Lumenlab: How to wire AC fans to slow them down? - Lumenlab

Jump to content

Page 1 of 1
  • You cannot start a new topic
  • You cannot reply to this topic

How to wire AC fans to slow them down?

#1 User is offline   Miklopolis 

  • Help Desk
  • PipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Customer
  • Posts: 369
  • Joined: 08-September 04
  • Location:Philadelphia, Pa.

Posted 25 February 2006 - 01:21 AM

I have two fans, an 80mm and 120mm, both AC. I had them running much slower than normal last week when i tested them out and now i can't remember how i did it. They are wired like this at the moment:

I know that is not a proper diagram, sorry. I also tried wiring them in series and they barely had enough power to start. Can anyone help me figure out what I did right the first time?

Attached File(s)

  • Attached File  fans.JPG (9.21K)
    Number of downloads: 0

0

#2 User is offline   DeathRay64 

  • A Lot of Pips!
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Global Moderator
  • Posts: 1,808
  • Joined: 20-July 04
  • Location:Tucson, AZ
  • Interests:Jack of all trades, master of none. Interests include, aircooled VW restoration and performance, Lumenlab projectors, Science, Carpentry, Retro design, Gaming; classic arcade and XBox, Movies and am a political junkie(won't discuss this on the forum).

Posted 25 February 2006 - 03:48 AM

There aren't many options here. You must have had them in series, but you had the fans switched. I don't know how it could be anything else.
0

#3 User is offline   slowmottion 

  • I Should Be Working
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Customer
  • Posts: 172
  • Joined: 01-October 04
  • Location:Portugal

Posted 25 February 2006 - 10:27 PM

Try one DIODE in serie

This post has been edited by slowmottion: 25 February 2006 - 10:28 PM

please accept my apologies for my english
0

#4 User is offline   mikelish 

  • Enlightened
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Customer
  • Posts: 700
  • Joined: 27-February 05

Posted 25 February 2006 - 10:38 PM

If you're lucky you might find a triac (light dimmer) which will maybe produce a chopped of waveform adequate for the fan to still run. Ive done it and its far from ideal (dont expect full range control, you might find one or two places on the range that work). Other ideas i can think of are a resistive load, which will waste tons of watts, or a step down transformer which will produce a lower voltage 60hz waveform.

This post has been edited by mikelish: 25 February 2006 - 10:39 PM

0

#5 User is offline   elken2004 

  • A Lot of Pips!
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Customer
  • Posts: 3,037
  • Joined: 24-June 04
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Melbourne
  • Interests:Aviation (and flying) my real passion, F1 racing, electronics, DVD's & space science's (always need a project so as not to be bored) but also still busy raising kids,,etc etc

Posted 25 February 2006 - 10:41 PM

or go out and buy kit form,, a speed controller,, which really is the only way to control a motor,,,

usually used for power drills etc..
Time to get on with it.... grrrrr so far behind !!!
0

#6 User is offline   BobbleHead 

  • Still Here
  • PipPipPip
  • Group: Customer
  • Posts: 32
  • Joined: 12-July 04
  • Location:Ontario, Canada

Posted 26 February 2006 - 06:34 PM

....Canadian site, but you'll get the idea of price

http://busybeetools....60&NTITEM=B1850


Carlos
0

#7 User is offline   paladin 

  • Spam Destroyer
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Global Moderator
  • Posts: 709
  • Joined: 01-August 05
  • Interests:Goat rodeos.

Posted 27 February 2006 - 04:10 PM

I think the easiest and cheapest method to do this is with a speed control designed for
ceiling fans or fireplace blowers.
"Occam's Razor. The simplest explanation is almost always somebody screwed up."
"There's nothing in this universe that can't be explained. Eventually."
"Weird works for me."
0

#8 User is offline   Miklopolis 

  • Help Desk
  • PipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Customer
  • Posts: 369
  • Joined: 08-September 04
  • Location:Philadelphia, Pa.

Posted 27 February 2006 - 07:22 PM

Thanks. I think I am going to try out the ceiling fan speed control.
0
Page 1 of 1
  • You cannot start a new topic
  • You cannot reply to this topic

1 User(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users