Connecting and powering case fans (not for computer use)

Graham N

Hi,

I want to cool an enclosed cupboard that houses my av gear. I was thinking of having a couple of 200mm fans blowing at the gear low down and a couple more extracting through the ceiling via some ducting into the loft to keep air circulating.

Can anyone advise on what I need. I saw some fan controllers that can control 4 fans at up to 60w each. Does this mean that the controller and fans is all I need or does it still need a computer power supply as well.

Any help appreciated on this or other suggestions welcomed. I don’t need temperature monitoring or switching. I would just turn them on when I am using the AV equipment and off when finished.

Thank you

Graham

EndlessWaves

Without knowing the product you're looking at it's impossible to say. A fan controller in a computer context is typically just a control device and designed to accept it's power input from a standard computer PSU connector.

Computer fans are often very simple devices that just need an appropriate voltage. Typically 12V to run at full speed, down to around 5V for minimum speed (exact lower voltage/speed limit depends on the design). With the exception of PWM-only models there are no control signals needed, they can be attached directly to your 12V/9V/6V power supply of choice.

Graham N

Thanks for the reply, I was expecting that answer. So The fan controller can handle 60w but the actual power comes from the main pc power supply not the controller itself.

What about connecting them to a plug in power supply as long as the output is enough. I wonder if I can get any usb fans and run them off an adaptor with multiple outs.

Regards

Graham

EndlessWaves

It needs a power input of some sort, and they typically use an internal computer connection rather than a mains power lead. It's often the peripheral connector though, so it can easily be adapted for another PSU if you wanted to use a fan controller.

That's fine. The power draw typically isn't much, one to five watts, so even a weedy transformer is good enough.