HOWTO: Another Fan Setup Tutorial

[NoVATie[Admin]]

Another quick fan tutorial for those of you that need some air in your bucket. And we'll be doing it on the cheap! . I found 12V fans online, and found some 12V batteries at Walmart that are used for key fobs, and other small electronics. I will be testing these batteries this weekend to see how long they can put out continuous power, but the price and the size was right. I didn't want a huge stack of AAs in my helmet.

 

Parts List:

1. Two (2) Evercool 40mm fans from NewEgg.com, the model number is EC4010M12CA, item # 35-119-049 - $2.99EA x 2= $5.98

These fans come with a yellow wire as well for speed control. Since we're not using a controller I just cut the yellow wire down at the fan.

2. Two (2) "N" battery holders from Radio Shack. I think these are made for slightly wider batteries but the 12Vs I picked up fit just fine, item #2700405. - $0.99EA x 2 = $1.98

3. 1 Pack of 2 sliding switches from Radio Shack, item #2750401 - $2.99

4. 1 Pack of 2 A23 12V batteries from Walmart - $3.47

5. Spool of red 18 gauge wire from Walmart (was the smallest they had) - $2.68

6. Soldering iron - already had

7. Solder - already had

8. Scissors, wire strippers

9. Electrical tape

 

Grand total for the project: $17.10.

 

First off, the diagram. This is for one (1) fan circuit, and I used two in my bucket - one for each side. I just figured it would be simplest with 2 independent circuits.

 

 

Now here's the wiring side of things:

Solder the wire coming off the positive lead of the battery holder to one of the switch terminals:

 

Solder the intermediate wire to the other switch terminal:

 

Run the negative wire from the fan (black) straight back to the negative of the battery. You could use black wire if you wanted, but I only bought one spool of wire, so both my positive and negative wires are red. Solder the other end of the intermediate wire from the switch to the positive (red) lead on the fan. My intermediate wires are both about 12" but that will vary depending on how you want to route them in your helmet:

 

And the two circuits complete and ready to be put in the bucket:

 

The soldering and wiring took about 30-40 minutes, and I plan on just taping the circuits in. Quick and simple

[KoRn3000]

Wow

This is a awesome tutorial. This goes in my "to do" list.

Thanks.

[gjw]

Have you done any runtime tests?

At 90mA I think that battery would be lucky to last half an hour.

[TK-2126_MD[TK]]

Very nice, great diagram,pics very good, just one question why? the sliding switches Vs the soft push switches?? Both work and do the same.

[nothingrecorded]

What about placement, I am interested to see where you and others put their fans once inside the helmet.

[NoVATie[Admin]]

I'm running a test on the battery right now. This was sort of a last minute thing because I have my first troop on Saturday. If these 12Vs don't work, I will wire it up with twin 9Vs per fan and push 18 through them and re-group after the weekend. I chose the slider switch just because I like the positive feel of the slider and I figured with this size I would be able to use it with gloves on. I plan to have the switch right under the ear and the batteries in the back.

 

 

Here's a question:

How long would 2 9Vs last?

[nothingrecorded]

NoVATie said:

Here's a question:

How long would 2 9Vs last?

2 9v's would last a very long time.

I originaly hooked mine to only one 9v and it gave it so much power that I could barely hear over the fans so I switched to these nifty little AA packs that connect using the connector for a 9v case I wanted to swap it out.

 

If you look at the full size of the picture, you can see up close how they connect.

[NoVATie[Admin]]

Were you pushing 9V to each 12V fan or 2 9V's per fan? Or, is it 1 9V and 2 AAs per fan?

[TK-2126_MD[TK]]

What about placement, I am interested to see where you and others put their fans once inside the helmet.

 

Hmmmm there are like 2 or 3 thread about electronic placement in the lids but i can find any, i will keep looking.

[nothingrecorded]

Were you pushing 9V to each 12V fan or 2 9V's per fan? Or, is it 1 9V and 2 AAs per fan?

 

 

Actually, there are 2 AA holders using the 9v connectors to each of the fans.

The 9v batteries you see are connected to my mic and voiceamp.

[NoVATie[Admin]]

So 4 AAs per fan? I am thinking about wiring 1 9V and 2AAs to get 12V for these things. My brain is starting to hurt

[gjw]

Four DL123 batteries would take up less room than 8 AAs and would still be 12V.

Lighter too.

More expensive, of course, but if purchased in bulk they can be had for around $1 each.

Four batteries should power both fans (you'll need to change the wiring) for 8 hours but I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be with lithium batteries that close to my head in a confined space.

[Runnriottt]

My 9V's last about 2 hours in my Vader lid. I do however run 2 on one battery.

 

For the TK I will just use one. Buy rechargeable. Carry extra...

[TK-743[501st]]

Thanks for the tutorial, I am currently trying to figure out what I want to put in my bucket, this will help.

[TK-2489]

i had hooked up my fans to 12 volt battery for my first troop and in 20 mins they were both dead so i switched to 9 volt system one for each fan and they ran 5 hours and they still have juice in them the fans just don't turn as fast

[NoVATie[Admin]]

I hope the tutorial helps wiring-wise, but what I changed now is (1) 9-volt wired in series with (2) AAs per fan. This gives 12V to each fan and will last longer than those tiny A23s

[Justin89]

Has anyone tried running the battery boxes somewhere else, other than inside the helmet? If you wanted to get real wired up though, you run a wire down from the helmet, under the neckseal, and to where ever... Less weight on the head I would think... and therefor distributing the weight somewhere else on your body... not sure if the weight in the helmet can give you neck cramps or what... I'm still a noob however, and currently waiting on my armor to be delivered, but I was curious if this could be an option

[TK6631[501st]]

A quick question about fans, I'm running 1 fan off a 9v battery with an on/off switch wired between..I want to put them into my lid, but after 10mins of continual use the battery becomes incredibly hot and I'm loathed to put it anywhere near my head. Has anyone else had anything like this happen?

[NoVATie[Admin]]

@ Justin:

That's a popular thought, but the issue is, when you have the wires running down from your helmet to somewhere else on your costume, what do you do when you take the helmet off? If they're too short then you can break connections and pull things out, and if they're too long you've got stuff dangling.

 

 

@THX:

What voltage are the fans?

[TK6631[501st]]

@THX:

What voltage are the fans?

 

Hi Mate, they were 9v fans, and I'm running each of 1 9v battery. I've since bought some new fans, and some battery boxes with on/off switches and they seem to have cured the problems.

[NoVATie[Admin]]

Hi Mate, they were 9v fans, and I'm running each of 1 9v battery. I've since bought some new fans, and some battery boxes with on/off switches and they seem to have cured the problems.

Cool