ELECTRICAL question! how to slow a fan down. tokenchoken or anyone!!

ok i bought a carbon filter off this site and it has the internal fan.. just one of those standard black circle fans. it only has one speed and the sucker hums... well with my setup right now it needs to slow down a bit.

i need to add a resistor or something inline to slow down the speed. This fan plugs directly into a socket. how do i slow it down?

I read post last night about using a toy train controller to power fans...(turn it up to speed up the train and turn it down to slow the train)....sounded like it worked well on slowing or speeding up his fans....and he said he got it from a hobby store I think

Yeah you need a 120 volt reostatic control.Farm supply stores have a great selection of fans and controllers,also industrial electrical places should have these.You should know your local industrial electrical supply house anyway as it the place to buy wiring supplies and even HID bulbs etc.

Yep DON'T USE A LIGHT DIMMER! It may blow you fan. You have to use a fan controller.

I answered a similar post here at the following URL

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/52420-electrical-questions-post-em-here-5.html

See this link. It explains it all.

Grow Marijuana FAQ, Cannabis cultivation - marijuana growing tips & photos

Opps, According the external link, you shouldn't use a rheostat either!

correct me if i,m wrong guys but if you follow the logical path, a motor that is sold 1 speed usually means that the motor itself is not made to be variable , i say this cuz i burnt one years back thinking all i needed was a rheostat, but the motor itself needs to be able to run at lower speed, just a thought....

thanks for the responses guys. if a motor doesn't have enough juice its not going to run at the set speed. it is going to constantly be trying but i don't think it will burn up the fan.

thanks again

Go to home depot and pickup a adjustable light switch with a rotory dial and wire it in. Just check the amperage rating on your fan first. And buy a switch that can handle the amps.

No you can't use a light dimmer! It says so on those units.You need an actual "fan controller" but those are used in barns,Greenhouses and factories everywhere,so like I said before check industrial electrical suppliers and farm supply stores.You might even find one at a good hardware store. Just make sure that it will handle the amperage. Good luck.

Email the manufacture as some of those muffin fans cant be controlled on a varible speed switch. They can heat up and catch fire. they will suggest a speed control that will work for you

Yeah I was thinking about a regular oscillating fan or duct fan,one that runs on 120 volt, 60 cycle. What you need is an SCR (speed control resistor) .

Activated Carbon Air Filter Grow Light Odor Scrubber - eBay (item 160213550686 end time Mar-06-08 16:22:06 PST)

thats the fan that i have inside of my filter.

Here you go

The Speedster - Variable Fan Speed Control - eBay (item 310020470025 end time Apr-04-08 10:55:06 PDT)

But this site sells it for cheaper, but doesn't use the name "the speedster"

http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/itemdisplay/displayItem.do?itemid=43060

reply i bought one from home depot today. gunna hook it up tonight and i'll let you guys know how it works.

eh you can do it ghetto style and add like a piece of styrafoam and put on the sucking end and it should block some flow and slow it down. My Hydro Store lady does that to her set up because she said it was to strong.

not that its movin too much air.. fresh air is always a good thing.. but its just so damn loud. i have a computer down there runnin right by it just to blend out the sound of the air movin...

whatapothead said:

ok i bought a carbon filter off this site and it has the internal fan.. just one of those standard black circle fans. it only has one speed and the sucker hums... well with my setup right now it needs to slow down a bit.

i need to add a resistor or something inline to slow down the speed. This fan plugs directly into a socket. how do i slow it down?

Click to expand...

Go to Home Depot and in the electrical department they have 3 speed fan switches that are used for ceiling fans. I have one wired up to mine. I also have a attic fan t-stat that i have wired in parallel so the fan will cycle's between high and low speed according to the temp in my Homebox. When the temp gets to 87 F the high speed kicks in and when the temp go es down it drops into low speed.

sticky do you have the same type of fan that i linked up above? i wired in the 3 speed dial and it didn't seem to work correctly and the fan made like a humming sound like it was going to burn it out so i just bypassed it for now.

late.

If you want variable speed you will need a speed control for electric motors/fans. As I said before ,farm supply or industrial supply shop. Not a major purchase,should only be like $10.

thats what i bought. $14 and it isn't working correctly. I'll have to double check my wiring.