Fan question?????

[jfdjason]

For those of you that made your own fan assembly for the top of your tanks my question is this......
Did you have to place a resistor between the wires that come from the fan to the power source.....or did you just splice them together direct?
If you used a resistor what size did you use?
I am looking at some fans on "the world's largest bidding place" and they are nice and will work, but have a different connection on them. I want to take a 12V old cell phone charger....kind of like the one I used for my moonlights....but am wondering if there needs to be a resistor on them.

 

[saltcreep]

I bought my fans from the place I bought the lights. They were just computer style fans and came with a power cord. All I did was wire nut them together. No extra components needed. I am not sure if they are the same fans you are trying to use though.

 

[jfdjason]

Yep salt that sounds like them. Just some good computer fans.

 

[6stokes]

A resistor is used to decrease the voltage. IMO you can do it a lot easier than worring about resistors or step up transformers. If you're going to use 12 dc volt fans then check to mA rating on the fan and be sure your 12 dc volt charger matches. You can also find 120 AC volt computer fans that just plug into the wall. Of course you'll have to add the cord.

 

[acrylic51]

IMO a whole lot easier to use computer fans. Stop by your local Radio Shack. Plug and play deal!!!!

 

[robchuck]

Or you can get 4" fans for cheap from electronics supply houses. I found a brand of fans called Orion at an electronics store through Google. They push a lot of air, are quieter than the Radio Shack fans, and didn't cost much more than $10 a piece. The only downside is that you have to wire them yourself.

 

[acrylic51]

Thanks for the tip Rob... Radio Shack fans are rather expensive

 

[msd2]

Just makes sure you note the db rating, some of those cheaper fans sound like airplanes taking off, radshacks are quiet (think around 38db).

 

[robchuck]

Exactly! Look very carefully at the specs of the specific fan model before buying. The 4" Orion fans I got are rated at 34dB and push close to 100cfm, but there are ALOT of 4" Orion fans, and some of them are 60dB+.