Wiring a PC fan to an AC adaptor - Rookie questions
- Thread starter apt220
- Start date
reefermad619
New member
Yes you can. The fan will only pull .15amp on the 3amp plug.
DownwardDawg
New member
And you would be correct!!!
Musbtr1pin
New member
voltage isnt really the determining factor here.. It's amperage.. It's AMPS that push the voltage through the wire.. Higher the amps, the more power you will have. IE 240 V at 100 AMPS puts out 24000 VA... Where a 120 V 200 Amp, puts out 24000 VA as well.. I have used these types of circuits before at work.. "Electrical Maintenance" blah...
Was thinking about hooking up a Allen Bradley PLC system to my tank, so I can micromanage, and basically leave the maintenance to the birds!
Not to sure about pc fans... But you might want to make sure that the fan is not a DC that you are trying to convert using an AC adapter... You will smoke it... period... Hope this helps
Was thinking about hooking up a Allen Bradley PLC system to my tank, so I can micromanage, and basically leave the maintenance to the birds!
Not to sure about pc fans... But you might want to make sure that the fan is not a DC that you are trying to convert using an AC adapter... You will smoke it... period... Hope this helps
Bananafish
Member
Everything inside PCs run on DC, and you can't use them unless you get a rectifier (to convert AC to DC). You can get a rectifier (or an AC fan) at Radio Shack.
I think you have it reversed, i'm pretty sure voltage is the force, or the potential difference between two different points.
sfsuphysics
Active member
Also note that 12V plug might be 12 volts when loaded with components that it was made for, wouldn't suprise me if you read 15V on it with a voltmeter, so your fan might run a bit on the fast/noisy side.
And what I used to teach my students, compare electricity to water, current is the amount of water that's moving, voltage is the pressure difference that allows that water to flow.
And what I used to teach my students, compare electricity to water, current is the amount of water that's moving, voltage is the pressure difference that allows that water to flow.
Bananafish
Member
Voltage is the potential difference, yes. Meaning, the difference in charge between two contacts. House current has a potential of 110 volts between the hot and neutral sides of the outlet. Amperage is the force of the current, which is independent of the voltage. At standard house current a 40 Watt bulb uses 0.36 amps. The same bulb in a 220volt circuit will only use 0.18 amps because it will not exceed 40 Watts. Similarly, at 55 volts (oh, where would that be?) this bulb would use 0.72 amps.
Harry_Y
New member
Here is something to think about.
I'm not sure what you are trying to cool but
usually when you run a 12 v fan at 12v it is noisy.
I put four 3" 12vdc fans on my light fixture, when I ran them at 12 v they were louder
than I likes and they actually cooled the bulbs too much (the bulbs actually dimmed).
I went to radio shack and pickuped a selectable output powers cube
Enercellâ„¢ Universal 1000mA AC Adapter
Model: 273-316
Catalog #: 273-316
$19.99
At the 7.5 v setting the bulbs do not over cool and the fans are much quieter
I'm not sure what you are trying to cool but
usually when you run a 12 v fan at 12v it is noisy.
I put four 3" 12vdc fans on my light fixture, when I ran them at 12 v they were louder
than I likes and they actually cooled the bulbs too much (the bulbs actually dimmed).
I went to radio shack and pickuped a selectable output powers cube
Enercellâ„¢ Universal 1000mA AC Adapter
Model: 273-316
Catalog #: 273-316
$19.99
At the 7.5 v setting the bulbs do not over cool and the fans are much quieter
Harry_Y
New member
DB is the noise level of the fan
CFM (cubic feet a minute) is the volume of air they move.
I tend to buy a fan that moves More air than I need then
dial it back it cuts the noise and still gives desired air flow.
OregonReefer
New member
If you're looking for an easy to use power supply for PC fans this one is pretty turnkey
http://www.crazypc.com/products/7410.html
http://www.crazypc.com/products/7410.html
King_Richard
New member
Or, I have two fans currently running on the tank. One fan is using a USB charger that I spliced off the ends of one side and wired it to the fan.
The other fan is running off of a 10v pwr supply that's used for moonlights that I bought along time ago, they're two of them in the sump and I also spliced in a fan on them I've placed in the sump area.
Any extra USB or Phone chargers that you have could run a fan on them, alot of people have extras of these so it might be worth a shot if you do.
The other fan is running off of a 10v pwr supply that's used for moonlights that I bought along time ago, they're two of them in the sump and I also spliced in a fan on them I've placed in the sump area.
Any extra USB or Phone chargers that you have could run a fan on them, alot of people have extras of these so it might be worth a shot if you do.
DustinB
New member
This!
Depending on the brand and how it was made I would be surprised if you saw upwards of 17+ volts on a wall wart rated at 3A.
If your fans are rated at 12V .15A I would be looking for a truly regulated wall wart or something in the 8-9v at around 300-500mA range. Should give you around 11-12v at 150mA.
As others have stated, DC only pulls the amount of current it needs. The problem with these wall plugs is in order to make them cheap, they wire them in a way that under a certain current draw they should be outputting a given voltage. More current draw results in less voltage and possibly more heat/failure, less current draw results in higher voltage.
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