Help for installing fan in Helmet

[Tibo]

Hi guys,

 

I would like to install fans in my bucket. I bought a 9V Panasonic battery, a switch and two small laptop fan (5V - 60W and 5V - 65W)

 

 

My problem is that the battery gets very hot after 2min. When wired directly (battery to fan), all is good.

 

Since this is as far as my electric skills go, I would love to have your advices. Could it be a faulty switch (yet it does work) ? Could it be the battery specs ?

 

Many thanks for your help

 

Tibo

Edited June 15, 2015 by Tibo

[Kredal[TK]]

When you turn the switch on, you're connecting the red wires directly to the black wires... which is shorting out your battery!

 

The way to connect it is:

Battery - red wire - switch pin 1

switch pin 2 - red wire - fan

fan - black wire - battery

[Kredal[TK]]

Also, if your fans are expecting 5v and you're feeding them 9v, they're going to burn out pretty quickly.  There are things called buck converters that will take 9v in, and push out 5v. That probably wouldn't be a bad thing to buy (or switch to 4 rechargeable AA batteries which would give you 4.8v, and your fans would be much happier.

 

http://www.amazon.com/KEEDOX%C2%AE-Converter-Power-Supply-Module/dp/B00A71CMDU/ref=pd_sim_23_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=199G20BD730R3T8WPD5E

 

That takes in anywhere from 8 to 23 volts, and spits out 5v.  (It's meant for car use, so it says it's for 12v, but I use one with a 9v source and it works fine)

Edited June 15, 2015 by Kredal

[Bone[501st]]

In either case, you shouldn't wear the batteries near your face at any cost with your current setup!

[Tibo]

When you turn the switch on, you're connecting the red wires directly to the black wires... which is shorting out your battery!

 

The way to connect it is:

Battery - red wire - switch pin 1

switch pin 2 - red wire - fan

fan - black wire - battery

Ok great, it's an easy modification Many thanks !

 

Also, if your fans are expecting 5v and you're feeding them 9v, they're going to burn out pretty quickly.  There are things called buck converters that will take 9v in, and push out 5v. That probably wouldn't be a bad thing to buy (or switch to 4 rechargeable AA batteries which would give you 4.8v, and your fans would be much happier.

 

http://www.amazon.com/KEEDOX%C2%AE-Converter-Power-Supply-Module/dp/B00A71CMDU/ref=pd_sim_23_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=199G20BD730R3T8WPD5E

 

That takes in anywhere from 8 to 23 volts, and spits out 5v.  (It's meant for car use, so it says it's for 12v, but I use one with a 9v source and it works fine)

I'll go with the 4 AA battiries set up then, good advice, thanks. I am in Thailand and it is a bit if a struggle to source parts as we don't have main stores. It's all about seeking everything from small local shops, very time consuming. Ordering online is also a pain (thank you customs !)

 

What is I wire two fans (5V) each, will the voltage split between these two ? I am not sure how much amps the battery can provide nor what the fans can take.

 

In either case, you shouldn't wear the batteries near your face at any cost with your current setup!

My armor is not done yet so lucky me, I have tried that set up on the table. I definitively won't install anything near my face before asking your approval !

 

Many thanks for the fast answer guys, I really appreciate.

[Kredal[TK]]

You want to wire them in parallel... So the two red wires on the fans are connected to the same place, and the two black wires on the fans are connected to the same place.  Quick and dirty drawing:

 

battery+----switch-------fan--------battery

                           \------fan-------/

 

You'll get the full 5v across both fans, so they'll run great.  They probably don't use much current, so it'll take a long time to run down the batteries.  Without knowing exactly what fans you have, I can't tell how long that will take, but it's easy enough to test.  Hook it all up, and run it until the fans stop pushing air.

[Tibo]

battery+----switch-------fan--------battery

                           \------fan-------/

 

Thanks Josh ! Below is my understanding of your explanaition :

 

 

Please let me know if that is correct. Really big thanks for your help man !

[Kredal[TK]]

That's perfect!  Wire it up like that, let it run (outside a helmet) to see how long it lasts... I'm betting hours with normal AA batteries, slightly less hours with rechargeable batteries.  (:

[Tibo]

Ok, how about this batt :

 

 

It's the one I have now : /

[Tray[TK]]

9V should last a good long time since it is running roughly the right volts for both fans together, 5V+5V. I think either way you are going to be running .5V short per fan using AA, AAA or the 9V setup.

[CRXPanda[TK]]

Thanks Josh ! Below is my understanding of your explanaition :

 

Untitled-1.png

 

Please let me know if that is correct. Really big thanks for your help man !

I have two 1 inch 12v Radio Shack fans running parallel this way. I have two types of power options: 9 volt quick change and 12v lithium ion (closed circuit cam backup) battery. The 9v gives me 5 or so hours of constant (I tested and it was running at the 5 hr mark, then I stopped paying attention.) I haven't measured the L-Ion yet, but the fans are Turbo Boost when it's connected. You can hear the fans so I'm probably going to use the 12v pack for the liquid cooling pack I'm putting in my back plate and neck seal.

There is a switch on the battery pack located on the back of the bucket, and another here between the fans. This way the fans can be turned on and off easily, also all connections are male/female 5.5mm x 2.1mm power connectors -easy to unplug and swap battery packs if needed.

