computer fan for wall outlet...

where can i find computer fans that will just plug into an ordinary wall outlet?

You can't as far as I know you need to find a 12v charger for like a cell phone and wire it to that.

well i need a mini fan for an intake about the size of a computer fan. thats silent so my roomie wont hear it at all. any ideas?

Sometimes you can find already assembled ones on ebay. I didn't see any right now but I have seen them before.

yeah.. just use the cell phone charger thing.. and if all else fails.. steal your roomies charger and splice into it... lol

yup i did it! works perfectly. so for anyone else who needs it heres the way...


ok take your fan. find the positive and negative wires (usually black and red). take your drill charger. cut the end off that plugs into your drill. split the two wires, ones positive and ones negative. connect the positive wire on the fan to the positive wire on the drill charger, and the negative to the negative. if your not sure which is which, just try them both and you have the combination right when the fan turns on. lastly, COVER THE OPEN WIRES WITH ELECTRICAL TAPE.

wow... never though of that... i need to break out my drill charger!

Anyone know what to do with the yellow wire? I understand the red and black but where does the yellow fit in?

Okay, never just grab any old 12v adapter and throw that on your fan, some computer fans take less forward current -- this information is found on the sticker where the fan manufacturer's logo is.

Anyone know what to do with the yellow wire? I understand the red and black but where does the yellow fit in?

Well, that depends on the connector that it came off of. If it came off of a "Legacy" (Molex 8981) adapter like this:



Then it goes as follows:
Red: 5v
Black: Ground
Black: Ground
Yellow: 12v

If it came off of a CPU fan (Usually 3 wires) then the Yellow/Green/Orange/Grey wire is the sensory/supplement feed (extra voltage is fed through this line when the CPU temp increases).

When you are using computer fans, I would stick to 120mm case fans, and never use lighted fans. The electricity for the LED is actually generated by the spinning of the fan, there are no wires to disconnect. Remember to never exceed forward current of 12v -- or the rating of the fan if state otherwise -- (this will kill the fan) and NEVER supply the fan with LESS amperage than it calls for (this will kill your power supply and possibly cause an electrical fire). Always properly cap your wires if you can not solder them, then use good quality electrical tape to finish it off.

COVER THE OPEN WIRES WITH ELECTRICAL TAPE.

spoken like a man whos learned his lesson the hard way.

spoken like a man whos learned his lesson the hard way.

Thanks dude. I haven't lost the game in over 8 months

Anyone know what to do with the yellow wire? I understand the red and black but where does the yellow fit in?

Cut it off. Usually with pc fans you have Red, Black and Yellow/White.
The yellow/white cord is usually what I incorrectly call a data cord, let's the computer control the fan speed.

Decessus explains it much better than me, just thought I'd add the dumbass version of his explanation.

In my experience it's just easier to buy a laptop cooling tray with dual fans mounted on the back of it. These are wired for power from a USB so all you need to do is pop them off and mount them on your grow box with a few screws or glue or something. Then just pick up a phone charger with a USB jack on it and plug em in, works like a charm. Hope this helps you.

P.S. Don't forget to make sure the voltages are the same

Edited by Caperinexile, 17 May 2012 - 11:23 AM.

Radio shack sells a 110v PC fan. Kinda whines a little loud though.

If your pc fan has 4 wires going into it you will only need two of them, and polarity is important too. Try putting the power to the wires in different configurations until you get it to spin. Also you can use most small transformers from anything, chargers, power supplies, they will all have an input and output printed on the unit. The fan you are using will also have a imput voltage and amperage on it. It is best to try to get the volts and amp somewhere close, but as long as your within the ballpark it's fine. You will know your transformer dosent work when your fan just dosent spin. There are also fan controllers for computers you can use to make the fan veritable speed.