Decent inline fan controller?

[curiousmycoguy]

Reading through reviews on amazon a lot of them are incompatible or potentially dangerous(overheating), anyone have a specific brand/model preference they'd suggest

 

[MsMileHigh]

What brand fan do you have? Im also looking for a good controller thats compatible with my 14" max fan.I saw a good good thread on controllers several months back,but I havent been able to find it.

 

[curiousmycoguy]

It's just a chinese one from amazon, here

 

[wantaknow]

a router speed controler from harbor freight,works very well its cheap and i have got years of use out of mine on my scrubber ,i slowed it down and get much better results

 

[MsMileHigh]

a router speed controler from harbor freight,works very well its cheap and i have got years of use out of mine on my scrubber ,i slowed it down and get much better results

What kind of fan do you have?

 

[watts]

Can-Fan variable voltage speed controller
recommended for fans under 7.5 amps and especially compatible with 12-14 inch maxfans

$250 ,
yup good controllers are expensive. The cheap ones will make a loud humming/buzzing noise

 

[TribalSeeds]

Do not use the speedster type controllers sold by harbor freight on a maxfan.

 

[lee van keef]

Can-Fan variable voltage speed controller
recommended for fans under 7.5 amps and especially compatible with 12-14 inch maxfans

$250 ,
yup good controllers are expensive. The cheap ones will make a loud humming/buzzing noise

I've got one. Hooked up to a 12'' max fan. It has an amperage meter right on it so that you can see the amps spike to 15 or so for a second when the thermostat clicks it on.

The controller comes with a 10 amp fuse. Seeing where I'm going with this?

It's a good thing I was paying attention or I might have roasted my plants because of a blown fuse. This is only an issue with the controller turned up past 120v. Still, for a "nice" controller being used with the fan it's recommended for the situation is kind of bullshit.

Now running a 20 amp fuse.

Apologize for the sarcasm but I was pretty disappointed, I've given canfan a lot of business.

 

[wantaknow]

vortex 8 inch

 

[St3ve]

different fans need different controllers. You'd be best off to get a few controllers that you like and shoot an email to the fan maker.

I personally use a rotor controller from Harbor Freight as mentioned with my Max-Fan 8" and it works fine, and has been for over a year. The max fans can overheat if they are run in a hot room at lower than 50% though so YMMV with your fan.

 

[BudToker]

This is what you want:

Dial A Temp

They usually cost about $30 but you can get it here for ~$15:
http://www.amazon.com/Lectro-Kennel-Heat-Rheostat-Temp-Control/dp/B0002IEQNW

Good Luck,

- BT

 

[curiousmycoguy]

I've already killed a 600w dimmer from walmart, I don't really know how I feel about the dial-a-temps either

 

[MsMileHigh]

I think Im gonna go with the Can-Fan variable voltage speed controller,for my 14" max fan,but Im a l,il worried about it over heating,cause I m planning on running it @ lesss than 50%

 

[RM - aquagrower]

I use vortex fans (8" and 12") and can tell ya that the "speedster" type speed controllers cause the fans to hum pretty loud (can't be good for the fans), and the hum is worse that the fan noise.

Recently ordered a variac to try with the 8 incher that I use for active intake. I will let ya'll know how it performs.

In my experience the vact majority of the fan noise is from the air rushing in/out of the fan. You would probably be surprised at the difference a duct muffler can make.

 

[ak-51]

I use a Variac that looks exactly like this.

http://www.circuitspecialists.com/variacs

I am very happy with its performance. There is no motor hum as with some other types of speed controllers. If I turn my 10" Sunleaves down below about 90 volts it is almost completely silent.

Downsides to be aware of, at least with this model, is that it is very heavy and has no easy way to mount or hang it. It is designed to sit on a flat surface.

 

[RM - aquagrower]

^^^That's exactly the one I ordered.

 

[ak-51]

A lot of places seem to have that model, sometimes they put a brand name on it, sometimes not. I'm sure they're all manufactured in the same Chinese factory.

Like I said I'm pretty happy with it.

Adjusting it puts wear on the brush though, so I think the best thing to do is just to find the speed you want and leave it there.

 

[the gnome]

I use a Variac that looks exactly like this.

View Image

http://www.circuitspecialists.com/variacs

I am very happy with its performance. There is no motor hum as with some other types of speed controllers. If I turn my 10" Sunleaves down below about 90 volts it is almost completely silent.

Downsides to be aware of, at least with this model, is that it is very heavy and has no easy way to mount or hang it. It is designed to sit on a flat surface.

killer price on it AK... $51
I have a 12" max fan that sounds like 747 on take off,
the canfan company makes a variac but its $250!!
i have to use a variac on it to lower the speed.

will this one run my 12" max fan??
the site has others that are bigger?
how do you size a variac for a 12" maxfan??

 

[the gnome]

I think Im gonna go with the Can-Fan variable voltage speed controller,for my 14" max fan,but Im a l,il worried about it over heating,cause I m planning on running it @ lesss than 50%

if you run it less than 50% it will overheat, it can't cool its self.
nothing to do with the variac.
get a smaller fan if you have to run it 50% or less

 

[RM - aquagrower]

killer price on it AK... $51
I have a 12" max fan that sounds like 747 on take off,
the canfan company makes a variac but its $250!!
i have to use a variac on it to lower the speed.

will this one run my 12" max fan??
the site has others that are bigger?
how do you size a variac for a 12" maxfan??

They are sized by amperage. There is a 3 amp model I found on amazon, but went a little bigger with a 5 amp model.

My 8" (vortex) pulls 1.6 amps, and some have said that there is a little surge at start up, so I didn't want to "cheap out" on the 3 amp model, when the 5 was only $15 or so more shipped.