I have a couple PC fan questions

Hi

I have had my grow up and running for a couple days and I am dealing with heat issues. I am about 8 degrees warmer then I would like to be. My plan is to add another PC fan and I have a couple questions.
First is: Can I run two PC fans off a 12v power supply or do I need a second power supply?
Second:If I stack the fans one on top of each other will that double the CFM or should I mount them side by side?

Thanks

MBuds

macbuds1983 said:

Hi

I have had my grow up and running for a couple days and I am dealing with heat issues. I am about 8 degrees warmer then I would like to be. My plan is to add another PC fan and I have a couple questions.
First is: Can I run two PC fans off a 12v power supply or do I need a second power supply?
Second:If I stack the fans one on top of each other will that double the CFM or should I mount them side by side?

Thanks

MBuds

Click to expand...

Well the reason I know this is because I tested with multiple fans on a single 12V supply, and yes, it does indeed slow them down. I have 3 fans in my PC case, 1 intake at the bottom, and 2 exhaust at the top, all running on their own 12V power supply each for maximum power and air movement. You can definitely notice a difference. I am using 120mm fans as well.

i have 4 fans. not sure on the size. and i have 2 going out . 2 going in ; not the most clean way but it works; but i have 2 fans per plug. It seems to do the trick

It depends on the plug/transformer you're using. Some have low amperage, and some have more. It should say so right on the plug how much amperage it has. If I remember right, each fan takes about .1-.25 amps to run nominally. (also depends on the fan itself too) As you add fans, splicing them in series, the amperage will add up. So it's possible to have more fans than amperage, but they will run slow. I wouldn't recommend that though of course.

Yes look at the amperage and make sure it can handle both fans. Then wire them in parallel (google for more detail on that). (If you wired them in series it would split the voltage across both fans)

Stacking the fans won't double the flow, etc. It more like hurts the flow as the fans fight each other. There is a certain distance you can keep the fans apart to increase flow, but I haven't experimented. Good luck. IMO drill an additional hole for the second outlet fan.

Oops, you're right about parallel versus series...my bad.

Awesome thanks for the info guys.
I have the space so I will instal another fan next to the one I have now.

MBuds

its all about the amps