I went to Lowes and bought a ceiling fan speed control that could handle the current of my fan. Been running for months now with no problems.
I'm not an electrician and haven't done this, myself, but I heard that using a light dimmer to control a ceiling fan is a bad idea because the power demands of the fan can exceed what the dimmer is designed to handle which can lead to a fire at the switch. Is that not correct?
How did you wire this up? I tried wiring the Hunter 3 Speed switch up to an outlet through a 3 pronged grounded computer cable... but the thing just keeps popping everytime I turn it on. Dunno what the hell to do now... Variacs are supposedly gonna run my fan down, and every damn "fan controller" i use either buzzes or blows up. Might not be able to grow because of this, what a bad day!
Ok, just one last thing I want to check before I drop 80 dollars on a controller that won't work again (just my luck). http://www.planetnatural.com/site/day-night-fan-controller.html Will the VSC-DNe for SURE control my 6" CanFan HO 440CFM (RS6HO) without a hitch? If I understand correctly, the controller always runs the fan but keeps it at a varied speed depending at what temperature it's at correct? Just want the verification before I spend the money. Thank you.
bump sorry, almost done keeping this at the top of the board. just need the help, and i thank you all for it.
Could this be achieved by wiring the controller to a 3 pronged extension cord (like wired inbetween the male and female ends) and then plugging the fan into the female end of the cord?
I dont see why not. The extention cord should act like the wire that passes through the walls. Just make sure to make it a safe connection point. If this doesnt work post sum pics. Ther might be sumthing small that we are over looking
Alright well I will have to go pick up another one and try I am pretty sure that this one is blown out too, will try to get another tomorrow and try that out instead.
It might have been faulty from the start. those are so mass produced that ther is no quality control.
That is true, I have tried two now and they both were faulty... and the only other one Lowes had left the last time I was in there was a returned item... the box had tape keeping it sealed. If they don't have another switch available to try tomorrow, I am just going to get my money back. I have 3 options on my plate at the moment, 3 different ways I can try to control the speed of this beastly fan. 1) VSC-DNe. Should throttle my fan with no hum at all? 2) A Variac. The only one I know of is (LINK): Variac, 120 Volt input, 0~130 Volt output, 300VA : And I assume that this would work without a hum or problem as well? 3) Getting the Hunter 3 Speed switch to work. This is my cheapest option, and have heard other reports of it working without any humming. I just can't seem to get it to work... Anything you reccomend over the other? The variac is AC/AC, so it should handle the fan just fine. The VSC-DNe looks like a great product, I'm just afraid that I will spend 80 dollars on something that still makes my fan motor hum or doesn't work at all. The Hunter 3 Speed would probably be perfect, but I haven't been able to test the speeds that it provides yet.
yesssss!...fan only runs when it needs to drop the temp...damn near always runs at a VERY low speed when using the +/- 3F option...that means it keeps within +/- 3F(does 3,5,7F)...you can just turn the temp down to get it to power on more or max or whatever....
Run it through a light dimmer switch.Use the proper size wire put the dimmer switch in one of those blue plastic housings for light switches and mount it somewhere.By turning the dimmer switch you control voltage and hence speed.Plus it's your cheapest option.Salvage a thermostat from an old house and use it inline to control temp as well.If you got this junk laying around like a lot of us hoarders or know a hoarder that's the cheap way.
Dimmer's do not control the voltage. They control the "duty cycle" or ratio of on to off time. Variacs control the voltage.
Glad to hear it Bottle Cat...don't think you'll be disappointed! Yup...Using a dimmer I believe is like turning the fan on/off 1mil times/min to get the right speed...resulting in your fan shitting out WAY pre-maturally(could burn also)....Variacs are the better option of those 2(i mean dimmer vs variac)....that was my understanding at least. Hooking an old thermostat up will work but will only trigger the fan on/off at a certain temp...your fan may be to powerful which would cool you off to much dropping your temp lower than desired....could also hook up a fan controller to the thermostat mix and dim the speed....but thats the point of the vsc-dne, plus IT THROTTLES THE FAN FOR YOU! GL
Alright, I'm gonna try the Hunter 3 Speed Switch one last time... it seems like hooking it up through an outlet was a bad idea? Everytime I would kick the switch on, they would burn out... this is my 3rd switch and probably last try at it, so I need some help. Instead of going Power Cord > Switch > Oulet, I am gonna try Male End of Cord ----> to Switch -----> to female end. Plugging the fan directly into the female end of the grounded extension cord... anyone have anything to say against this? Everytime I hooked up a switch the other way (Male End ----> Switch ----> Outlet) the switch would just pop, and the outlet would supply power to whatever was plugged in regardless of what the switch was set to. These Hunter 3 Speed Fan Switches have 2 wires on them, both colored black. So, can anyone help me out with wiring this thing up to a grounded extension cord? And will it work? Thank you...
Seems like this thread got way to complicated. I use 2 of these , and everyone I know uses them , No problems, and they are not expensive. Is that what you already have?