smokaspliff

I have a small computer fan that I want to attach to an ac adapter. I'm not an electrician so I want to make sure that I do not create a fire hazard.
The fan says 12v-DC 04W. The ac adaptor says input ac 120v 60Hz 11W output DC 6V 300 mA. I plugged it in already and it works, I just want to make sure that I am not overloading anything. If anyone is keen to this sort of thing I would appreciate it.

Peace!

tryagain

hi smoka..
well i aint no electrical genius BUT i believe it wont burn out as the transformer is actually rated lower than the fan.The comp fan needs 12 volts whereas the trans is outputting 6 volts and the amps for the trans are lower also.Does the trans get hot??? If id does d recommend goin out and buying one of those transformers that are multi voltage (radio shack or tandys) and you can set it up to 12 volts then.Its just like tryin to run a radio that needs 12 volts with 6 volts of batteries.Only work half as good.

TripsAreForKids

definately go buy a 12 volt transformer, with the 6v transformer your not letting the fan spin as fast as it would with the 12 volt, but if the 6v is working then no need to step up to 12v cause itll just suck up more electricity.

Takshaka

I'm trying to do the same thing but I'm not sure how to connect the fan to the adapter.

Assuming I am thinking of the same kind of adapter it has what is called (over here) a spider connector (4 different sized prongs and a press stud connector like you would use on a 9v battery), whereas the cpu fan is designed to plug into mother board. So how do I connect the 2 together?

One of the fans that I am considering has a quoted airflow of 210 litres per minute, can anyone tell me what this is in cfm so that I can compare this to the other fans that are quoted in cfm.

I plan on using this fan as an exhaust connected to a tube either at the top of the grow area or just above the light, will such a small fan make a big difference? My area is small but I need to reduce temperature in there by 5-10 F, will such a tiny fan make an impact?

Thanks to anyone who helps me with this and to everyone else that makes this place what it is.

Aerobuds

Don't know if this helps, but you can buy computer fans that are 120v. I bought one for my DIY Ozone Generator. I think it was about 20 bucks.

Aerobuds

Takshaka

Thanks for the input Aerobuds, unfortunately it doesn't help though. There's only 1 place I can get this sort of thing locally so I've got to work with what they've got, I don't want to have to wait for a delivery.

Mainly I just need to know how to power the fan although answers to my other queries would also be very useful.

Thanks Again

crmz

Hey man, You want a bathroom fan. They range from 50cfm (Cubic feet a minute) to 110. They have a place to attach a nosel and everything. Clutch!

Takshaka

Yeah, I've looked into bathroom fans and although they are probably the cheapest and easiest way to do it, it's not really appropriate for what I am doing.

My grow area is only about 12 square feet and I've got a heat problem so I want an extractor pulling the hot air out the whole time the light is on. A bathroom fan would exchange all the air in my space in about a minute which I think would be overkill - great if you just want to run it for brief periods but too much if you want to keep it on all the time.

Also bathroom fans are about 10-20db louder than the type of fan I'm thinking of and noise is something I need to keep to a minimum.

Thanks for the suggestion though, no doubt someone else will come across it and find it useful.

e.cola

I was reading your post on your fan prob, and I think I know what you have.

I used to use those old Radio 'Scrap' adapters for my musical equipment. They have 4 different sized lugs to fit almost any receptor, and a polarity switch to adapt to either a positive or negatively tipped power requirement. They actually work great...for a while. They aren't designed to last too long (so you buy more adapters...go figure... ), but they do suffice.

Your fan probably has a black lead and a red lead coming directly off the motor. Red is positive, black is negative. With AC fans, polarity isn't really as important as it is with DC fans. Crossing polarity will just make the fan spin the other way. The only way to utilize the multi-hubbed adapter is to locate the + and - and connect the fan to whichever lug you chose. It gets kinda sloppy `cause you have to electrical-tape the thing together. Another alternative is to buy a receptor to connect to the supply, but if you're unfamiliar with soldering this gets a bit messy, too.

This setup is something similar to something that I was planning to do in the near future. Get yourself a cheap volt-ohm meter (if you don't have one already). They come in handy for lots more things than just this. Clip off the stupid 'spider' lugs and the 9-volt lead. Strip off approx. 1/2" to bare some wire. Connect the VOM with alligator clips to the bare leads and turn the power on. This will indicate polarity, and voltage. If the voltage and polarity are switchable on your adapter, you're even better off. Then, just twist together your leads to the corresponding + and - to your fan, tape the bare leads off and you're all set.

Hope this helps!

Stay Green!

E.C.