Installing PC fans

Discussion in 'Do It Yourself' started by Ingrid27, Mar 31, 2015.

  1. I've been trying to put these in all morning, if anyone knows how to install them let me know! I only have a 1 3/4" hole saw so I started with that then took a reciprocating saw to it to make the square. I've made one the right size for the fan, but I don't know how to secure it there. The corners have screws but they seem to be used to hold the screen on and not for attaching it. I can't get the fan in if the cut in the box is too small, but when I make it the right size, the fan can fall right through...definitely not a perfect fit
    ImageUploadedByGrasscity Forum1427821010.096236.jpg ImageUploadedByGrasscity Forum1427821033.344656.jpg


    Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
     
  2. #2 crankz, Mar 31, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 31, 2015
    You just want a round hole the size of the fan blades. Then four small mounting holes.
    Look at a computer (pics on Google if need be) see how fans are mounted.
    Do that with your wood.
     
    Edit: If you're trying to have it flush/inset in the wood, you'll need to make some sort of mounting plate that you bolt the fan to. Then the plate screwed to the wood.
    Sandwich said mounting plate between the fan and fan grill.
     
  3. Pry need some wood screws...
     
  4. hey all. I use a lump of packing foam (white Styrofoam) to mount my fans. take a lump of foam (it must be as thick or thicker than the depth of the fan' usually 1"/ 2.5 cm thick is good). cut foam into a square about 3/4" / 2cm wider than fan on all sides so if your using 10 cm x 10 cm fan cut foam to 14 x14 cm. now cut a 10 x10 cm hole in centre of foam that your fan will fit into tightly . now cover the foam with tape around the edges to stop foam breaking off (any tape will do duct, electrical etc..) now you have made a frame for the fan the last step is to cut a hole in your press/ box. the hole must be slightly smaller than the frame eg. 13.9 x 13.9. the foam will compress slightly and you can wedge the foam in place. job done.
    this will hold the fan in place and most importantly for me it will reduce the sound of the fan. the fan has no direct contact with the press/ box which reduces vibration.
    when you screw a fan directly to a press/ box the whole press/ box vibrates and amplify's the sound of the fan like a guitar and string. in short the fan will be louder if it has direct contact with the press/ box. a lump of packing foam does wonders for sound reduction.   
     
  5. a few photos..
    2011-03-11 17.15.03.jpg 2011-03-11 17.14.31.jpg 2011-03-11 17.14.46.jpg
     
    2 fans in line mounted in foam.
     
  6. #7 WeedleTM, May 16, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: May 16, 2015
     
    Awesome mate, I just bought one also, can't wait for arriving! [​IMG] Do you have a clearer picture of your wiring? I also see you have added a switch (the blue one), why is that?
     
  7. hey weedle glad to help..
    my camera is shit and the wiring is really close together so I drew a diagram. hope it makes sense..
     
    firstly  get some thin wire to run from the fan to thermostat. I place my thermostat in centre of grow space and fan is off to the side so measure out how long your wires need to be..
     
    power supply: any 12v power supply will do. I got a 12v 1amp supply on ebay for 2 or 3 euro but most people have one around the house eg. internet router. 1 amp is more than  enough as it will run up to 6  .18amp pc fans. 
     
    now the hard part..
    there are 4 terminals on the thermostat. K0, K1, +12v, Gnd.
     
    connect the red wire of your 12v power supply to the 3rd terminal (+12v) and the black to the 4th terminal (Gnd) 
     
    take a piece of wire  1 inch is enough, strip ends and connect terminal 2 (K1) to terminal 3 (+12v). this is marked as loop on diagram.
     
    lastly connect the red wire of your computer fan to 1st terminal (K0) and black wire to 4th terminal (Gnd) 
     
    job done.
     
    to test it set thermostat to desired temp and hold sensor in your hand. you should see temp rise and fans come on.
     
    one last thing.. the display is bright red so if your using it in flowering room you'll need to put it in a box or black it out somehow as light could effect flowering.
     
    any questions i'll be glad to help if I can...
     
    and as for the switch. I have 2 fans in line and I decided to put a switch on one fan so in winter I could control how fast the air changed to avoid sudden temp drop. I grow in my garage so outside temp has a huge effect on grow room temp... ie run 2 fans in summer, 1 fan in winter. to be honest probably overthinking it a bit but I had the switch and it only took 1 min to wire in...
     

