how to slow fan speed down

W

Wiggla

Active Member
Greetings fellow growers/hobbyists/connoisseurs,

I have a pretty strong axial fan (16w) that is used to circulate air in and out of the cab. I have recently added a carbon filter to the system which I think is working at 75% at the moment. I have read that a fellow grower achieved better performance by lowering the speed of the air that passes through the filter. I would like to try this but I don't know of any gadgets to buy to lower the amount of wattage output that would intern slow the fan down. I have experience with computer fans that are connected to dc inverters that can adjust the amps, but this is not that type of fan. Those fans aren't strong enough to pull fresh air in and push old air out through a carbon filter. This fan came with a removable 2' cable with a two prong plug (for those that are familiar with these fans "shein ya").

Thanks
 
W

Wiggla

Active Member
Awesome. I nice, simple solution that will provide for a substantial improvement in performance.

Thanks for the help guerillabud.
 
W

Wiggla

Active Member
Wow!! I went from this thread to lowes.com and typed in light dimmer. I saw some options that varied in price, but the one wanted was the circular dimmer; the newer slide dimmer design has started to grow on me though. Anyway I found the dimmer and it was $10. I thought to myself, "great, but i guess i have to do some custom fab work to join the fan power cord to the dimmer switch." I then went to home depot and searched light dimmer. I saw similar selections (i was doing a price comparison) but then I saw the credenza/tabletop lamp dimmer switch; also $10. This switch's design, for those that haven't already stumbled upon this product, has a rectangular box with a slider to adjust power output, connected to a long cable with a two-pronged plug at the end. This two-pronged plug has a female receiving end on the opposite side as the male end that gets plugged into the outlet. This is where you plug your lamp in and now you can adjust the brightness from the tabletop instead of the 3 way bulbs that require you to get under the lamp. In my case, I will plug my fan into the female end and be able to adjust the speed from outside the cab. The only question that arises is these dimmer switches seem to be 200w or 300w setups. My fan is 16w, so I'm wondering how much the dimmer will effect the fan speed. I will still try this idea as it is too good to pass up.

Man I love the amount of custom fabrication that goes into the grow cabs. There are so many products/materials, used for a wide variety of purposes, that come together to make a grow cab: weatherstripping, lock&latch, hardware cloth, pvc, caulking, dryer ducting, nails/staples/glue, hinges, eyehole screws, dc inverters, computer fans, activated carbon prefilters, cfls/security lights, paint/mylar, fishing weights (for lst), wire ties, and now a lamp dimmer; what a journey. I don't know about you guys but I love the opportunity to build a new cab and design the perfect setup for the environment which the cab will be located. How high/wide/deep the box should be and where to locate the inlet/outlet holes. I just smoke, sit, and brainstorm about how I want to grow in the cab and what I want to be able to do, how large I want to be able to grow my plants. With my current setup for example I wanted to be able to give each plant its own light (23w/1,600 lumen/cfl), be able to move both the plants and the lights up and down, and be able to experiment with three different grow methods at the same time, actually four: soil (Fox Farm Ocean Fish), soilless mix (Sunshine Pro Coir [Coco Fiber]), deep water culture (bubble buckets), and ebb&flow (Flood & Drain). In a few months, after I get this first grow out of the way so I can stop paying for it, I will finally start the grow to answer my number one question ...........(drumroll)... What's the most productive medium? What medium provides for the best flavor? What medium is best for keeping plants healthy? Which growing method is most practical for long-term use (not too demanding on those that don't want to be commercial growers)? What medium is most consistent? And the number one question..... What's better, CFL or HID? Five areas of concern for the epic battle: Cost, Heat, Convenience, Yield, and Quality. Hopefully I can answer these questions in about a year or so, then I'll be one of the gurus here that everyone pms daily; what an honor. I can't wait.

I wish I knew how to post pictures on here because I would show the tabletop dimmer. I'm sure there are many out there with those strong, loud axial fans with the removable power cord. This product should lower the decibels on those mini turbines (Those things are f**king loud if there in your room). 16w packs a punch, I have mine connected to a dryer duct on the floor as the inlet. It pulls fresh air in (and hopefully shreds any curious pests, blows the air around the cab, and pushes air out of the outlet at the top, which has a large carbon filter before the exit hole, and it's still pushing the air too quickly for the carbon to catch all of the odors.

Thanks again
 
IAm5toned

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
ummm you shouldnt use a dimmer... u need a motor speed control switch or a fan speed control
 
W

Wiggla

Active Member
Yeah, I purchased the lamp dimmer and, while it does work, it doesn't work as well as I thought it would. I don't know if it's because it's built to handle up to 300 watt loads and my fan is a measly 16 watts or because it's a dimmer for lights and not fans. It will hold me over for a grow or two but I will research a cost effective alternative. Thanks for the additional guidance.
 
dhhbomb

dhhbomb

Well-Known Member
harbor freight sell the fan controers like 20 bucks work for the big ones too its called a router speed control but its the same as hydro store sells
 
W

Wiggla

Active Member
It seems that I would most likely have to convert the fan's power cord plug into a split cable with the positive & negative ends and attach it to a wall plate-style fan speed control. Is this connection fairly straight forward? White and black wires, or is there more to it?
 