Edited June 15, 2015 by CRXPanda

[Tibo]

I see, thanks for the additional info CRXPanda. The fan I have are two different, one blowing to the top, the other one to the side.

 

I see on you picture that you let your fans rest flat. When I do this, it does not ventilate efficiently. The fan is not able to suck air from the bottom. Therefore I need to make it stand up or at lest raise it 1cm from the helmet.

 

Quite tricky, but you don't seem to have that issue. Any recomendation ?

[Sly11[Admin]]

Just to throw it in there, you could also run twin fans, twin switches, twin AA battery packs, and hook the lot in series. This way you can isolate fans and run just one or two, simultaneously . You will draw power from all batteries regardless of which fan is on. Gives great run times and good power to 5v fans.

When using rechargeable batteries which are normally 1.2 volt each.

 

Works beautifully for me and for Echo with his fan kits.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Tibo]

Sounds interesting but I am not sure how to wire that ^^

 

Do you guys use some kind of regulator to adjust the speed, in case you just want a light breeze sometime ? I am mostly worried about the air blowinf in the mic and potentially the noise of the fans themselves.

[gazmass]

I am really interested in this. I am looking into doing this myself so any help would be great! What is the size of the fan you are using? Where you placing it?

 

I saw some on eBay but as I am in UK it would be worth me getting one here

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tibo]

My fans are 1 inch by 1 inch. Because they are two different design, one blowing the air up and the other one blowing the air on the side.

 

The one blowing up needs some clearance below to suck the air up. So I elevated this one slightly , one edge resting on the edge of the other other, kinda make a Z shape.

 

I will then place it above the chin, one fan blowing to my neck and the other one straight up to my face. I am a little worried about the noise they make but I have to wait for my RomFX to find it out.

[CRXPanda[TK]]

I see, thanks for the additional info CRXPanda. The fan I have are two different, one blowing to the top, the other one to the side.

 

I see on you picture that you let your fans rest flat. When I do this, it does not ventilate efficiently. The fan is not able to suck air from the bottom. Therefore I need to make it stand up or at lest raise it 1cm from the helmet.

 

Quite tricky, but you don't seem to have that issue. Any recomendation ?

The fans are not flat. I'm using the hovi tip rods to hold only one corner (thumb nuts are what you see on the end). The white plastic in the center is repurposed sale sign for the switch only. Edited June 16, 2015 by CRXPanda

[CRXPanda[TK]]

Sounds interesting but I am not sure how to wire that ^^

 

Do you guys use some kind of regulator to adjust the speed, in case you just want a light breeze sometime ? I am mostly worried about the air blowinf in the mic and potentially the noise of the fans themselves.

niceEshop 12 Volt 2 Amp Inline PWM Dimmer for LED Strips with DC Jack,Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004T9ITQ0/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_l8aGvbX5K96BA

I was thinking about going this route if I used the 12v LIon battery.

[CRXPanda[TK]]

On 6/16/2015 at 12:14 PM, Sly11 said:

Just to throw it in there, you could also run twin fans, twin switches, twin AA battery packs, and hook the lot in series. This way you can isolate fans and run just one or two, simultaneously . You will draw power from all batteries regardless of which fan is on. Gives great run times and good power to 5v fans.

When using rechargeable batteries which are normally 1.2 volt each.

 

Works beautifully for me and for Echo with his fan kits.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Edited March 31, 2022 by gmrhodes13
link removed no longer working

[Tibo]

Awesome ! Thanks a lot Andi !

[Brett]

And to answer the questions about load splitting or dividing voltage, the two fans wired in parallel will share the AMPERAGE, the voltage across a parallel circuit stays the same. If you are running 2 4AA packs, the voltage will be 12 volts across both fans. Wire the positives and negatives of the batteries together. This will keep your voltage at 6 volts, but it will double the amperage you have, thus the fans will run twice as long, if you wire positive to negative, you will put 12 volts through the fans and burn them out.

[TK69581[TK]]

I ended up using 5v blower fans from Amazon;

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EL938E6/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1PR1I3SQBMTT&coliid=I51L76H4XGEYH

 

------------

And these switches

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HGAKKAC/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1PR1I3SQBMTT&coliid=I3DFK11UDGL7SX

 

 

For power I used one of those battery charger sticks similar to this; 

http://www.amazon.com/PowerBot%C2%AE-PB2611-Universal-External-Stainless/dp/B00CV11ZMS/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1435326222&sr=8-5&keywords=cell+phone+back+up+charger&pebp=1435326230946&perid=169B23NTA699NMN78ZN4

 

I did have a couple AAA batteries set up instead but had one BLOW UP in my helmet while I was wearing it. Luckily no damage to me or the helmet but scared the you know what out of me when it went!

 

Cheap and easy.

Edited March 31, 2022 by gmrhodes13
link removed no longer working

[Sd-Stormtrooper]

Placement of the fans does matter, I have 2 sets of fans depending on what batteries I want to use or how strong the air flow I want. right now im using (2) 5v fans with on off rocker switch powered by a 9v battery and I have them positioned to blow air to the front of the helmet and since im using a throat mic it does not affect me at all. for some reason I cant upload pictures here( or still cant figure out how) but heres the links so you can see the fans and how they are set --------------

Edited March 31, 2022 by gmrhodes13
link removed no longer working