    Attached Files:

  8.  
    Greenfinger, this is awesome man! Thank you so much for this detailed explaination :D The diagram you drew for me is very clear! :D
    If you agree I would like to make a tutorial with pictures for GC based on your information to share with everyone. 
     
    You are talking about the bright led display, how did you handle this? Did you cover the box but isn't it in the picture, or is this thermostat in your vegroom?
     
  9. #10 JewishVolcano, May 17, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: May 17, 2015
     
    I'm not sure what exactly your problem is. I recently mounted a pc fan, however it was not a thick wood like you have but a fiberboard. I simply used self-tapping screws. I positioned a fan on it's place, inserted a screw and applied force to it so that it's tip will leave a tiny hole in the wood to mark the place. Then I would put the fan aside and drive the screw into the wood. After I made a threaded hole I positioned the fan and put the screw in, that's all.
     
    The tricky thing is that due to pc fan sctructure you can't hold the screw driver straight. Me and my fiberboard I just held it at an angle and managed to put the screw in just fine. With your thick wood you may try small pliers for that purpose.
     
    Alternatively instead of self-tapping screws you may drill holes and use nut/bolt.
     
     
    P.S. Just noticed it's an old thread, nevermind [​IMG]
     
  10.  
    Yes exactly this, just cut/drill/saw the red lines/holes and you can mount your fan:
    [​IMG]
     
  11. I do commend the members in this post, but to cut it short, plants need a constant airflow to removes gases from their stomata, so ensure you fan/s stays on constant like, along with some fresh air(C02) airflow,
     
    I do use 2x stc 10000/willy temp controllers, one for my germing box, that turns on every time the temp drops 25c/77f
     
    and the other that does both cooling and heating in the grow room, too cold the heaterr comes on, to hot then an extra fan is on ...very good value, even compulsory in many grows?
     
    [​IMG]
    http://www.ebay.com/bhp/stc-1000 
     
  12. #13 WeedleTM, May 19, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: May 19, 2015
     
    Hi vostok, very interesting the STC-1000 you linked! (also very cheap for 10$) [​IMG]
    I think I'm gonna use that one in my closet and use the other one (which greenfinfer00 mentioned) for my pc case grow because its a lot smaller.
     
    In both the situations there is already a good airflow already by the main ventilation with the carbon filter, I only want to drop some temps of the lamps and the plants canopies, and using a thermostat cotroller for this looks like the perfect solution for me [​IMG]
     
    Also what heaters are you using? I'm looking for a small one, but every one I can find is drawing more wattage then all my lights combined....
     
    Edit: Also found this useful video for the STC-1000, very clear about the wiring including a diagram:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30TvX1Zz1-Y
     
  13. Yeah those home brew guys(beer) use them for holding temp range and are very popular with the crowd, I rigged mine up for a test run 5 years ago, and still haven't had to correct anything simple practicable and as you say cheap, I ain't complaining ...lol
     
    for the cheapest heater, mount a 40/60 watt light bulb non cfl in a pet food can, or spray paint black is an early option tho I prefer 25w fish tank heaters, but can blow if done bad, but really your lights should supply enough heat, at least for photo growth
     
  14.  
    Thank you for your suggestions about heating. I''m already aware that the lightning will create almost enough heating, and if not I'm gonna add more lamps :) But I want to use the heater for when my plants are in the seedling state, then they don't have a lot of lightning on them so want to heat a little bit extra here :)
     
    I have already a fishtank heater here, you place the heater inside a water bowl inside your growing area? Or is there another way to use this type of heater for  a small grow area?
     
  15. Just as a thought, if you are running PC fans then you have a 12v supply to them so why not use a small 12v portable heater, look at camping and caravan suppliers for these or somewhere like maplins if in the uk or best buy in the USA I set up a heater like this with a small thermostat so that you can maintain your temp


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

Share This Page