you ask them nicely, they may even wire it up for you.

I ran this set-up on a timer over a box of kitty litter in a fridge for humidity control, no probs.





No house fires and no dramas either .

If you have to do it yourself, its easy, a few simple steps, .................

Step 1..

Cut the plugs off the charger and the fan.


Charger plug in the left, fan plug on the right. Cut the plugs off with a pair of scissors, just the plugs leave lots of wire behind !!.

Step 2, gently expose the wires (sharp knife required, watch your fingers)

Assuming you still have a few fingers left, the next steps are easy, no sharps involved except to cut the tape (but you could use your teeth......)

The fan will probably have three wires, Black, Red and Yellow in my picture. Its the Black and Red leads from the fan that you connect to the charger.

NB some fans have Black, Yellow and Green, its the Black and Yellow leads you need

NBB But some fans only have two leads in which case you won't have a problem.

NBBB If there are any other combinations of colour, take the fan back and ask for a Fractal fan like the one in my picture above, it will make your life a lot easier.

Step 3... Downhill from here..

The third lead (the yellow one in my pics) is the tacho/speed control from the fan that sends the fan rpm to whatever computer it is hooked up to, so you don't need it for now.

Connect the Black and Red (or the Black and Yellow) leads from the fan to the two exposed leads from the charger like so .....


Fan leads on the left (I just pulled the white plastic plug off the fan cable so the copper connectors are still attached to the wires from the fan but if you cut the plug off you will just have three coloured cables), the charger leads on the right.

Plug the charger into the mains and switch it on, just make sure the exposed leads don't touch. If they do touch, it may spark a bit, you'll probably fry the fan, maybe the charger as well, but its only 12v so your house should be safe .

It just means another trip back to the computer spares shop to replace the bits you just fried

Assuming you did not fry anything and you still have a few fingers left.. , the fan should blow towards the label, so in the picture above, the fan blows air at you.

If the fan blows away from you:

It sucks !!

Or just doesn't turn at all (it still sucks!!),

Swap the Black and Red connections to the charger.

Step 4

Once it runs, wrap each lead in insulating tape like so........

Step 5

Then tidy it up with a bit more tape and you are good to go

Step 6

Have a drink and a cigar, amazing job.

Easy

Cheers


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Fuzz]

Yep, that adapter is perfectly fine. Voltages match and the fan only needs 180mA, while the adapter can supply 1000mA.

[PigFish]

Computer fans are sold in a number of voltages. Since computer systems typically run on 12 and or 5 volts, those are commonplace. The most prolific of computer fans will be of the 12VDC variety.

Of course one can get line voltage fans as well. The problem with this is that they are typically dependent on grounding via their chassis and the chassis of and enclosure to make them safe.

Many 12VDC fans can be run at lower voltages. However I would not consider this a rule. Some of the more robust fans have corresponding data sheets that will specify a range of safe voltages.

Most of the plug-in AC/DC adapters do not deliver accurate voltage to begin with. These are inexpensive power supplies and typically they will deliver the rated voltage at the rated load, and higher voltage at less than the rated load. The fans have a general tolerance for these variations in voltage. Under supplying the potential (the rated voltage) is not generally advisable due to the fact that fan will not typically run efficiently and may even heat up. This does not mean that it cannot be done!

Finding the correct AC/DC adapter should be pretty easy. Most of these will not exceed 1A and if you are running one or two fans that should do it. There are really cheap fans. Some have bearing supported motors and other sleeves. A really good quality 80mm fan that runs about 30cfm will cost you 10 to 20 USD depending on where you live and your supplier. The more cfm, the more they cost, the more power they take to run, the more heat they will make. It is all a tradeoff.

The little timed fan box that I made and posted in a different thread runs a 60mm 23 to 36cfm fan(s). 23cfm in one of these boxes is just great. Most of my appliances run a 26cfm 60mm fan, but it varies according to appliance.

In this kind of space 120mm is overkill. Why? it just takes up more space than it needs to.

