Keezer fan wiring help

[lotusworker]

I plan on using some old 12 volt fans and wiring it to 12 Bolger adapter plugs. Is there a way to wire 2 fans to 1 plug? I am assuming no since it would be 24 volts total..is there such thing as 6 volt fans..trying to not have too many plugs.

I am also build a stc 1000.. Could I wire both fans in that or would I need a converter of some sort or different fans?


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[MindenMan]

Questions first: what are 12 Bolger adapter plugs? If you have 24 volts DC, and your fans are rated 12 volts each, theoretically you can wire them in series : + - + - without fear of damage, that is of course, if that is what you have power wise.

 

[Brumateur]

What is your adapter's ampacity rating? You can connect two fans to adapter wiring them in parallel (connect two fans' red wires together and two black wires together.)

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Yea i have no idea what a Bolger adapter is...do you mean Molex?

You dont need a 24V fan, power doesnt work like that. You will need a higher amperage power supply, but unless your using a really really dinky power supply like < .1A you should be able to run both at the same time no problem.

 

[sweetsh]

Run the two fans in parallel like Brumateur said so that both the fans are receiving 12 volts. The wall adapter I used for my kegerator wasn't very big (about 6 Watts), yet it was capable of supplying enough power (watts) for about five 80mmX80mm fans (they required a power in of about 1.2 Watts each).

One other thing, these fans are polarity sensitive and you are dealing with DC so one is going to be positive and the other negative. Make sure you wire the Red lead to the positive side and black wire to the negative. Trial and error works fine, but the positive lead is usually marked with a white dash on it like in the picture below.

In summary, both red fan wires to the dashed black wire from wall adapter and both black fan wires to the plain black wire from wall adapter.

If you fan has other wires (yellow, green or blue etc...), they are probably for sensing and speed control, which you don't need to worry about.

 

[lotusworker]

Questions first: what are 12 Bolger adapter plugs? If you have 24 volts DC, and your fans are rated 12 volts each, theoretically you can wire them in series : + - + - without fear of damage, that is of course, if that is what you have power wise.

I am sorry..my spell checker did that. I meant 12 volt adapter. Basically I am going to find a power source that can handle enough of the load. I am guessing that a 24 volt power adapter will do the trick for 2 12 volt fans.

 

[GotPushrods]

I am sorry..my spell checker did that. I meant 12 volt adapter. Basically I am going to find a power source that can handle enough of the load. I am guessing that a 24 volt power adapter will do the trick for 2 12 volt fans.

Only if you wire them in series. A 24v power source will fry a 12v fan.

Wired in parallel, you can connect as many 12v fans to a 12v transformer as you like, as long as the combined amperage does not exceed the adapter's rating. (i.e. if the fans draw 250 mA, and the adapter is rating for 1000 mA, you can wire 4 fans)

Go to your kitchen. Plug in the toaster. And a blender. And a coffee pot. They are all 120v appliances. But your wall plug is not supplying 360v. Only 120v.

 

[sweetsh]

Don't wire them in series. The impedance of a fan isn't constant like a resistor, so you are NOT going to divide the voltage between them evenly. In other words, you won't see a constant 12V/12V, you'll probably see spikes upwards of 18V on a given fan and you will probably fry the fan.

When it comes to choosing a DC wall adapter and matching it to a fan, you want to choose one with the same voltage or lower (the fan will spin slower). As far as amp rating, that just has to be higher than the sum of the load you will be hooking up which is two fans in your case.

http://wwenze.blogspot.com/2012/06/read-this-before-connecting-two-fans-in.html

 

[lotusworker]

Ok, so I am getting conflicting advice to wire in parallel and in series. Does anyone have a diagram of what to do?


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[sweetsh]

Hooking them up in series with a 24 volt supply will probably work for a little while, but you will either shorten the life of your fans or fry them right away. It is a bad idea. I think most people here would agree that connecting them in Parallel is the correct way to do this.

Please see my crude drawing below.

 

[SeeMont]

I use a cell phone charger and power two 12 volt fans, not a problem.

 

[lotusworker]

Thanks all..seems pretty easy...still a newb with electrical stuff, but always willing to learn


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[lotusworker]

So I found an old xbox adapter..it is rated output is

150 W, 12V ~12.1A

My 2 fans are 12V, power input 2.16 W (max 2.40W). I basically am going to follow the diagram to wire both. Is the XBOX adapter too much?

 

[GotPushrods]

So I found an old xbox adapter..it is rated output is

150 W, 12V ~12.1A

My 2 fans are 12V, power input 2.16 W (max 2.40W). I basically am going to follow the diagram to wire both. Is the XBOX adapter too much?

No. The voltage is the important part. The transformer does not "push" power to your fans. The fans "pull" it. As long as the adapter can withstand what the fans want, you are fine. And it will, with plenty of headroom.

 

[Brumateur]

So I found an old xbox adapter..it is rated output is

150 W, 12V ~12.1A

My 2 fans are 12V, power input 2.16 W (max 2.40W). I basically am going to follow the diagram to wire both. Is the XBOX adapter too much?

Is it from xbox360? if so - you probably will need to do some modification since it controlled from Xbox.
And such a big adapter is overkill. You can use a simple 1A 12V wall plug adapter like this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-1A-1000...r-Supply-Adapter-lots-wholesale-/400633049149

or

http://www.ebay.com/itm/100-240V-AC...Supply-f-CCTV-System-US-Plug-OH-/251447724090

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

It could be a bunch of work to use such a big adapter lotus.

I would just go to Good Will or Salvation army type store that's nearby, they always have a giant mess of power cables from all the electronics people donate. There are dozens of 12V 1-2A power supplies that are tiny and way more than you need for a single fan.

You can find them for like 2-4 dollars and tons of them...