kzickovich
Member
I want to add some cooling fans to my canopy do I have to spend 20+ $ at dr foster or can I use a cpu fan somehow? does anyone make a adapter from a cpu plug to a three prong outlet?
cooling fans
- Thread starter kzickovich
- Start date
pimpinitup6969
New member
yeah cpu fans work perfect just go to your local computer supply store and they will set you up!
THE ROOK
New member
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150007
This just came from another post. 10 fans for under $15.00 & free shipping. Can't beat that deal.
I'd also like to know how we determine which ac adapter to get?
This just came from another post. 10 fans for under $15.00 & free shipping. Can't beat that deal.
I'd also like to know how we determine which ac adapter to get?
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
Most computer cooling fans are spec'd to run on DC power, so you'll need a transformer. You can get a wall-wart style transformer, just make sure it meets the voltage requirement and can supply the correct current.
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
You need to determine the voltage and current rating on the fan.
The fans you linked are case fans, they (along with just about all case fans and cpu fans) are designed to run on 12v DC.
Next, you'll need to find out how many amps the fan draws at that voltage. It's not listed in the link you provided, but 99% of the time it's written right on the fan. It's usually pretty small.
Then, just get a wall wart that can provide at least the current draw you need, at 12v. Wire the positive and negative from the wall wart to the two power lines on your fan and ignore the third wire. Make sure you get polarity correct, else the fan will spin backwards.
FWIW, you can run a DC fan at a lower voltage to get a slower RPM. This results in slightly less cooling, but will also be much quieter. This is the theory behind the variable-speed fans by Ice Cap and others - there's a temperature probe used, and the power supply varies the voltage supplied to the fan based on the temperature reading.
If you want to run more than one fan, you can wire them all to the same power supply (in parallel) as long as the sum of the currents required by each fan is less than the current output of the supply.
In general, the larger the fan the better - you'll get more cooling with less noise. For this reason, I'd prefer a large case fan over a smaller CPU fan.
That's correct. Because of that, I like to use the universal AC-DC adapters where you can select the DC volts. That way, if I decide at some point that I don't want the fan to run at full speed, I can tune it down.
Very easy to wire, though, and much cheaper than buying from the LFS. In nearly 4 years, I've never had to replace a computer fan, and I use them all over my tank, including my sump where they're constantly subjected to moisture and salt spray.
Best of luck!
kzickovich
Member
Would you mind posting a link or pic of the universal adapter that you mention also can you run more than one fan on this adapter
Thanks
Ken
Thanks
Ken
