Help hardwiring pc fans, not to a pc...
#1
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Help hardwiring pc fans, not to a pc...
Hi, please forgive me if I am posting this in the wrong section. I need help. I am building a food dehydrator and for air circulation I want to use 6 standard 120mm PC fans. I need to know how to wire them for a standard wall outlet. My only requirement is that I need to be able to turn each one on and off separately, but they all need to run on the same power supply. So basically some kind of box or panel with 6 switches (toggle maybe). Hopefully you can tell me what else I need and how to wire it. Thanks in advance.
#2
I did something similar for cooling an entertainment center. I bought a "PC fan power supply" for about $15-20 from newegg.com I think. You can get low voltage DC toggle switches from pretty much any hardware/auto store. Use the switch to break the yellow (+12VDC) wire.
#5
You can use any power supply that outputs 12VDC as long as it can deliver 3A or more. Those fans need around 300-400mA each, and you need a small buffer capacity. So 3A would be the minimum safe. The other option would be as drooplug suggested and using 120v fans (assuming you don't already have the PC fans onhand).
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So, I couldn't find these computer fan power supplies. So I looked for 12v 3a power supplies and found some laptop cords and cell phone chargers. Would one of those work? Does the amps need to go up if I'm running 6 fans unread of just 1 fan?
#7
That Asus power brick would work just fine. The 3A is for all 6 fans. Each one uses about 0.3 to 0.4A, so 6 would total 1.8 to 2.4A. 3A is the smallest you could use to power all 6. If you were to go more than 6 fans, you would need to go higher (1A for every 2 additional fans).
#8
Here is an example of one with a built in molex connector for the DC fans.
Newegg.com - 1ST PC CORP. ACDC-12V AC wall jack to 12V DC 4pin Molex Adapter
Newegg.com - 1ST PC CORP. ACDC-12V AC wall jack to 12V DC 4pin Molex Adapter
#10
Stop!
Stop making this over complicated. You can buy those fans in 120v flavor. I found some here: 120v AC Fans :: Case Fans :: Case fans and accessories :: Jab-tech . They are also available elsewhere.
#11
If you do want to go with 12 volt fans, check this link for a 12 volt 3 amp supply.
http://www.amazon.com/Pyramid-PS3KX-.../dp/B0002JTD2K
http://www.amazon.com/Pyramid-PS3KX-.../dp/B0002JTD2K
#12
Stop making this over complicated. You can buy those fans in 120v flavor. I found some here: 120v AC Fans*::*Case Fans*::*Case fans and accessories*::*Jab-tech . They are also available elsewhere.