Not that I would expect you to pursue it, but if you are going to run several fans and or relays and many 12VDC appliances, you should look into buying a universal switching power supply. This is what I use in my humidor builds. Depending on power they can be relatively inexpensive 30~50 USD, to very expensive, over 100 USD. They are universal, meaning that they will accept input voltage from your country and convert it just as does the input voltage from another country. They are extremely reliable as they are built for industrial automation controls and not telephones and routers...! They also supply constant voltage and they vary, very little from their rated output. This is not likely important to you, but when consistency is the key, as it is for me, I like to know that my appliances all run at their rated power regardless of what other appliances are running at the same time.

The attached pic is a CigarClimatology control center. This 'unit' carries and distributes the line and low voltage to my appliances without back feeding the ones that you don't have signaled to run at any given time. The gist of the picture is the black box on the left end. That box is my switching 12VDC industrial power supply, or one of the many types that I use, just so that you can see what they look like.

Best of luck on your projects. -Piggy

[Fosgate]

http://www.amazon.com/Portable-International-Converter-Interchangeable-Worldwide/dp/B00MSTG93S/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1443567335&sr=8-3&keywords=travel+power+adapter

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005MMSTNG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009CO543S?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

[LutzSpearo]

Wow thanks so much everyone. I think I know exactly what I need now and exactly how to do it. The challenge is going to be finding this stuff in Korea, but I believe I can manage this with little trouble. I'll post up my end result hopefully next week.

Thanks again everyone!

[Onelove]

Just found this thread but you can get 230vac fans in 100mm and 125mm. I've got one. Thought they might be hard to find so I googled it. First listing was for a new one on eBay for about $30aud. Much easier.

[LutzSpearo]

So here in Korea, for us expats, we can use a site called gmarket to find stuff. I found this fan for like $13 bucks, looks like it's inline with what I need. Description:

Gino DC 12V 70mm 4Pins 32CFM PWM Computer Case PC CPU Cooler Cooling Fan

The picture of it shows 4 wires (black, red, yellow and blue). Probably just to confuse me.

Edit: found an easier one, 3 wires, 32 CFM, 60 mm, 12v, brushless and sleeve bearing. 20 bucks.

[PigFish]

I have all kinds of fans mate... I think the shipping is going to kill you but if you are really in a jam, email me and I will try to help you out.

Hell, I have some inexpensive 80mm fans and I will give you one! The drawback for me is standing in line at the post and filling out the damn customs form...! I just don't have the time to be standing around at the post office today.

-Piggy

[LutzSpearo]

Mr. Piggy

Thank you so much for your kind offer, and the wisdom you always share. I went ahead and ordered a fan already, it should be here tomorrow. The DC adapter arrived today. Still waiting on the cooler and timer. My wife is Korean so she can find this stuff much easier and has helped out with the purchasing. I told her it's much cheaper than a humidor of similar capacity, so she's ok with it. Although I could see her mind calculating that this just means I can by more cigars lol. She's a good sport and a great wife!

[LutzSpearo]

Ok so I got everything I need I think. As you can see from the photo the fan has a guard on one side, and is open on the other. I'm guessing that it is supposed to blow towards the side with the guard, is that correct? (In the below photo, the picture shows the fan from the no-guard side, the guard is on the other side against the floor).

Edit: it does blow towards the guard side.

Also you can see it came with an adapter to take it down from three wires to two. I'm thinking of wiring the power supply to the little two-wire adapter, that way there is a neat connection that I can leave in the outside of the cooler drain for easy disconnect and transport.

[LutzSpearo]

It's alive!

[Cohiba Stevie]

Looks like an awesome little setup. I might consider this when i run out of space in the cabinet

[PigFish]

Remember you have and insulated space here. This fan will create heat. If you have no other option, buy an inexpensive lighting timer and run it part time based on a short cycle.

Any electrical appliance makes heat, even inductive devices such as this. Don't discount it! You don't want your humidor turning into an Easy-Bake oven!

Cheers! -Ray