equipment to power 120v fans
- Thread starter saltn00b
- Start date
scsinet
Active Member
Originally Posted by saltn00b
http:///forum/post/2533274
yea it is the 120V , not the 12V ones. two wires like you described. i string them all together to an AC cord?
Yep.
Be sure to ground 'em.
http:///forum/post/2533274
yea it is the 120V , not the 12V ones. two wires like you described. i string them all together to an AC cord?
Yep.
Be sure to ground 'em.
wattsupdoc
Active Member
Only way to ground these would be to the casing. Not too practical. You'll need to remove some of the paint to get a good connection. Are they just going on a timer? Or on all the time? How bout a relay? so you can automate them. theres probaly not a white wire in the fans, podssibly a striped wire, or one with ridges, one thats smooth. Or possibly writing on one. The striped/wrote on is the neutral.
scsinet
Active Member
Originally Posted by wattsupdoc
http:///forum/post/2533533
Only way to ground these would be to the casing. Not too practical. You'll need to remove some of the paint to get a good connection. Are they just going on a timer? Or on all the time? How bout a relay? so you can automate them. theres probaly not a white wire in the fans, podssibly a striped wire, or one with ridges, one thats smooth. Or possibly writing on one. The striped/wrote on is the neutral.
Every 120v fan I've ever worked with either has 2 unlabeled terminals or two black wires, so there may not be a way to tell.
What I'd do to ground them is use a ring crimp terminal and a star washer on one of the bolts or screws used to mount it in the canopy, it's simple, cheap, and safe. No paint scraping or anything that involved required.
http:///forum/post/2533533
Only way to ground these would be to the casing. Not too practical. You'll need to remove some of the paint to get a good connection. Are they just going on a timer? Or on all the time? How bout a relay? so you can automate them. theres probaly not a white wire in the fans, podssibly a striped wire, or one with ridges, one thats smooth. Or possibly writing on one. The striped/wrote on is the neutral.
Every 120v fan I've ever worked with either has 2 unlabeled terminals or two black wires, so there may not be a way to tell.
What I'd do to ground them is use a ring crimp terminal and a star washer on one of the bolts or screws used to mount it in the canopy, it's simple, cheap, and safe. No paint scraping or anything that involved required.
scsinet
Active Member
Originally Posted by saltn00b
http:///forum/post/2534310
hmm this is more confusing than i thought. i am not really an electric guru so this stuff is sort of new to me. i will take a pic of one of the fans and then maybe you guys can show me pics of how and what to put it together?
sure.
http:///forum/post/2534310
hmm this is more confusing than i thought. i am not really an electric guru so this stuff is sort of new to me. i will take a pic of one of the fans and then maybe you guys can show me pics of how and what to put it together?
sure.
scsinet
Active Member
Well you've got nice long leads...
All you really need to do is splice a power cord on. If it's a 3 wire cord, simply splice the black (or blue) to one lead, and the white (or brown) to another. The green wire can be clipped off, but I'd attach it to the frame of the fan with a small nut and bolt.
If it's a 2 wire cord, just splice the two conductors to the two black wires.
All you really need to do is splice a power cord on. If it's a 3 wire cord, simply splice the black (or blue) to one lead, and the white (or brown) to another. The green wire can be clipped off, but I'd attach it to the frame of the fan with a small nut and bolt.
If it's a 2 wire cord, just splice the two conductors to the two black wires.
scsinet
Active Member
I can't really... but I can draw you a diagram.
Seriously... this is the worst diagram I've ever drawn... but it should give you the idea.
Basically, you just connect everything together in parallel.
From the power cord, a wire will go to the first fan's lead 1, then the second fan's lead one, etc etc down the line. The second wire will go to the second lead of each fan.
What I'd do is purchase a power cord (or hack one off something lying around the house). Then go to a home improvement store and purchase a hunk of 18 gauge lamp cord. (18 gauge is MORE that big enough).
Then, simply connect the cord to the first fan, then cut a hunk of wire long enough to go to the second fan, then the third, etc. You get the idea I'm betting...
To insulate the connections, heat shrink tubing (also any home improvement store) is best, but orange wire nuts will also work okay as long as they are where they won't get wet so the copper doesn't erode.
Seriously... this is the worst diagram I've ever drawn... but it should give you the idea.
Basically, you just connect everything together in parallel.
From the power cord, a wire will go to the first fan's lead 1, then the second fan's lead one, etc etc down the line. The second wire will go to the second lead of each fan.
What I'd do is purchase a power cord (or hack one off something lying around the house). Then go to a home improvement store and purchase a hunk of 18 gauge lamp cord. (18 gauge is MORE that big enough).
Then, simply connect the cord to the first fan, then cut a hunk of wire long enough to go to the second fan, then the third, etc. You get the idea I'm betting...
To insulate the connections, heat shrink tubing (also any home improvement store) is best, but orange wire nuts will also work okay as long as they are where they won't get wet so the copper doesn't erode.
icebreaker
Member
I would not recommend using the wire nuts. Instead I would use butsplice clamps and some heat shrink tube around each connection. Saltwater and copper or alum clad copper do not mix vary well let alone the 120v power. I have the same fans and am in the process of building a canopy for me 72G bow front.
scsinet
Active Member
I don't have a picture of what he's talking about handy, but if you go to a home improvement store, in the same section as the wire nuts is where you will find them.
They look like little plastic tubes and the package will be labeled as "butt" connectors. You need a crimping tool to install them, but those are cheap and in the same section.
Regardless, if you are worried about the degredation of the copper wire which is a risk if they are exposed to the saltwater in any way (like I said... wire nuts only where they stay dry), you need to have some way of keeping the water out. Butt splices won't help you any more than wire nuts if you skip the heat shrink and you have water exposure. Be sure you get small enough heat shrink that it will shrink down snug over the wire.
If you really, really wanted to be thorough, after you slip the heat shrink on, squirt a bit of silicon into the tubing before you shrink it. When it shrinks down some silicon will squish out. Let it dry, and that connection should be totally water tight.
They look like little plastic tubes and the package will be labeled as "butt" connectors. You need a crimping tool to install them, but those are cheap and in the same section.
Regardless, if you are worried about the degredation of the copper wire which is a risk if they are exposed to the saltwater in any way (like I said... wire nuts only where they stay dry), you need to have some way of keeping the water out. Butt splices won't help you any more than wire nuts if you skip the heat shrink and you have water exposure. Be sure you get small enough heat shrink that it will shrink down snug over the wire.
If you really, really wanted to be thorough, after you slip the heat shrink on, squirt a bit of silicon into the tubing before you shrink it. When it shrinks down some silicon will squish out. Let it dry, and that connection should be totally water tight.