#1Raiderfan420

#1Raiderfan420

Well-Known Member
Wiggla said:
Wow!! I went from this thread to lowes.com and typed in light dimmer. I saw some options that varied in price, but the one wanted was the circular dimmer; the newer slide dimmer design has started to grow on me though. Anyway I found the dimmer and it was $10. I thought to myself, "great, but i guess i have to do some custom fab work to join the fan power cord to the dimmer switch." I then went to home depot and searched light dimmer. I saw similar selections (i was doing a price comparison) but then I saw the credenza/tabletop lamp dimmer switch; also $10. This switch's design, for those that haven't already stumbled upon this product, has a rectangular box with a slider to adjust power output, connected to a long cable with a two-pronged plug at the end. This two-pronged plug has a female receiving end on the opposite side as the male end that gets plugged into the outlet. This is where you plug your lamp in and now you can adjust the brightness from the tabletop instead of the 3 way bulbs that require you to get under the lamp. In my case, I will plug my fan into the female end and be able to adjust the speed from outside the cab. The only question that arises is these dimmer switches seem to be 200w or 300w setups. My fan is 16w, so I'm wondering how much the dimmer will effect the fan speed. I will still try this idea as it is too good to pass up.

Man I love the amount of custom fabrication that goes into the grow cabs. There are so many products/materials, used for a wide variety of purposes, that come together to make a grow cab: weatherstripping, lock&latch, hardware cloth, pvc, caulking, dryer ducting, nails/staples/glue, hinges, eyehole screws, dc inverters, computer fans, activated carbon prefilters, cfls/security lights, paint/mylar, fishing weights (for lst), wire ties, and now a lamp dimmer; what a journey. I don't know about you guys but I love the opportunity to build a new cab and design the perfect setup for the environment which the cab will be located. How high/wide/deep the box should be and where to locate the inlet/outlet holes. I just smoke, sit, and brainstorm about how I want to grow in the cab and what I want to be able to do, how large I want to be able to grow my plants. With my current setup for example I wanted to be able to give each plant its own light (23w/1,600 lumen/cfl), be able to move both the plants and the lights up and down, and be able to experiment with three different grow methods at the same time, actually four: soil (Fox Farm Ocean Fish), soilless mix (Sunshine Pro Coir [Coco Fiber]), deep water culture (bubble buckets), and ebb&flow (Flood & Drain). In a few months, after I get this first grow out of the way so I can stop paying for it, I will finally start the grow to answer my number one question ...........(drumroll)... What's the most productive medium? What medium provides for the best flavor? What medium is best for keeping plants healthy? Which growing method is most practical for long-term use (not too demanding on those that don't want to be commercial growers)? What medium is most consistent? And the number one question..... What's better, CFL or HID? Five areas of concern for the epic battle: Cost, Heat, Convenience, Yield, and Quality. Hopefully I can answer these questions in about a year or so, then I'll be one of the gurus here that everyone pms daily; what an honor. I can't wait.

I wish I knew how to post pictures on here because I would show the tabletop dimmer. I'm sure there are many out there with those strong, loud axial fans with the removable power cord. This product should lower the decibels on those mini turbines (Those things are f**king loud if there in your room). 16w packs a punch, I have mine connected to a dryer duct on the floor as the inlet. It pulls fresh air in (and hopefully shreds any curious pests, blows the air around the cab, and pushes air out of the outlet at the top, which has a large carbon filter before the exit hole, and it's still pushing the air too quickly for the carbon to catch all of the odors.

Thanks again
Click to expand...
Man, I love you passion Bro!..I am just starting out too and it quite the learning curve ..information overload..Good luck with your grow, it look like your on the right track.
I use a passive intake duct with a screen over it...I do worry a little about small bugs getting threw..like nats. I use a 6" vortex exhaust fan(449) CFM it pulls accross my two 1000w aircoold sun system reflectors... and ofcourse two 12" oscilating fans..seems to work.
 
W

Wiggla

Active Member
Thanks #1Raider, I like to think that people should have a little passion in whatever interest they may have whether it be women, music, video games, or in my case, honing the skills needed to grow the perfect miracle plant. We come from the earth, so does the MJ as well as many other herbs, and it's alright to ingest these plants because, like the animals we eat, everything organic evolved from the same base; mother earth, hence the nick name "mother." Now, lighting these plants on fire and inhaling the combusted smoke may be another debate, I am currently trying to move toward the vaporizer; from blunts to blunt wraps to tobacco papers to hemp papers to pipes to bongs and soon to the vaporizer. I simply am not affected by edibles for whatever reason. But I do consider it to be a miracle plant because of the effects it has on the body and mind (everyone knows about that THC receptor in the brain right?). It almost makes me believe some kind of god created humans then made cannabis to help the humans through life; but like I said, almost. Oh, and you can't OD or become PHYSICALLY addicted to it. And if you find your tolerance is approaching too high of a level, stop smoking for like 2 days, then you get blasted; pretty cool. And they call it a gateway drug; yeah, a gateway to another strain, not another controlled substance. Now we're approaching 2010, MJ will soon be legalized (California), and there are all these strains out there, each with its own properties, smells, tastes, effects. What more could you ask for?
 
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