Best Way to go about installing PC fans into cab?
- Thread starter dapio
- Start date
Matchbox
Well-Known Member
have you got the holes cut for them?
There's a few ways. You can cut a circle the diameter of the fan bit and just put some screws long enough to go through the fan and into the wood, then mount it on either side (sucking or blowing, whatever you need).
Or you can cut a square hole the exact dimensions of the fan and just slot it in place, no screws, no velcro
Velcro should do it, not sure how it would go on though without blocking the airflow, screws are better anyway, if you can use some rubber washers too, that'll help dampen any sound if stealth is an issue.
and I find the best way to utilize PC fans is to have 2 or more for exhaust and have a passive intake, I rarely use a fan for intake, it's just not really nessasary unless you have an airtight cab imo.
And yeah you use a 12v phone charger type deal.
There's a few ways. You can cut a circle the diameter of the fan bit and just put some screws long enough to go through the fan and into the wood, then mount it on either side (sucking or blowing, whatever you need).
Or you can cut a square hole the exact dimensions of the fan and just slot it in place, no screws, no velcro
Velcro should do it, not sure how it would go on though without blocking the airflow, screws are better anyway, if you can use some rubber washers too, that'll help dampen any sound if stealth is an issue.and I find the best way to utilize PC fans is to have 2 or more for exhaust and have a passive intake, I rarely use a fan for intake, it's just not really nessasary unless you have an airtight cab imo.
And yeah you use a 12v phone charger type deal.
dapio
Well-Known Member
True that the slotting in makes since. But I was told the easiest way is to use a drill saw for holes. I don't think that they make square saw, but if there is another solution that is just as easy makes since. I just figure I would need a power strip with a DC adapter close by to pull it off. Also, I don't quite understand the 12v phone charger idea. Wouldn't the phone battery run out? Would you have to keep charging the battery? Doesn't seem economical when it comes to a grow, but then again what do I know haha.
***Deftoned***
Member
i bought a used computer power supply for mine. $10. All you have to do is jump 2 wires and it'll fire up without motherboard plus you can buy fan controllers to really tweak the cab to ideal temps and db's...
Easy! no wire splicing required
Easy! no wire splicing required
Matchbox
Well-Known Member
yeah the hole saw is pretty simple but I'm pretty handy with a jigsaw so cutting a square was a piece of piss too
But no you use the mains plug that charges the phone. But you cut the connector that goes into the phone off and throw it away, you then take the pc fan to motherboard connector off and chuck it, then skin the wires, splice the matching colors together and plug in.
Basically any 8-12 volt mains adapter will do the job.
Anyway I found this, explains it better than I did, Imo I don't like using the PC power box, because (1 they look messy lol) and if stealth is an issue it's really bulky to tuck away, Especially when you can run several fans off of 1 phone charger mains plug
How to turn a PC fan into an exhaust or intake fan?
Contributed by: Flowerman
Images archived: 2001
Just for fun, I wanted to show how easy it is to turn a PC fan into an intake, or into an exhaust fan. The fan I am using is quite small, but the objective is still the same. The first step is to find or buy a 12v DC plug adapter. This fan here is rated at 80cfm, which will work for a small box set-up.
Here's is some info on the 12v DC adapter: (Model 420A4141)
Output (DC) 12.0V @ 500mA
Output Voltage VDC(1)
Input 108VAC
Output Volts @ 100% Load 10.20
Input 132VAC
Output Volts @ 100% Load 13.60
Input 132VAC
Output Volts @ 10% Load 17.40
UL(2) UL*
CSA(3) L
Plug(4) 1
Simply cut the wires at the end, and strip down about a ¼ inch of bare wire is showing.
If you don’t know which wire to wire up, for instance they’re all black wires, don’t worry, it will only work one way, and if wired wrong, will simply not work at all. But the idea is, black to black, red to red. This one here that I used, had one black and one red coming from the fan, and from the adapter, one black and one black and white. The black and white wire from the adapter got wired to the all black wire from the fan. And the all black wire from the adapter, gets wired to the all red wire from the fan.
To add another fan, just connect the wires of the same together. All black goes with black, all red goes with red. So you would still only use 2 connectors all together. Here’s a few more pictures. But for the most part, I just wanted to show how simple it is. Make sure you get an adapter which is rated DC for the output.
