Hydrofarm 4" Speed Control

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ilmbk

Member
Anyone have an Active Air 4" inline such as:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/NEW-HYDROFARM-ACDF4-Active-Air-4-Inch-Hydroponic-In-Line-Fan-165-CFM-w-Brackets-/390505711198?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5aebf4465e#ht_5289wt_1186

I'm looking for a speed controller that won't cause any hum. Of course my first choice was the controller made by Hydrofarm ( http://www.hydrofarm.com/product.php?itemid=8589 ). However, finding one with decent price including shipping to Canada seems almost impossible. Is anyone running this fan with the Speedster version (or variant) ?
 
M

Mattemil

Active Member
I use a speedster on a couple fans and get no motor hum....I use it with a 4 inch vortex and a 4 inch "stealth series" inline.Is this a problem people have using these controls?
 
Rancho Cucamonga

Rancho Cucamonga

Active Member
You can't stop the hum cheaply. Like joc said hang with bungee or rope to stop any vibrations and use ducting, but that hum is actually an electrical sound because with a basic fan speed controller it dials down the volts repeatedly many times a minutes to control speed of fan, in doing so it causes that hum or clicking sound you may hear. It really doesn't hurt the fan, it may cause it to burn out quicker, maybe lose 5% of fan life over the years. In order to avoid this you would need to buy a variac fan speed controller, about 6-7 times the cost of a regular fan speed controller. This type actually gives a steady but lower volt amount to fan from outlet so it's constant and not repeated, therefore eliminating all hum.

Here is a link that some grower posted about a variac he used for fan speed control. About 50 apiece. But newer cheap fan speed controllers come with a circuit to protect any fire issues from happening, so for safety they are fine, I've used my three for over 2 years 24/7, but if you absolutely have to get rid of that hum grab a variac.

http://www.circuitspecialists.com/variac-variable-ac-ps05kva.html
 
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ilmbk

Member
OK fair enough. Approaching this from a different angle... how loud is that hum anyway? My entire reasons for slowing the fan is to reduce the noise. Am I just replacing that with a loud hum or is it usually not too noticeable? Suspending the fan is certainly on my todo list... all ready doing that with my air pump :) Thanks for all answers so far!
 
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