speed controller or thermostat?

midijunkie

midijunkie

Active Member
I just bought a 6" inline fan with a carbon scrubber. its a little big for what ive got currently but will be fine for the future. Im wondering if i should get a thermostat for it or a speed controller? I would assume during flowering it should probably be on all the time so im looking toward the speed controller. But the thermostat is a good one to have for optimal temps. What would you all recommend? Thanks
 
midijunkie

midijunkie

Active Member
wow. its hard to get an answer here. wtb forum with people who dont care what other forum members will think when they answer new people.. heh
 
AltarNation

AltarNation

Well-Known Member
midijunkie said:
wtb forum with people who dont care what other forum members will think when they answer new people.. heh
Click to expand...
What?

Also, how would a thermostat sub for a speed controller? Like a hard on/off whenever it exceeds a certain temp basically? I'd go with the fan controller, you need to have fresh air exchange even when the temps are lower.
 
sfttailpaul

sfttailpaul

Active Member
Speed control would be IF you really need to throttle the fan down, IE: it is too much for the room. You cannot get too much air circulation (well U can, but). Thermostat would be my choice too because the temperature high limit is crucial.
 
S

stephaniesloan

Active Member
i use this, you can plug a heater, your cooling fans and air conditioning systems in to it.

it has a cooling delay to protect air conditioners.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ATC-800-NEW-DIGITAL-TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLER-PACK-2-/230701742481?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&hash=item35b6e53991

it is very cheap because it does not come with the word hydroponics (wink) attached to it, and you can buy a basic version which you hard wire yourself..

i also use 2 fan speed controllers at the same time inlet and outlet 6" fans, for those long hot summer days.
which i can turn down in winter.
 
EvlMunkee

EvlMunkee

Well-Known Member
@midijunkie
C.A.P. makes a combination of speed control and thermostat. It is called VSC-DNe. It increases the fan speed when the temps get hotter.
Also Titan makes a similar device called Titan Mercury 4.
They run from $80 - 95. A little bit pricey but it keeps you from manually adjusting the fan speed in reaction to high temps.
I believe they both have a day and night setting.
I'm waiting for one now...should have it running in a week or so
:peace:
 
midijunkie

midijunkie

Active Member
i already got the thermo. im assuming it will stay on most of the time considering the size of box im putting a 400w hps in. would an inline light switch dimmer from home depot work as a speed controller will? do these inline fans like being "controlled" ? im assuming at least some of them would want to run at 100% all of the time.. is it going to hurt them to be ran at a lower speed? thanks for the input.
 
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stephaniesloan

Active Member
midijunkie said:
i already got the thermo. im assuming it will stay on most of the time considering the size of box im putting a 400w hps in. would an inline light switch dimmer from home depot work as a speed controller will? do these inline fans like being "controlled" ? im assuming at least some of them would want to run at 100% all of the time.. is it going to hurt them to be ran at a lower speed? thanks for the input.
Click to expand...
the dimmers will work use a 500w dimmer but the wiring is complicated, in the uk you use a ceiling rose to wire it up.

when you buy a bathroom fan speed controller the wiring diagram comes with it.

it is not a simple case of just bypassing the switch with a live wire in l1 and l2.

i will try to find a diagram.

i got very cheap bathroom fan speed controllers from b and q diy and been using them too for 6 months with the temp computer.

my temp computer is set to min temp 18c when it is above this i use the fan speed controllers to control my top temp.
cold outside turn the fans to low, hot outside turn the fans to mid.

the cheaper fan speed controllers cause fan hum because they pulse the electric power like a dimmer (they switch the fan on and off at very very high speeds to produce a slow down effect), that is why a light dimmer bulb looks like it is flickering when at its lowest light, the more expensive ones actually reduce the electric power thus eliminating fan hum at low speeds.
 
midijunkie

midijunkie

Active Member
there should just be three wires right? neg pos and earth? i guess im going to just go ahead and order a speed controller too. my area is only going to be 3x5x5 which is 75cft.. this fan pulls 500cfm.. im curious to know how much a carbon filter reduces the cfm? is it a noticable difference? thanks again for the info. just curious. 18c is 64f. are you using it for ambient air temp? i thought the optimal temp was around 24c.

