Did I just blow up my fans?

enclaved

enclaved

Active Member
I was wiring up my fans to an adapter and they ran for 3 seconds and then died.

The adapter is a 12volt 1.25A wall wart from a DSL modem

The fans are 2 120mm PC fans 12volt .53A

I tried wiring one at a time to start with.

This same adapter worked with other PC fans that were 12v .25a without killing them.

Did I do something wrong or did I get two dud fans?
 

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enclaved

enclaved

Active Member
IAm5toned said:
how did you wire them up? you didnt wire them in series, did you?
Click to expand...
No, I was testing each fan individually. I never even got to the point where I was going to wire them together. Was it because the adapter is 1.25a and then fans are .53a? If that's the case why didn't the .25 fans die when I had them wired to the same adapter?
 
IAm5toned

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
are they 4 wire or 3 wire fans?

the amperage rating on the power supply is the max allowable amperage, so your power supply will run anything up to 1.25 amps.
 
enclaved

enclaved

Active Member
Ok, that was my understanding regarding amps so I doubt that's why then.

They are 3 wire fans, What I'm assuming is + - and controller, black, red and yellow. It came with 3 to molex adapters that shoot off the yellow to a separate adapter clip.

wired black to black and white to red from the supply.

It sucks that I think I screwed up both fans since that makes more sense then getting two duds.

After they spun up for a few seconds and stopped I tried them in a computer using the molex connectors and they just sat there.
 
oj1981

oj1981

Well-Known Member
You must have short it out somehow.
that adapter has plenty spare ampage to run 2x 120mm fans.
I run 2x 120mm PC fans on a voltage selector adapter at 12 volts with no problems at all
and another 3x 120mm fans on another adapter at 9 volts.
I first ran all 5 off one adapter and it ran for about 2 weeks and then blew due to overload! lol.
You have either short it out when you wired it up or you have a problem fan!
maybe wired wrong way but wouldnt think that would blow the adapter the fan just wouldnt work
or maybe you got some water in the fan motor somehow which may have short it out.
Or maybe you have overloaded the adapter in the past and its just died on ya!
Multi adapters with voltage and polarity switches are cheap enough to buy. Just get a new one :)
 
oj1981

oj1981

Well-Known Member
Looking at the pics your adapter is the problem!
the output to the fans is 12 volt AC which means
you may have blown your fans due to a power surge
through the AC Output.
You need an adapter with input AC and output DC 12 volts :)
 
enclaved

enclaved

Active Member
The adapter still works with other fans, so its definitely these fans I guess. I'm going to operate on the theory that makes me feel better and blame it on the manufacturer and exchange them. I'm just glad I didn't cut the end caps off before testing.
 
enclaved

enclaved

Active Member
oj1981 said:
To many amps have gone to the fans and blown them
Click to expand...
oj1981 said:
Looking at the pics your adapter is the problem!
the output to the fans is 12 volt AC which means
you may have blown your fans due to a power surge
through the AC Output.
You need an adapter with input AC and output DC 12 volts :)
Click to expand...
Then I am really confused about electricity. Because this same adapter works on other 12v DC .16a and .25a fans without problem.
 
oj1981

oj1981

Well-Known Member
With an AC Output the ampage is irregular so although the fans
will draw 530ma each the adapter may put out slightly more then whats needed
blowing the fans due to overload.
You may want to try and find 2x 120mm fans that run at 0.30amp each and run
them off a 9 volt DC output adapter with 900ma output or 12 volts at 1.2amp.
that would give you plenty spare amps so you know it will not overload :)
 
oj1981

oj1981

Well-Known Member
electricity is a funny game to understand sometimes
but I would not reccommend running DC fans on an AC output supply.
some fans may be able to tollerate it but it would only be a matter of time before they blow!
get a 9 or 12 volt DC output adapter will as much output ampage as possible and all your worries will be no more :)
 
enclaved

enclaved

Active Member
oj1981 said:
electricity is a funny game to understand sometimes
but I would not reccommend running DC fans on an AC output supply.
some fans may be able to tollerate it but it would only be a matter of time before they blow!
get a 9 or 12 volt DC output adapter will as much output ampage as possible and all your worries will be no more :)
Click to expand...
well, I appreciate your advice and + rep to you. I suppose I will try a new adapter and see if I can't exchange these fans.

I got all my hydro equipment in today and was hoping to get all setup but it'll have to wait until I get back from vacation next week.
 
oj1981

oj1981

Well-Known Member
Nice one!
Iv just come into week 3 of flowering on my first grow.
Im using a hydro system as well and it works great!
I got 8 girls raised from seed.
7 Flying dutchman G Force and 1 unknown.
all fem seeds and no hermies as yet :)
Good luck with your grow mate + Rep to you too.
 
oj1981

oj1981

Well-Known Member
That will work well mate :)
Just cut the tip off and wire the fans in.
when you test them do it at about 6 volts
first to make sure there wired up right before pumping
12 volts through them.
If you get 2x 120mm fans at 0.53amp only use 2 on that
but if you find some 120mm fans at 0.30amp you might get away
with 3 fans on that adapter set at no more then 9 volt :)
 
Trailingpickles

Trailingpickles

Well-Known Member
oj1981 said:
You must have short it out somehow.
that adapter has plenty spare ampage to run 2x 120mm fans.
I run 2x 120mm PC fans on a voltage selector adapter at 12 volts with no problems at all
and another 3x 120mm fans on another adapter at 9 volts.
I first ran all 5 off one adapter and it ran for about 2 weeks and then blew due to overload! lol.
You have either short it out when you wired it up or you have a problem fan!
maybe wired wrong way but wouldnt think that would blow the adapter the fan just wouldnt work
or maybe you got some water in the fan motor somehow which may have short it out.
Or maybe you have overloaded the adapter in the past and its just died on ya!
Multi adapters with voltage and polarity switches are cheap enough to buy. Just get a new one :)
Click to expand...

yea man the fans can take the wrong amp, dont go over the output voltage thoe 12 volts and under. i tryed using 120 volts on 1, when i was high, i fuckin blew that shit right up. smelled like gun powder in my room. lmao. waste of 15 bucks.
 
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