question re: wire gauge for fans...

Humanrob

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
The question:
Would wire designed for a USB mouse be a suitable gauge to run PC fans? I know almost nothing about electronics, how would one determine if this wire can be used for that purpose?

EDIT: I see I wasn't clear -- I'm looking for wire to run from the drivers to the fans, and hopefully wire that is coiled or retractable...

Background:
I built my light to be adaptable to various sized spaces, and used drawer sliders so that the COBs on the ends can extend or retract. I needed to get the light in use and temporarily made everything rigid and wired it up for one specific distance, never really finalized how I would deal with the wiring on a light that could change its size.

After this grow (another 6-8 weeks) I'm going to rebuild the light, so I'm doing some preliminary investigation on ways to finish the original design. I found some retractable mouse wire that's not too expensive, and I could (theoretically) use it to allow the arms to extend or retract without having wires dangling. I would secure the wire at both ends to prevent anything from pulling out, I have some experience with these and they can (seemingly) decide to retract without much provocation. The truth is, I've got the light dialed in for a space it will probably be in for a long time (i.e. I won't be extending or retracting them much anymore), I just want to finish what I started to the full original spec, if possible.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/390950559753?ul_noapp=true&chn=ps&lpid=82
 
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bassman999

bassman999

Well-Known Member
I wouldnt use it for cobs, but for a few watts worth of fans it might be ok.
Maybe someone else will reply.
You can go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy all sorts of wires by the foot.
 
caveman117

caveman117

Well-Known Member
I mean I probably wouldnt do it. especially considering these wires will have a continous load. in my opinion play it safe and get some 18.
 
Humanrob

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
Just to be clear, its not for the COBs, its just for the fans.

I was just wondering because after soldering the wires that come attached to the fans, they were about the thinnest wire I've seen. I'm only vaguely aware of wire properties, and I imagine thickness/gauge is only part of the equation and that the type of metal used has a range of conductivity?

I did a quick google search, and came up with:

"A regular USB 1.0 or 2.0 socket has four pins, and a USB cable has four wires. The inside pins carry data (D+ and D-), and the outside pins provide a 5-volt power supply."

"In the USB 1.0 and 2.0 specs, a standard downstream port is capable of delivering up to 500mA (0.5A)"

I'm totally in over my head, but are the fans 12v? If so, sounds like I'll keep looking.
 
Humanrob

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
@bassman999 -- thanks for that, I can see in my post I was not very clear (I've edited it, hopefully that's more clear). I have a driver, all I'm looking for is wire to run from the driver to the fans. The way the light is set up, the 3000k fans that I want to run from a single driver are at the far sides of the unit, so I need to extend wire from one end to another. They are also on arms that expand and contract, so I was looking for something either coiled or is retractable.

I dug around and found some pics of the light from when I was building it. The first is the original structure w/o wiring, the second is everything hooked up for testing, the last is it lit in the tent. You can see that the 4000k COBs are in the middle, and the 3000k ones are at the far ends on the sliders. In its current form there are also a pair of 5000k COBs, I want to be able to turn the 3k, 4k, and 5k COBs on/off separately.

DIY_structure_ext.jpg mothership_off.jpg 3s+4s.jpg
 
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bassman999

bassman999

Well-Known Member
Ok I see what you are saying.
How much are fan drawing, and wattage of driver?
I think if you can manage to strip the wires it should be fine.
Very low voltage current and wire length...

I thought you were trying to power the fans via usb from your pc or something lol.
 
Humanrob

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
@torontoke it might... if I can find some. Again, I'm not sure the gauge, but I'm old enough to remember that stuff and it was pretty hefty, at least by feel.

I've got lots of time to figure this out. The light has a handful of aspects I need to fix or improve, so I'm starting to put together the shopping list.
 
caveman117

caveman117

Well-Known Member
do you kbow what kind of power supply these fans are rated for? honestly the easiest option ive seen someone do for multiple small circulation fans was something my buddy (whos an electrician) did.

he took 12 gauge wire he picked up from work (I dont remwmber the conductor) andthen he bought four tiny tiny desk fans from wWalmart for like 7$ a piece. he then wired all four fans into the 12 gauge wire at different points and ran it along the top of his tent. the way he spaced it he had one fan in every corner all running on one main power supply.
 
Getgrowingson

Getgrowingson

Well-Known Member
Humanrob said:
@torontoke it might... if I can find some. Again, I'm not sure the gauge, but I'm old enough to remember that stuff and it was pretty hefty, at least by feel.

I've got lots of time to figure this out. The light has a handful of aspects I need to fix or improve, so I'm starting to put together the shopping list.
Click to expand...
Buy your own 18 g solid wire. Twist the two together at whatever length then twist the pair around a pencil. This will create a spring type wire like an old corded phone. Will work great. I do it all the time for many electronics at work. Good luck
 
C

churchhaze

Well-Known Member
22-28 AWG is fine for fans. I would personally use 22 or 24 just because they're easier to strip and have more strength in connectors.
 
Humanrob

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
Thanks for those ideas. The drawer slides have 8" of travel each, so on-center the COBs have a range of being 16"- 32" apart (able to work in a tent ranging from 2'x2' to 2'x4'). So theoretically, each wire running outward from the central driver point needs to have 8" of play. I don't move them once they are set up, and they will probably be in this current set up for the forseeable future, but it would be nice to retain the capability to change the light's size.
 
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