Lemon
Member
Fairly basic, but perhaps useful. Enjoy.
So you're trying to keep your grow box cool and picked up a couple of computer fans, and you also have a computer power supply. At first consideration, this may seem rather straight forward – just plug them in and go, right?
Unfortunately the problem your likely to run into is the realization that there is no way to turn on the power supply when it isn’t attached to a computer (specifically, to a computer motherboard). The motherboard controls the PSU and it is designed to be started via the motherboard on modern computers.
How-to:
1. Locate a power supply. An old computer or a second hand computer store are good places to look. This unit is conveniently rated at 420w max
(don’t worry, it doesn’t use this much power with only fans connected. Typical fans use about 2 watts each).
2. Make sure the power supply is unplugged. Safety comes first.
Find the 20 pin connector. It is the largest connector coming out of the power supply.
3. Locate the green wire on this connector. Attach it to the black wire beside it as illustrated in the following picture. You can use a small piece of wire, a paper clip, or simply cut the two wires in question, strip the ends, and twist them together. Be sure to use electrical tape or similar to avoid a short.
4. You’re done! Yeah, that’s it. Plug in the power supply and it will turn on.
Troubleshooting:
If the power supply doesn’t turn on, make sure the I/O button on the back of the power supply is in the on position. Also make sure that the voltage is set to 110V if your power supply has a 110-220V switch on it.
Also note that the green and black wire must remain connected even after the power supply starts up.
How to connect a fan(s):
If your fan came standard with a 4 pin connector, simply attach it to one of the 4 pin connectors on the power supply. Most are double ended so that you can connect several fans.
If your fan doesn’t have a connector, or uses a 2 pin connector, cut it off and connect the red fan wire to a yellow 4 pin connector, and the black fan wire to the black 4 pin connector wire beside it (see image below).
If your going to hook up multiple fans this way, just connect the other ones the same way to other available 4 pin sockets, or all to the same one in parallel if there aren’t enough (ie: if you have 3 fans, connect the red wire of all 3 of your fans to the same yellow wire, and all 3 of your fans black wires to the same black wire).
Do not connect in series as the fans will run at a reduced speed or not at all.
Good luck!
So you're trying to keep your grow box cool and picked up a couple of computer fans, and you also have a computer power supply. At first consideration, this may seem rather straight forward – just plug them in and go, right?
Unfortunately the problem your likely to run into is the realization that there is no way to turn on the power supply when it isn’t attached to a computer (specifically, to a computer motherboard). The motherboard controls the PSU and it is designed to be started via the motherboard on modern computers.
How-to:
1. Locate a power supply. An old computer or a second hand computer store are good places to look. This unit is conveniently rated at 420w max
(don’t worry, it doesn’t use this much power with only fans connected. Typical fans use about 2 watts each).
2. Make sure the power supply is unplugged. Safety comes first.
Find the 20 pin connector. It is the largest connector coming out of the power supply.
3. Locate the green wire on this connector. Attach it to the black wire beside it as illustrated in the following picture. You can use a small piece of wire, a paper clip, or simply cut the two wires in question, strip the ends, and twist them together. Be sure to use electrical tape or similar to avoid a short.
4. You’re done! Yeah, that’s it. Plug in the power supply and it will turn on.
Troubleshooting:
If the power supply doesn’t turn on, make sure the I/O button on the back of the power supply is in the on position. Also make sure that the voltage is set to 110V if your power supply has a 110-220V switch on it.
Also note that the green and black wire must remain connected even after the power supply starts up.
How to connect a fan(s):
If your fan came standard with a 4 pin connector, simply attach it to one of the 4 pin connectors on the power supply. Most are double ended so that you can connect several fans.
If your fan doesn’t have a connector, or uses a 2 pin connector, cut it off and connect the red fan wire to a yellow 4 pin connector, and the black fan wire to the black 4 pin connector wire beside it (see image below).
If your going to hook up multiple fans this way, just connect the other ones the same way to other available 4 pin sockets, or all to the same one in parallel if there aren’t enough (ie: if you have 3 fans, connect the red wire of all 3 of your fans to the same yellow wire, and all 3 of your fans black wires to the same black wire).
Do not connect in series as the fans will run at a reduced speed or not at all.
Good luck!
