using a computer fan for a grow box

connorbrown

Well-Known Member
Get an adapter, preferably one that has the wires separated, and you cut the end off, splice them down the middle and make sure they don't touch. Then you cut the wire from your computer fan and connect the two wires to it and make sure its taped up.
 
Get a 12V AC adapter (it can have a little less of voltage, but it won't go as fast. Mine runs on a 9V) and cut the end of it of. You can use an x acto knife to cut away the plastic covering the wires inside (you don't have to do it for the whole wire, just maybe one or two inches in). Take the CPU fan and cut the ends off (you're only gunna be using the red and black wires, so mind as well cut the yellow one completely off). Strip away around two inches of the red and black wires. Plug in the AC adapter, and make the coppery wires of each touch until the fan works. Twist them together and cap them with a wire nut. Wrap it up with wiring tape and YAY
 

darkdestruction420

Well-Known Member
like this.....
How to turn a PC fan into an exhaust or intake fan?


Contributed by: Flowerman
Images archived: 2001

Just for fun, I wanted to show how easy it is to turn a PC fan into an intake, or into an exhaust fan. The fan I am using is quite small, but the objective is still the same. The first step is to find or buy a 12v DC plug adapter. This fan here is rated at 80cfm, which will work for a small box set-up.

Here's is some info on the 12v DC adapter: (Model 420A4141)

Output (DC) 12.0V @ 500mA
Output Voltage VDC(1)
Input 108VAC
Output Volts @ 100% Load 10.20
Input 132VAC
Output Volts @ 100% Load 13.60
Input 132VAC
Output Volts @ 10% Load 17.40
UL(2) UL*
CSA(3) L
Plug(4) 1



Simply cut the wires at the end, and strip down about a ¼ inch of bare wire is showing.

If you don’t know which wire to wire up, for instance they’re all black wires, don’t worry, it will only work one way, and if wired wrong, will simply not work at all. But the idea is, black to black, red to red. This one here that I used, had one black and one red coming from the fan, and from the adapter, one black and one black and white. The black and white wire from the adapter got wired to the all black wire from the fan. And the all black wire from the adapter, gets wired to the all red wire from the fan.

To add another fan, just connect the wires of the same together. All black goes with black, all red goes with red. So you would still only use 2 connectors all together. Here’s a few more pictures. But for the most part, I just wanted to show how simple it is. Make sure you get an adapter which is rated DC for the output.



Finished


Testing


Also a worthwhile consideration is places like radio shack and grainger also have nice 4" muffin fans that move as much as 200 cfm and more, which run on 110 vac. They come with a handy power cord that has a special connector on one end for the fan and a plug on the other end for plugging into the wall socket or humistat / thermostat.​
 

Sneex

Well-Known Member
I wish I could see the pictures :( there showing as a red x with picture behind the red x:(
 
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