Finished
Testing
Also a worthwhile consideration is places like radio shack and grainger also have nice 4" muffin fans that move as much as 200 cfm and more, which run on 110 vac. They come with a handy power cord that has a special connector on one end for the fan and a plug on the other end for plugging into the wall socket or humistat / thermostat.
***Deftoned***
Member
Can you see my atx in my case pic? NOPEI don't like using the PC power box, because (1 they look messy lol) and if stealth is an issue it's really bulky to tuck away, Especially when you can run several fans off of 1 phone charger mains plug
No sir. mount it in your cab with the exhaust pointing out of the box. Messy to me is a bunch of cut power adapters spliced together. Another problem i ran into with Adapters was I couldn't find any local that would support the 160+CFM 120mm fan i have on top of 3 x 80mm and 2 x 40mm. And another problem with adapters....If your running to many amps or to little there gonna eventually burn your fan up. Power supply's cheap, consistent, and most important safe. Plus they have micro atx's now
. Ive tried both ways and the power supply is by far better. And lets not forget the 1000+s of volt regulators, fan controllers, water cooling etc etc that having the atx over phone chargers presents.
Matchbox
Well-Known Member
Just said in my opinionCan you see my atx in my case pic? NOPE
No sir. mount it in your cab with the exhaust pointing out of the box. Messy to me is a bunch of cut power adapters spliced together. Another problem i ran into with Adapters was I couldn't find any local that would support the 160+CFM 120mm fan i have on top of 3 x 80mm and 2 x 40mm. And another problem with adapters....If your running to many amps or to little there gonna eventually burn your fan up. Power supply's cheap, consistent, and most important safe. Plus they have micro atx's now
If you do it neatly, bit of electric tape it just looks like your fan has a mains lead... you don't have to worry about amps as much I find I only need 2 or 3 fans (at the moment only need 1) and an adapter or the one I'm using anyway can take it easily. Another suggestion people have made is to do the same thing but with a printer power lead or something (not 100% what model etc). There is absolutely no safety risk using phone chargers as the voltages involved are minimal they don't even feel like anything if you touch the live cables when it's plugged in :/
About your 120mm fan I used an adapter for one of those static lightning ball things which is 12v with a decent amperage.
Are you saying you run yours off of your PC as you mentioned fan controllers, voltage regulators and water cooling? So I'd assume you have your PC next to your grow box or something.
And as for your grow journal, I'd say get a 250w HPS, this will run cooler than the integrated 150w HPS's as you can have the ballast outside of the cab. LED's are too expensive and at the moment I believe they are still in their infancy (did a ton of research when I brought my 90w UFO) and will only get better in another year or so that you might as well wait for
I think my cab is smaller than yours and I run a 250w HPS.
***Deftoned***
Member
Sry man didnt mean to come off like that. All you need is the computer power supply. no tower no mother board. All you have to do is jump the power wire(green) with a ground(black). then it will turn on without being in the tower or being hooked to anything other than your wall and the fan. You can neatly zip tie all extras or cut them and cover the ends. I have a heatsink water cooling system im going to put on which ever hood i get.
I to have touch my ghetto rigged adapter fans and nearly burnt my house down. it sparked and i thought it was nothing and grabbed a drink.....came back carpet had a quarter sizzed burn whole and gettin bigger. Should try a power supply man. telling ya there legit
These are all great ideas, using an old computer power supply or a regular 12v dc adapter + soldering,
BUT here is another cool alternative to consider:
http://www.amazon.com/Coolerguys-110v-Molex-Power-Adapter/dp/tech-data/B000MGG6SC/ref=de_a_smtd
its a regular dc power adapter, except the output is a pc molex with both 12v and 5v lines. very useful if you want to run fans at different speeds (5v, 7v, 12v, etc).
It wont require any soldering or extra work either.
You can probably also use a rheostat/potentiometer to control the speed of pc fans (depending if the fan has the sensor wire).\
this is great if you dont want to solder or jump pins on your psu, its straight up plug-n-play!!!
BUT here is another cool alternative to consider:
http://www.amazon.com/Coolerguys-110v-Molex-Power-Adapter/dp/tech-data/B000MGG6SC/ref=de_a_smtd
its a regular dc power adapter, except the output is a pc molex with both 12v and 5v lines. very useful if you want to run fans at different speeds (5v, 7v, 12v, etc).
