how to power cooling fans

[jph]

i'm trying to figure out what the best way is to wire the cooling fans that i'd like to place in the canopy.

i'll be picking up a few 120mm computer fans.

anyone using a computer PSU to power them ?
or did you get a 12v dc adapter and hacked/soldered something together ?



thanks!

J.

[Geoff]

i hacked and soldered using a 12v wall wart. just made sure the amperage was enough on the wall wart for the number of fans i was using.

G~

[jph]

Originally Posted by Geoff

i hacked and soldered using a 12v wall wart. just made sure the amperage was enough on the wall wart for the number of fans i was using.

G~

cool!
i think that i'll be doing that also.


J.

[darthteddy]

Power Supplies FTW!!!

[landshark]

Still learning vocabulary ? What does FTW mean ? I need to power 4 canopy fans as well ?

[Geoff]

not sure what FTW is landshark.

i have a feeling that is why thread died. he may have been shooting for a FTS (full tank shot) but missed the key.

G~

[jph]

well... FWIW, i hope to have them hooked up by this weekend
i'll be using a 1500mA 12V radio shack DC adapter.


J.

[Geoff]

that should give you plenty of headroom for the fans.

G~

[volivier]

do you have the fan pull in cool air from the room or pull out the hot air?

[Geoff]

i am always getting yelled at for this topic.

the way i believe is that if the canopy is a closed system then the fans should be blowing out. if it is an open system then the fans should be blowing in.

closed-like a whole house fan/ piece of audio equipment/ computer case

open- a personal fan in a room pointed at you.

G~

[superwizbang]

FTW=For The Win...sheesh...n00b! 8p

[bigdaddyTank]

Originally Posted by Geoff

i am always getting yelled at for this topic.

the way i believe is that if the canopy is a closed system then the fans should be blowing out. if it is an open system then the fans should be blowing in.

closed-like a whole house fan/ piece of audio equipment/ computer case

open- a personal fan in a room pointed at you.

G~

On the high end computer systems that I build, I try to have have some type of air flow pattern, with exhaust fans and intake fans. This way the exhaust fans, usually back and top, are pulling the hot air out and the intake fans are blowing cool air in, I have had very good results this way. Would this apply to setting up canopy fans also?
I could see were all exhaust fans would be good if you have vents placed so that outside air is pulled in.

[Geoff]

on computers things are a bit different. they are closed systems but there is usually a lot of air resistance in the computer case from all of the equipment. having fans blowing in helps in directing more flow to areas that need it and away from others that do not, like those silly floppy/CD drives that can get horrendous if air is allowed to be pulled through them. if you ever look at a pre 90's vintage computer, they pretty much only had fans blowing out. the floppy/CD drives were usually caked in dust from the air inflow.

it is still the case that you are trying to pull air out of the case and not pushing air into the case to cool it.

G~

[bigdaddyTank]

I see what your saying, with the PC's the air blowing IN is usually cooling something, hard drives, video card, radiators, etc. With the canopy and lights the idea is to get the hot air out to keep the heat from building up and effecting water temps too much.
We have some 2004 and newer vintage dell's at work that only have one fan in computer and its blowing out, LOL.

[hng]

Hey Geoff, I bought a couple of 120 mm case fans and didn't know how to hook them up. Could you explain what type of adapter I need and how to solder them up? I will be running two fans off one adapter I guess (if that's safe and ok to do). Is there a way to wire it so that you can one or both on?