DIY Fan Wiring?

[Big Jay]

Ok, i am looking to build a custom canopy to house 1x150w MH HQI and 2 x 65w Power Compacts. I am looking to add a nice cooling fan to each side of the canopy.

I looked at the coralife ones but don't want a seperate 110-120v AC plug for them to run. anyone have any suggestions on what fan i can purchase and how to wire it so it stays on when the MH is on?

I do not care about thermostatically controlled fans...i just want them on when i switch the MH on. Thanks!

 

[BigRed]

I'm totally digging my silenx fans, but they are DC so you ahve to convert powet. i think you could get more bang for the buck if you arent as concerned about noise. I know people have used stanley blowers before, and i've heard they move massive amounts of air. No matter what you do, you'll have to have power from somewhere... I have mine plugged into a timer so they go on with the MH and off slightly afterwards. you could put an outlet of some sort inside the canopy to plug your fans into... it all depends on what all you have in the canopy, ballasts, timers.... if you're doing it soon (by the end of the week) i can surely help, if not, let us know some more details about what you want specifically, I know there are a couple EE's and contracters on here, so someone might chip in.

Red

 

[Big Jay]

I have some time to plan this out.

I am really not overly concerned about having to plug in a 110V Ac fan SEPERATE from the MH. I would like to be able to wire it into the Metal Halide Circuit if possible but if not oh well.

Worst case scenario, i would want two fans operating off ONE plug. So then my setup would be:

1 plug for 2 x 65w PC's
1 plug for 150w MH
1 Plug for 2 x AC Fans
1 Plug for PC Refugium Light

 

[mladencovic]

Buy PC fans. They are cheap, virtually noiseless, easy to maintain and set into whatever enclosure you want to build, will do the job you need them for (just removing hot air from canopy) and they run of 9-12V DC. You can wire them any way you like it to any DC converter. And if you are lucky and you use anything else that uses AC/DC converter/transformer (like some controllers, topoff relays, etc) you can plug them into that. And you don't have to worry about wiring, you can do it as ugly as you want, since their extremely low power consumption will not do much of the damage. When I was building my stand, I added a flexible aluminum foil airduct pipe (4-5" dia.) at the exit of my fan, to improve air flow out of my enclosed space. You jut screw their square frame to whatever opening you want.

 

[BigRed]

Jay
I have 2 AC PC fans if you want them, I also have some DC fans lying around.

where are you housing your mh ballast? if it's in the canopy you could slice the fans into the power going INTO the ballast. the wiring OUT of the ballast will only fry the fans. if you are placing the ballast elsewhere, you are sadly out of luck for the combined circuit. I would only recommend splicing into the power if you know what you are doing, or have someone around to help. It's easy to do, but you want to make sure it is done right so accidents/fires/overloads don't occur. as for wiring the fans themselves, its incredably simple. the fans have 2 leads (some have a third for a speed controller)and you can wire them to a 2 prong ac plug from the hardware store. small guage wire is fine, as these have very low power consumption. the DC fans are the same except for the transformer either inline, or as a "wall wort".

ok so that's a little log winded...
HTH

Red

 

[Big Jay]

The MH ballast will be remote mounted.

I am pretty nifty with wiring. The only part that kinda confused me was the AC/DC converter. I didn't know one existed.

I think i am going to:

Splice in an AC/DC converter BEFORE the ballast on the 110/120V line. Then run the 12V DC wires up the line past the ballast, into the fans in the hood. I'll just electrical tape the DC wires to the 110/120V outside wire conduit. Not pretty, but it works.

 

[BigRed]

sounds like a plan. i'll keep a lookout for something you could use inline, they aren't as common, but they're around. LMK if you need/want those fans. I pulled them out of old PC power supplies...

Red

 

[chase33]

Buy PC fans. They are cheap, virtually noiseless, easy to maintain and set into whatever enclosure you want to build, will do the job you need them for (just removing hot air from canopy) and they run of 9-12V DC.

This is what I did and what many others do. It is very simple. You can purchase the fans from ebay for less than $5 apiece or from Radio shack for a little more. You can also purchase a 12v ac adapter (if you don't have one lying around the house) on ebay also for a few dollars. Connecting the fans to the converter is very easy as you only splice the wires and connect. Works great, easy to install, and I believe much cheaper than purchasing other fans. Lastly they use little electricity. I have three fans all wired to the same converter. They are also tied into the same outlet as the MH lights so they come on when those lights come on. If I learn how to post pics here I'll post pics of my setup.

 

[GregW]

I bought a universal AC adapter from radio shack that has six voltage setting between 3V and 12V. Using the lower settings reduces the speed of the fan if needed. During the summer, like this weekend, I put it on 12V. When it's cooler and I don't need so much air flow I put it on 6V.

 

[PMolan]

I use PC fans.

1) PC power supply.

Drilled my ballasts and added hard drive fans.

PC fans for the canopy.