Fan Enough Power?

[lilredwuck]

First, when it comes to electricity I would love to know what I am doing so I don't kill my family. So please only respond if you are FOR SURE so I don't look like this

lol
Ok I have 2 identical fans each one is 12 volt .21 amps. Will be using a dc converter. Found one online that will do 5 amps at 12volts. My question is about the splicing and wire guages to use how far can I run the line how to etc. without the fire thing and what not. I know it will run it, but I'll be splicing and adding wire. Just looking to be safe. 4 foot run left to right about 4-5 feet off the ground the plug in is just to the left of the stand. How far can I run the wire safely and what size?

 

[scsinet]

Assuming that you are going to be extending the low voltage side of the power supply, and not the power line side, you actually should not need very large wires. Also, splicing and extending the low voltage side is much safer.
It sounds like you are running about 10 feet total. Length of run is not a limiting factor as long as you size the wire appropriately. You can run the wire 200 feet if you want, as long as you size it right. For a 10 foot run and less than half an amp (0.42 amps total), even very small wire will do the job. If you get some 18 gauge lamp wire, that will handle the current with absolutely no problem. You can probably go as small as 20 or 22 gauge, but 18 gauge lamp wire is cheap and you can buy it at any hardware store or home improvement store by the foot.
A word on your power supply... 5 amps is much larger than you require. A 1 amp supply will be much cheaper and will handle the job just fine. But if you have the 5 amp supply, the only thing I'd consider doing is wiring a fuse socket into the line near the power supply, so that in case a short occurs, the fuse will blow instead of your wiring overheating or the power supply being damaged. You can get an inline fuse holder at auto-parts stores or Radio Shaft. Install a 1 amp slow blow fuse into the holder to provide some protection.
If you want/need more information, let me know and I can post a quick wiring diagram for you to follow.
BTW... I'd recommend insulating your splices with heat shrink, as saltwater corrodes copper, it'll just make your connections last longer.

 

[lilredwuck]

I got confused about something. It's not a 5 amp it's .5 amp or I guess 500ma. I have also found one online that will push 1 amp or 1000ma. I have a third fan installed on it's own power cord right now. It would be nice to have them all on one supply though. I am pretty sure it's around or under 500ma. The power supply I have hooked to it right now is only a 9volt. I was planning on getting some liquid tape from hd to use now and on later projects. What do you mean by the low voltage sign.

 

[scsinet]

I was going on the assumption that you had a 5 amp supply. Power supplies like what you are using come in two flavors... "wall-wart" and tabletop. Tabletop supplies have a regular power cord extending out of them (the line voltage or power line side) then they have a smaller cord extending out of them for the low voltage (secondary) side. Wall-wart supplies have a low voltage wire, but the line voltage side is just a couple of prongs sticking out of the box to plug in.
For example, a wall-wart supply is one like you'd find on a cordless phone. A tabletop supply is like you'd see on a laptop computer.
Every 5 amp supply I've ever seen is a tabletop. So I was cautioning you to extend the overall length by splicing the low voltage wire (from the fans to the power supply) instead of the high voltage side (from the power supply to the wall outlet).
Yeah, a 500ma supply will handle two fans rated for 0.21amps each, albeit barely. I don't like to run power supplies that close to fully loaded. There is NO safety issue in doing this, but IMO power supplies last longer when they have some overhead built in. I'd use the 1 amp supply you found. In either case however, you shouldn't require the fuse if you don't want to include it. If a short occurs at some point, your power supply will burn out, but it won't cause a safety issue to life or property. If you include the fuse, it'll just be to protect the power supply.

 

[lilredwuck]

Ok, so what guage wire should I use? Split it right in the middle? Then run to each fan so it's the same distance? Or one fan to the next in a series? Here is a pick of the fans. Took forever for delivery from Honk Kong but at $3 each why not. Is there a big difference between say a 9vdc compared to 12vdc? I have a lot of 9volt supplies, but not any 12volts. Just wondering on that one. I still plan on getting the 12volt 1000mah one for $6 I think. Here is a picture of the fans that I had bought. They are the bigger ones I think the 120mm. Then I had a smaller fan I will use for the canopy. Plan on using the new ones to blow across the water.

 

[scsinet]

Your pictures didn't come through, but to answer your questions...
9v and 12v will have a big difference in noise and airflow. If you've already got a 9v, why not try it?
You can run each fan from the power supply separately, or you can go from the supply to the first fan, then jumper from there to the second. Either way will work fine.

 

[lilredwuck]

most the 9 volts I have are small on the milliamps side. Yeah I got mad at photobucket. It would show me a thumbnail, then it would be a totally different picture when clicked, and yet another when linked to. Sooo. Let's just say I don't have any photos left there as of now. I have the fan that will control the heat buildup in the middle top of the canopy. This thing is LOUD with the 9v on it. I would hate to see 12. I didn't want to independently run 3 sets of wires, plus all other fish stuff as well. But I think the smaller 80mm I have consumes a little over 500mA, and I haven't tested the new 120mm fans. I looked and they were $2.70 with shipping each, just ordered the power supply for $4.89, so I will have to wait and see. I really need to update a ton of stuff it is just finding all the time to do it! Oh and I was thinking about something. I picked up a bathroom vent to put in my bathroom to help with the steam build up, etc. Wouldn't this work in a canopy as well? The one I bought was only $13 at HD. It's set up more for water/ steam abuse isn't it? And for the fans I plan on sealing the wiring with liquid tape. Stuff looks pretty cool.

 

[scsinet]

Although those fans for bathrooms are made to handle the steam (somewhat), they are no match for a corrosive saltwater environment.

 

[lilredwuck]

Ok, so what guage wire should I go with? the fan wire itself is tiny, but it's still electricity

 

[scsinet]

Even very small wire will be fine for this job, #20 or #22 would work fine. However, larger #18 lamp cord is more readily available.. you can get it at any hardware or home improvement store. That's what I'd use. Even if there is an electronics store where you can get the smaller stuff, the lamp wire will probably be cheaper.

 

[lilredwuck]

I actually have 22 gauge and 18 gauge wire right now. The cord coming off the fan is 22 gauge and the after the plug it's 20 gauge.