It wont require any soldering or extra work either.
You can probably also use a rheostat/potentiometer to control the speed of pc fans (depending if the fan has the sensor wire).\
this is great if you dont want to solder or jump pins on your psu, its straight up plug-n-play!!!
***Deftoned***
Member
Yeah. You can use a wii power supply to. its Just like that one in link.
A power supply is more plug n play than anything we have mentioned. All you do is stick a piece of copper wire in the 2 leads and that's it. no soldering. Everything you buy for the cab is already gonna fit and work as intended because your using the the power source it was designed for. alot of people just dont understand power supplies but im telling you once you install it youll love the convenience of simply buying something and plugging it right in. You can keep them anywhere, doesnt have to be in cab. you can get a cheapo power supply from best buy and walmart for 15-20 bucks.
A power supply is more plug n play than anything we have mentioned. All you do is stick a piece of copper wire in the 2 leads and that's it. no soldering. Everything you buy for the cab is already gonna fit and work as intended because your using the the power source it was designed for. alot of people just dont understand power supplies but im telling you once you install it youll love the convenience of simply buying something and plugging it right in. You can keep them anywhere, doesnt have to be in cab. you can get a cheapo power supply from best buy and walmart for 15-20 bucks.
SmartyPlantz
Member
Here's what I did:
1. Bought a Dremmel tool - not the pencil thin rotary tool. It's more like a jig-saw with rotating bit that can cut like a jig. Was on clearance so I figured it's good for thin woods. Like a radial jig-saw?? Sorry, not exactly a carpenter.
2. Bought a 120mm PC fan from Radio Shack which measures roughly a 4" diameter for the fan. The fan "case" is square, with 4 holes in each corner to mount screws.
3. Trace the "case" of PC fan, mark the fan intake/outake (circle), mark screw points. I used my drill with a small drill bit to drill the holes. So now I was left with the mounting holes predrilled, outline of fan hole, outline of fan case.
4. Take Dremmel or other circle sawing tool and drill out 4" circle in desired spot.
5. Place fan and line up mounting holes, insert mounting screws, and you're done.
The backing for my cab was slightly thicker so I went to home depot and found the exact same sized mounting screws, but about 1/2" longer and they work like a charm. No need for slots, velcro, duct tape, or other nonsense.
Regarding wiring, I found a 12volt outlet that works like a cellphone charger - this thing is heavy duty for about $10. I once ran 4 pc fans on this thing in the past with no problems - now it's just running one 120mm PC fan. Kind of overkill but that's all right. Fan setup costs less than $25. Dremmel cost me under $80 and I can reuse this thing over and over again on other hole drilling projects - definitely building a bigger cab for next grow.
But yeah, I don't fuck around with electrical tape...always use those screw on type wire connectors or better yet solder them and cover with shrink tubing for an even better fit.
1. Bought a Dremmel tool - not the pencil thin rotary tool. It's more like a jig-saw with rotating bit that can cut like a jig. Was on clearance so I figured it's good for thin woods. Like a radial jig-saw?? Sorry, not exactly a carpenter.
2. Bought a 120mm PC fan from Radio Shack which measures roughly a 4" diameter for the fan. The fan "case" is square, with 4 holes in each corner to mount screws.
3. Trace the "case" of PC fan, mark the fan intake/outake (circle), mark screw points. I used my drill with a small drill bit to drill the holes. So now I was left with the mounting holes predrilled, outline of fan hole, outline of fan case.
4. Take Dremmel or other circle sawing tool and drill out 4" circle in desired spot.
5. Place fan and line up mounting holes, insert mounting screws, and you're done.
The backing for my cab was slightly thicker so I went to home depot and found the exact same sized mounting screws, but about 1/2" longer and they work like a charm. No need for slots, velcro, duct tape, or other nonsense.
Regarding wiring, I found a 12volt outlet that works like a cellphone charger - this thing is heavy duty for about $10. I once ran 4 pc fans on this thing in the past with no problems - now it's just running one 120mm PC fan. Kind of overkill but that's all right. Fan setup costs less than $25. Dremmel cost me under $80 and I can reuse this thing over and over again on other hole drilling projects - definitely building a bigger cab for next grow.
But yeah, I don't fuck around with electrical tape...always use those screw on type wire connectors or better yet solder them and cover with shrink tubing for an even better fit.