Fan Controller Question

Greetings everybody : )

I currently have this fan controller & im wondering if anybody knows what type it is ? I got this controller with the fan from the same manufacturer and have read alot about controlling these permanent split capacitor motors, from what i see the Triac-Diac based versions apparently are the most low cost & effective while other people like variacs some will argue that they dont.

There's 5 speeds although from 2-5 there isnt a huge difference but on No.1 its pretty chilled for keeping a negative pressure i rate, i dont really hear any humming at all, its pretty quiet at No.1 & i was wondering if there's any way to hook this thing up to a thermostat.

I would think that Level 3 with the lights on and level 1 with the lights off will be a good start.

Peace : )

I have no idea, but do you remember how much it cost? I've been looking for a cheap digital fan speed controller. I've though about making one with an AVR, a zero-crossing detector circuit, and a standard triac AC dimmer circuit, but I haven't had the time.

Hey bro, If i had to convert it from my currency to yours id say about 15$ , you would be able to buy something decent around there im sure ? Im struggling a little because of location.

Wow, that's pretty cheap. I paid $20 for my analog speed controller. I found the PCB of your controller (ABR-V004) on a lot of Chinese websites. It looks like it's a generic PCB that different companies put in different cases. I wish I could find someone who'd ship to the US, even just the bare PCB.

I just saw your question about controlling it with a thermostat. Do you already have a thermostat? How much experience with electronics do you have? There are a few ways you could do it, one would be to get a small Arduino clone ($5 - $10), a digital temperature sensor (DS18B20, $1), and a couple relays ($4). I'm pretty sure you'll need the relays because the controller probably uses a higher voltage than the arduino can handle. A simple program on the Arduino would check the temperature and decide if it should switch the relay. You could make sure the controller is working by connecting an input pin to the LEDs. You should put an optocoupler ($1) between the LEDs and Arduino to protect it from the high voltage. You could also use an AVR ($2) instead of the Arduino, but you'll need to know how to program in C and have an AVR programmer (~$20-40).

Yeah cheap chinese product lol, dont know how safe this is going to be.. Bro you could probably find one, its pretty much the same as a ceiling fan switch i think hey ?

I dont have a thermostat just yet bro & ive got some electric experience bro, soldering, solar panels etc not the best but i know more than just basics i could say.

The arduino route sounds pretty sweet, i would really be keen to do something like that & get a enclosure to build in the arduino with the screen & the controller i have, sounds dope ! the only thing is how do i wire the controller to the PCB board and get it to select the desired setting ? Thats where im confused as crazy lol. Thank You for the help though man ! Respect

I also thought about just getting another one of these controllers and then hooklng both of them to a thermostat, so ill set the thermostats cooling setting on the high setting controller & the heating setting on the lowest controller setting.

This could save alot of hassle although im still unsure about what type of controller im using, i emailed the one lady working at the company making them and she said they are triac based & she also has a more expensive controller that doesnt hum, but i dont really understand mine doesnt really hum.

I wish I could get rid of that hum too. Do you think you could find out how the more expensive controllers work?

Connecting the controller and an Arduino won't be too hard. Since the controller might be using 24v or higher you'll need some relays or transistors to protect the Arudino. Transistors are probably a better choice, since they are silent and can be controlled by 5v (some relays can use 5v, but most need at least 9v). I think an NPN BJT would be the best transistor for this. They usually have 3 pins, called the base, emitter, and collector. If you connect the emitter to ground and give the base 5v, then the collector will be connected to ground, and when the 5v is remove the collector will get disconnected from ground. This way you can use your arduino to simulate buttons without actually changing how the controller works.

How to replace a button:

1. unsolder the button (optional, but makes things easier)
   
2. Use a multimeter to figure out which pin was ground and which had power. Those buttons have 2 pins on each side that are always connected, and when you press the button the 2 sides connect. They usually only use 2 of the pins/holes for the actual electrical connection and the other two are just for support
3. Connect the emitter of a BJT to the negative size and the collector to the positive side, then connect the base to your Arduino. You should also put a resistor between the collector and PCB, and between the base and Arduino. I'm not sure how strong the resistor should be, but you can start with 500-1K ohm and try smaller ones if that doesn't work. Too much current going through the BJT can damage it.
   
4. Make sure the ground on the arduino and the controller are connected, otherwise the transistors won't work

How to replace an LED:
Like replacing a button, but in step 3 you connect the BJT's base to the LED's positive side and the BJT's collector to your Arduino (with the emitter connected to the LED's ground).

