How to wire muffin fans...

hoover86 · 02/12/2007, 11:18 AM

I have a question for any of you electric savvy people. I'm looking at buying some muffin fans on e-bay and I'm not sure how they are wired. I talked to someone at Radio Shack and they tried selling me some $70 power converter, so I'm not sure what to do here. Below are the specs from the auction for the fan:

Rated Voltage: 48
Operating Voltage Range: 24 - 56
Running Current: (amps) 0.12
Locked Rotor Current: (amps) 0.4
Rated Power: (watts) 5.8

So does anyone know exactly what I need to do to get these wired up? The guy at Radio Shack said I can't just splice them in to an extension cord and plug them in the wall, so I'm lost on what to do....

AZDesertRat · 02/12/2007, 01:45 PM

Get a couple of Vantec Stealth fans from newegg.com . They are DC fans and you can hook them up to an old cell phone charger power supply or better yet a variable voltage DC power adapter from Harbor Freight Tools, Wal Mart or Radio Shack. I paid less than $5 for the power supply at Harbor Freight and the fans were like $12 ea for the big 4" 120mm ones.
That way you can vary the fan speed and noise by changing the DC voltage anywhere from about 6 to 12v DC. Its just a red and black wire you splice to the output of the power supply. Ignore the yellow wire on the fans, it is used for computers with heat sensing.

hoover86 · 02/24/2007, 10:08 AM

Well the fans came in today, so I thought I would repost to find out exactly how to wire these. Here's a picture of the fan, and a closeup of the motor to get the numbers off of it..

jkapit · 02/24/2007, 10:21 AM

If you get the Ice-cap variable fan, it automatically speeds up and slows down based on how much heat is trapped in the light housing.

hoover86 · 02/24/2007, 10:37 AM

Yea I looked at those but I got 4 of these for half the price of one of those.

Anyone know how to wire??

AZDesertRat · 02/24/2007, 12:42 PM

Those show to be 24 volt fans not 12 volt. You may have trouble finding a power supply for them. A 12 v power supply will only run them 1/2 speeed if they start at all.

littlemannin · 02/24/2007, 12:54 PM

You can look on grainger.com but hte price may scare you. So much for the savings!
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg...=Converters%2C

littlemannin · 02/24/2007, 12:58 PM

actually, here is a better source.
http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT...MT4NO=18680879

much cheaper!

02/12/2007, 11:18 AM	#1
hoover86 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Rockledge FL Posts: 388	How to wire muffin fans... I have a question for any of you electric savvy people. I'm looking at buying some muffin fans on e-bay and I'm not sure how they are wired. I talked to someone at Radio Shack and they tried selling me some $70 power converter, so I'm not sure what to do here. Below are the specs from the auction for the fan: Rated Voltage: 48 Operating Voltage Range: 24 - 56 Running Current: (amps) 0.12 Locked Rotor Current: (amps) 0.4 Rated Power: (watts) 5.8 So does anyone know exactly what I need to do to get these wired up? The guy at Radio Shack said I can't just splice them in to an extension cord and plug them in the wall, so I'm lost on what to do.... __________________ -Josh-

02/24/2007, 10:08 AM	#3
hoover86 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Rockledge FL Posts: 388	Well the fans came in today, so I thought I would repost to find out exactly how to wire these. Here's a picture of the fan, and a closeup of the motor to get the numbers off of it.. __________________ -Josh-

02/24/2007, 10:37 AM	#5
hoover86 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Rockledge FL Posts: 388	Yea I looked at those but I got 4 of these for half the price of one of those. Anyone know how to wire?? __________________ -Josh-

02/12/2007, 01:45 PM	#2
AZDesertRat Moved On Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NW Phoenix Posts: 16,621	Get a couple of Vantec Stealth fans from newegg.com . They are DC fans and you can hook them up to an old cell phone charger power supply or better yet a variable voltage DC power adapter from Harbor Freight Tools, Wal Mart or Radio Shack. I paid less than $5 for the power supply at Harbor Freight and the fans were like $12 ea for the big 4" 120mm ones. That way you can vary the fan speed and noise by changing the DC voltage anywhere from about 6 to 12v DC. Its just a red and black wire you splice to the output of the power supply. Ignore the yellow wire on the fans, it is used for computers with heat sensing.

02/24/2007, 10:21 AM	#4
jkapit Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Central, NJ Posts: 333	If you get the Ice-cap variable fan, it automatically speeds up and slows down based on how much heat is trapped in the light housing.

02/24/2007, 12:42 PM	#6
AZDesertRat Moved On Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NW Phoenix Posts: 16,621	Those show to be 24 volt fans not 12 volt. You may have trouble finding a power supply for them. A 12 v power supply will only run them 1/2 speeed if they start at all.

02/24/2007, 12:54 PM	#7
littlemannin Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Maine Posts: 276	You can look on grainger.com but hte price may scare you. So much for the savings! http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg...=Converters%2C

02/24/2007, 12:58 PM	#8
littlemannin Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Maine Posts: 276	actually, here is a better source. http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT...MT4NO=18680879 much cheaper!