how to get a pc fan to run of eletric like a plug
- Thread starter jamie4390
- Start date
Astaldoath
Well-Known Member
Cant remember exactly but you need an AC to DC converter i believe.
casegrower
Active Member
I took apart a broken roomba I had and removes the female charging plug from it. I then hooked that plug up to my fans and use the roomba charger 22v dc for my power source. It is a nice clean install that can be unplugged and plugged back in whenever I wish.
Hayduke
Well-Known Member
I do not speak from experience. Any cell phone charger can be cut and spliced. Some are different voltage (~6v) the higher the voltage the faster the fan. Ideally the voltage would be the same as the fan..if not it will run faster or slower depending.
Now I did do this to a battery op fan to make an AC adapter with an old AC adapter of matched voltage spiced to a plug that fits, I use it if needed in the drying closet to keep a little air moving in the top to try to encourage lower humidity levels. The Muffin (computer) fan is just a better fan.
Now I did do this to a battery op fan to make an AC adapter with an old AC adapter of matched voltage spiced to a plug that fits, I use it if needed in the drying closet to keep a little air moving in the top to try to encourage lower humidity levels. The Muffin (computer) fan is just a better fan.
TeaTreeOil
Well-Known Member
The number of fans you can put on a rail depends on the amps available. You also need DC power, not AC. PC case fans are typically 12 volts.
They also sometimes have a third wire, which is for a sensor, often yellow in color(the two power leads are usually black and red). Ignore this yellow wire.
They also sometimes have a third wire, which is for a sensor, often yellow in color(the two power leads are usually black and red). Ignore this yellow wire.
tyke1973
Well-Known Member
Better of buying a shower fan these work realy good in small area's and these are not that exspensive either.Not sure about a computor fan but the fan above just wire's like a plug realy easy.Make sure that you maintain it by removeing any excess dust and keep it oiled and it will last you for a while.
Mattplusness
Well-Known Member
Grab a 12v cell phone charger, it must be 12v, if its more, the fan doesn't run to it's full potential, if it's less, it might very well short out. When you have them both, split the wires so about an inch or so is showing from all 4 ends (PC fan and adapter). Connect red to red, black to black. The yellow doesn't matter. Not sure what it does, but most likely just is a temperature gauge to tell the fan how fast to go (In a computer)
cflMAN
Active Member
yes i know u can do with a phone charger,but thats just more plugs,i use one of these from radio shack,around $60.00.
Attachments
robert 14617
Well-Known Member
like this .........................
LUDACRIS
New Member
LUDACRIS
New Member
How to turn a PC fan into an exhaust or intake fan ?
Just for fun, I wanted to show how easy it is to turn a PC fan into an intake, or into an exhaust fan. The fan I am using is quite small, but the objective is still the same. The first step is to find or buy a 12v DC plug adapter. This fan here is rated at 80cfm, which will work for a small box set-up.
Here's is some info on the 12v DC adapter: (Model 420A4141)
Output (DC) 12.0V @ 500mA
Output Voltage VDC(1)
Input 108VAC
Output Volts @ 100% Load 10.20
Input 132VAC
Output Volts @ 100% Load 13.60
Input 132VAC
Output Volts @ 10% Load 17.40
UL(2) UL*
CSA(3) L
Plug(4) 1
Simply cut the wires at the end, and strip down about a ¼ inch of bare wire is showing.
If you dont know which wire to wire up, for instance theyre all black wires, dont worry, it will only work one way, and if wired wrong, will simply not work at all. But the idea is, black to black, red to red. This one here that I used, had one black and one red coming from the fan, and from the adapter, one black and one black and white. The black and white wire from the adapter got wired to the all black wire from the fan. And the all black wire from the adapter, gets wired to the all red wire from the fan.
To add another fan, just connect the wires of the same together. All black goes with black, all red goes with red. So you would still only use 2 connectors all together. Heres a few more pictures. But for the most part, I just wanted to show how simple it is. Make sure you get an adapter which is rated DC for the output.
Finished
Testing
Also a worthwhile consideration is places like radio shack and grainger also have nice 4" muffin fans that move as much as 200 cfm and more, which run on 110 vac. They come with a handy power cord that has a special connector on one end for the fan and a plug on the other end for plugging into the wall socket or humistat / thermostat.
LUDA.
Just for fun, I wanted to show how easy it is to turn a PC fan into an intake, or into an exhaust fan. The fan I am using is quite small, but the objective is still the same. The first step is to find or buy a 12v DC plug adapter. This fan here is rated at 80cfm, which will work for a small box set-up.
Here's is some info on the 12v DC adapter: (Model 420A4141)
Output (DC) 12.0V @ 500mA
Output Voltage VDC(1)
Input 108VAC
Output Volts @ 100% Load 10.20
Input 132VAC
Output Volts @ 100% Load 13.60
Input 132VAC
Output Volts @ 10% Load 17.40
UL(2) UL*
CSA(3) L
Plug(4) 1
Simply cut the wires at the end, and strip down about a ¼ inch of bare wire is showing.
If you dont know which wire to wire up, for instance theyre all black wires, dont worry, it will only work one way, and if wired wrong, will simply not work at all. But the idea is, black to black, red to red. This one here that I used, had one black and one red coming from the fan, and from the adapter, one black and one black and white. The black and white wire from the adapter got wired to the all black wire from the fan. And the all black wire from the adapter, gets wired to the all red wire from the fan.
To add another fan, just connect the wires of the same together. All black goes with black, all red goes with red. So you would still only use 2 connectors all together. Heres a few more pictures. But for the most part, I just wanted to show how simple it is. Make sure you get an adapter which is rated DC for the output.
Finished
Testing
Also a worthwhile consideration is places like radio shack and grainger also have nice 4" muffin fans that move as much as 200 cfm and more, which run on 110 vac. They come with a handy power cord that has a special connector on one end for the fan and a plug on the other end for plugging into the wall socket or humistat / thermostat.
LUDA.
Astaldoath
Well-Known Member
btw you shouldnt need anywhere near 15 amps for pc fans... the trouble is finding ones that move a good 200 cfm lol.
Hayduke
Well-Known Member
it will list volts...if you actually need amps there is a formula to convert
It will spin the fan at whatever volts the adapter is maid for...this may be higher (faster) or lower (slower) than your fan...higher sounds like not a good idea, but I aint no electrician!