The transistor you need depends on the voltage through the buttons and LEDs. It might be 120v, but I think it's 12 or 24v. It looks like there's a voltage regulator on the PCB, if you bend it up so you can read the part number I can look up what voltage it makes, but you should still double check with a multimeter. The voltage regulator looks like this: https://content.solarbotics.com/products/photos/11c3949d6148d0f81fb2a1c37b18aa46/lrg/17185-IMG_9900.jpg

You probably know this, but since this is a public forum I should probably say that modifying electronics that use mains voltage (120v or 230v) is dangerous. Even if you avoid electrocuting yourself, you could cause an electrical fire. Anything you do is at your own risk, I accept no responsibility. That said, the controller shouldn't be able to tell the difference between a transistor and a button.

Thank you bro, really appreciate your help here, this really looks like a good project ! i have saved all your text in a notepad, im going to put up the cab and test out the temperatures first, ill scope out how its working and ill definitely consider modding the controller once ive got everything up and running, this sounds awesome ! Thank You bro !

As far as thermostats... Greatest $35 I ever spent was on this little guy...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E7NYY8/ref=ox_ya_os_product_refresh_T1

Hooks to my space heater or A/C, never gives an issue, i can set it at canopy level, gives me a digital thermostat for just the one room. I plan to get several more, for veg room, and fermentation room....

SouthernSoil* said:

Thank you bro, really appreciate your help here, this really looks like a good project ! i have saved all your text in a notepad, im going to put up the cab and test out the temperatures first, ill scope out how its working and ill definitely consider modding the controller once ive got everything up and running, this sounds awesome ! Thank You bro !

Click to expand...

No problem. If you need help with the programming the people at the arduino forums are very helpful. They've probably even done most of the coding already (for temp sensor and buttons), so you'll just need to write a few lines to tie it all together.

Flagg420 said:

As far as thermostats... Greatest $35 I ever spent was on this little guy...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E7NYY8/ref=ox_ya_os_product_refresh_T1

Hooks to my space heater or A/C, never gives an issue, i can set it at canopy level, gives me a digital thermostat for just the one room. I plan to get several more, for veg room, and fermentation room....

Click to expand...

Looks good, but I like my electronics a little more DIY I'm actually making a DIY growroom controller right now, I'm going to make a thread when I'm done and maybe make the software open source.

Thanks bro ! ill keep the instructions at hand and ask for some guidance on the arduino forums, unless maybe i might pm you on these forums, Respect, hope all goes well with the DIY controller, would really like to see the outcome !

Feel free to PM me any programming questions, but I've never used an Arduino so I can only answer general questions or point you in the right direction. I've used a few different atMegas, which is the line of chips they use in Arduinos, but Arduinos have a lot of pre-written code that I've never used it because it would be easier to rewrite it than try to modify it to work in custom circuits.

All good , thank you man !

I've been thinking to do an arduino controller, with both temp and RH input. Control big fan with temp (over 1,000cfm in a 4x4 tent) and clip on fans with RH... Maybe use a fogger to boost RH.....

Bro sorry for the newb question but what is RH ? Ill be definitely interested after my 1st grow, with your controller you want to build, is it hard to add a sort of program that you can monitor your setup from your phone?

Relative Humidity

Been using this controller now for about 2 months on my grow & it doesnt seem to get hot & is working pretty chilled, i would love to get a thermostat working with it but i have ran into another problem, when ever the power trips the controller goes off completely even if the power comes back on i have to manually switch it back on, this is really annoying, this weekend i had to drive a extra 100 miles and came back to my grow sitting at 93 F, it was literally sweating everywhere : / im not really keen to spend more money on another controller, i just have no idea where to start trying to modify this thing. Any help would be awesome, Peace !

I feel for you, and one of the first things I check when buying equipment is whether it's self restating after a power failure. I've walked past an awful lot of sexy digitally controlled gear that wasn't. Hydro stores sell a box that plugs in with a thermostat and sensor. Cheap ones use copper bulb and wire, better ones use a digital thermometer. Neither is very spendy, and both work after a power outage.

To make Arduino work after a power failure, you'll have to find some way to get the system to self boot.

ttystikk said:

I feel for you, and one of the first things I check when buying equipment is whether it's self restating after a power failure. I've walked past an awful lot of sexy digitally controlled gear that wasn't. Hydro stores sell a box that plugs in with a thermostat and sensor. Cheap ones use copper bulb and wire, better ones use a digital thermometer. Neither is very spendy, and both work after a power outage.

To make Arduino work after a power failure, you'll have to find some way to get the system to self boot.

Click to expand...

Thank you bro, i know what type of box you talking about, i have looked into those, i was just thinking if i could maybe ask a electrician if its possible or something i dont know or like u said just better getting the box then..

Could something like this possibly work ? http://www.designnotes.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=K2636 . Peace !