stephaniesloan said:
the dimmers will work use a 500w dimmer but the wiring is complicated, in the uk you use a ceiling rose to wire it up.

when you buy a bathroom fan speed controller the wiring diagram comes with it.

it is not a simple case of just bypassing the switch with a live wire in l1 and l2.

i will try to find a diagram.

i got very cheap bathroom fan speed controllers from b and q diy and been using them too for 6 months with the temp computer.

my temp computer is set to min temp 18c when it is above this i use the fan speed controllers to control my top temp.
cold outside turn the fans to low, hot outside turn the fans to mid.

the cheaper fan speed controllers cause fan hum because they pulse the electric power like a dimmer (they switch the fan on and off at very very high speeds to produce a slow down effect), that is why a light dimmer bulb looks like it is flickering when at its lowest light, the more expensive ones actually reduce the electric power thus eliminating fan hum at low speeds.
Click to expand...
 
midijunkie

midijunkie

Active Member
i would want this carbon filter and fan working all of the time. in my experience, these girls stink the worst right before the lights come on. if the temp is set for highs then its probably going to stay off at night. im assuming this unit has settings for this type of setup. thanks for the info.
edit. i just took a look at the titan. looks like theres no setting for a speed control. does this thing just regulate the voltage at all times according to temp? if so.. this is exactly what im looking for. http://www.amazon.com/Titan-Controls-Mercury-Night-Controller/dp/B004JKA3W2/ref=pd_sim_sbs_k_3

EvlMunkee said:
@midijunkie
C.A.P. makes a combination of speed control and thermostat. It is called VSC-DNe. It increases the fan speed when the temps get hotter.
Also Titan makes a similar device called Titan Mercury 4.
They run from $80 - 95. A little bit pricey but it keeps you from manually adjusting the fan speed in reaction to high temps.
I believe they both have a day and night setting.
I'm waiting for one now...should have it running in a week or so
:peace:
Click to expand...
 
S

stephaniesloan

Active Member
midijunkie said:
there should just be three wires right? neg pos and earth? i guess im going to just go ahead and order a speed controller too. my area is only going to be 3x5x5 which is 75cft.. this fan pulls 500cfm.. im curious to know how much a carbon filter reduces the cfm? is it a noticable difference? thanks again for the info. just curious. 18c is 64f. are you using it for ambient air temp? i thought the optimal temp was around 24c.
Click to expand...

the carbon filter does make a difference to the exhaust fan pull, my exhaust fan controller is always higher than my intake.
although you could make a passive air intake it would make it easier to get slight negative pressure.
18c is my night temps, 28c is my day temps, a difference of 10c stops my plants stretching for the light during the dark period and they fill out as the cold atmosphere slows down metabolism and tells them it is dark too as well as the lights being off.
if night temps are too warm the plants will stretch in the dark big time in to tall lanky skinny hideous boney witches.
 
EvlMunkee

EvlMunkee

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure of the difference between the Merc 3 and Merc 4. The Merc 4 has a idle speed setting for sure.
I'm not sure what they mean by "deadband range" when they describe the Merc 3. I suspect that it means the fan will shut all the way down at a point
I tried to call someone on the phone last week to explain exactly how they work but couldn't get anyone.
I'm gonna try the CAP. I have a smaller fan that is on 24/7 so I don't care about the idle speed.
Here's some better prices.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TITAN-CONTROLS-MERCURY-4-FAN-SPEED-CONTROLLER-DIMMER-/190542326766?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5d352bee

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CAP-Variable-Fan-Speed-Controller-Day-Night-120-volt-6-/190533167728?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5ca96a70

:peace:
 
N

newbie1122

Active Member
whether you get a speed controller or thermostat depends on what you are trying to achieve. If you want to control only the heat, a thermostat would be great, if you are just concerned about air exchange then a speed controller would be what you want. You could always use both. Also keep in mind some fans are not designed to be used with a controller and either will not work, or will burn the fan out.

http://www.greenheck.com/library/articles/33
 
midijunkie

midijunkie

Active Member
just to update.. the fan i got doesnt work with the titan. it only turns it off and on with the thermostat. as i understood it, it would regulate the voltage to slow it down or >.
 
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