Cooling Fan question

[Dirt4dinner]

I need some help figureing out how to get cooling fans in my canopy. I went to Radio Shack and bought a 4" cooling fan, took it to HD and the guy said I couldn't wire a wall outlet plug to it. So what now? I need to get at least 2...I would prefer 4 cooling fans in my canopy. Bring on the suggestions or links. I would rather buy the stuff locally so I can get it installed this week. Thanks, DIRT

[davejnz]

That guy at HD is F.O.S. Most likely,you bought a 12vDC fan.Radio shack also sells 110vAC fans too.Doesn't matter which one you use.If you did get the DC fan,your gonna need a DC power supply.Look at the fan that you purchased,it should have its voltage/current rating on it.THe vurrent rating will probably be rated in mA(say 600mA for example).Since you are wanting to go with dual 4" fans(2 will be plenty for your 36" L tank),add the 2 current ratings from the fan to determine the type of AC/DC converter you will need to buy(Radio Shack has them).So say,your 4" fan is 12vDC at 600mA then buy a AC/DC converter that has an output of 12vDC@1200mA.

[Dirt4dinner]

Dave,
Will this process be a better route then buying the IceCap 4" Variable Speed Fans w/ heat sensor for $90 (2 of them)?

[davejnz]

I would say so unless you have deep pockets.Besides,this little DIY fan thing will give you more experience/confidence working with electrical stuff.I think if you can get this done,u can move up a rank to the "aluminum screwdriver" LOL.

[dakar]

What's the SKU# or part number on the RipOff Shack fans? Around here the ones on the shelf range from 5VDC to 24VDC, and even some AC ones. If they are 12VDC then a wall wart will do just fine, just remember to wire them in parallell to the power source and not in series.

The IC fans are a big waste of $$$ IME, a better solution is to use PC (computer type PC's) cooling fans. Several good companies (ThermalTake, CoolerMaster, etc...) produce fans with a thermal resistor that will speed the fan up as temps rise and slow it down when cooler, they run $6-10 each from most online dealers (allstarshop.com is who I order all of my computer parts from). BTW if you are looking for 4" fans they are the ones labled 80mm, just be sure to check the db ratings at full speed, some of the cheap ones especially the 120mm ones can get quite loud... less than 30db is generally tolerable.

[Dirt4dinner]

These are the fans that I ended up with from a friend of mine who owns www.heatsinkfactory.com. This is the whole story:

I called him up and told him I wanted to cool my fish tank with his computer cooling stuff, so he told me these fans are some of the nicest on the market (S-FLEX FANS) (http://www.heatsinkfactory.com/Scythe-S-FLEX-SFF21D-120mm-Silent-Fan-800-RPM-p-16393.html) because they are very quiet for how powerful they are. So I told him I wanted 4 of them, and then told him I wanted to plug them into the wall. He informed me that he had a very nice PC Powersupply that he would sell me for $20 that I could plug the fans into to power them. OK, cool deal, fans at cost and a $20 PC power supply. Well he sent me this power supply with the fans that is a 480W chrome box, with blue LED's all over the inside of it, fancy fancy fancy! I attempted to plug the fans into it and it didn't work, so I called him. Come to find out, a power supply this size actually has to have the computer control it. So I was going to send the whole package back to him, but it looks like I can hang onto these fans and chrome covers (I also got from him) and wire them to a power converter that I am going to get tomorrow morning.

So I should be good to go with the fans. If anyone needs any PC cooling equipment, my buddy Dallas is the man. Check out his site www.heatsinkfactory.com and let me know if you need anything...I will hook you up. Dallas practically lived at my house in high school...he owes me!

[dakar]

Though the PC power supply is WAY overkill to power just 4 fans, by shorting two pins momentarily on the P8/P9 connector that will start up the power supply. Off the top of my head I *THINK* it's pins 11 & 13, but if you want to go that route let me know and I'll double check the pins for you. The S-Flex are nice fans.

[davejnz]

Dave,your forgetting Tyler's title,"copper screwdriver",LOL

[EQCM2B]

Might be kind of late since you have already bought fans but I got two 4" fans from Walmart for seven bucks a piece. I have them plugged into the same power strip as my MH's and you can't tell when the lights / fans come on, they are that quiet. HTH

[Dirt4dinner]

Yup to late! But good for future reference. -Tyler