Wiring fans...

[Turf]

have an Idea on the best way to wire in fans so they don't short out after being pluged in? What do you use to restrict the amount of wattage?

[patent]

What kind of fans, 110V or 12V?

[spsick]

I reccomend 120v fans, they are alot quiter than most 12v fans, and last forever, but if you have 12v fans, you need an adapter to convert to 120v.
Check out the 12v super quiet panasonic fans, cheap and VERY quiet.

[Taklu]

Whats the recommended fan in a 120V setup? & the best place to get it.

[Turf]

I actually haven't gotten any fans yet but I'm going to mod my PC hood as there is no ventilation over the bulbs.

[spsick]

I like the radioshack 4" alot, they last forever, and quiet, but their 3" ones are really loud. For anything other than 4" I rec. the panasonic ultra quiets or whatever they're called, they have the standard, and then the quiet ones, only like 14.99

[Turf]

Is it save to put a dimmer switch on them?

[spsick]

dunno

[patent]

I like the radioshack 4" alot, they last forever, and quiet,
That is what I'm using, like them.
Is it save to put a dimmer switch on them?Try it and see. Its been awhile since I put a dimmer switch on anything. If you are doing the 4" ones or any other quiet fan though, I doubt you'll need it, they are pretty quiet.

patent

[hypertech]

A dimmer switch will work if its AC. If their DC, you would want a variable voltage supply.

[Goldpony75]

some motors don't Like being run at anything but full power, you will have to look at the motor itself, it should say if it can have a variable voltage input or not. im sure radio shack will have fans that are both ways.

[David Grigor]

I prefer DC ones. AC ones use quite a bit of power for what they are and even the 4" ones IMO are loud.

The cheapy ones at Micro Center called Ultra for $5.99 ( I'm using the 3" ), are pretty darn quiet and work quite well IME. Just need to steal a 12V transformer from a old kids toy or electronics and your set.

[wkjames]

I have half a dozen 12v Panasonic Panaflo (The quiet one mentioned early in this post) http://www.panasonic.com/industrial/appliance/pdf/fans/m/fba08a.pdf The specific ones I have are FBA08A12L, the quietest they offer. I can't recommend these fans enough. Very quiet, and really long lifespan: MTBF = 50,000 hours, MTTF 180,000 hours. As far as speed is concerned, with a dimmer switch, you can't do that on an AC fan (unless you pay a fair amount extra for a variable speed fan), but it is really easy on a DC you can buy variable controls, or I have some adapters you can use. The easist way is to buy a variable voltage power supply. I also have a few DC 12 v power supplies, and at least one variable voltage I can part with. Let me know what you need, I'll give you a good deal. If you want smaller fans than 80mm, I have those too, but not in the Panasonic.

[spsick]

80mm, I cant remember, those are the 3" right? It seems like the smaller the fan, the louder they are IME, the 3" are fine , my dad has those on his tank. but anything smaller... I cant recommend. only bad side to those is they're only 24cfm, so youd need a few. I use 2 of the 4" 120v radioshack ones- 65cfm a piece.

[wkjames]

80mm=3.14" Spsick, What db are the radio shack ones? The reviews on the radio shack site aren't good... http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?parentPage=search&summary=summary&cp=&productId=2103787&accessories=accessories&kw=fan&techSpecs=techSpecs&currentTab=features&custRatings=custRatings&sr=1&features=features&origkw=fan&support=support&tab=custRatings
and they are really expensive too... I'm glad they work for you, but based on what I'm reading, I wouldn't choose that fan.

Turf, I think per my and David's suggestion, you'd be better off with the 12v for the variable speed and the quiet function and longevity of the fan. If you buy it from me or someone else is not the point to me. Do whatever is best for you, wherever you get it from. David's suggestion of Microcenter is a good alternative. They are the best computer store in town, bar none. They carry a HUGE selection if you want to find a specific size. Panasonic, Thermaltake, and Antec are the best fans for lifespan. As to noise, it all varies so much.

[spsick]

those are the 3" ones, which I stated earlier are very loud, the 4" ones are quieter and move more air. Not sure the db rating, but I know its no-where as good as your panaflo's

[spsick]

btw, what do you want for a pair of those panaflo's?

[wkjames]

I'm not sure, maybe $10 each. I have them for my pc business, and usually charge $18, but I want to take care of club members like they do for me. If you want I can also do the soldering and connect a power supply for you, if you have one. I can also provide one for an extra charge.

I'm listed in the club directory, please call me if you want one.

[Turf]

Well I did it... I got two mini fans and moded them into the side of my coralife hood and are really kicking out the heat!

[wkjames]

What did you end up choosing for size and format?

[Turf]

I just kept it simple and used two 1.5" 12 volt fans from Radio Shack. I could have done a little better job on the wiring but I was more concerned about making it work... I'll have to clean that part up later. Here are some pics.
http://www.tcmas.org/forums/imagehosting/thum_21246b7e7f2bbb84.jpg (http://www.tcmas.org/forums/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=384)http://www.tcmas.org/forums/imagehosting/thum_21246b7e7f41e7a4.jpg (http://www.tcmas.org/forums/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=385)

[Turf]

When I was running it before putting in the fans I couldn't hardly put my hand on it, it would get so hot! This probably means more cleaning for me now but if my lighting improves 20% that's a good trade off.

[wolrey]

Looks good to me!!! Nice mod.