Anyone have a good recommendation for a really quiet computer fan? I'm just wondering maybe a specific brand name that will hold up over time being around misting (not directly sprayed obviously), and a high humidity? I was thinking this one since it's only 20dba but if anyone has a good reason for a better one I'd like to hear what you got.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811999601
I can't provide much advice on Ninja fans, but FWIW I'd pickup either a fan with a built in speed controller or a cheap low dBa fan with decent CFM and an external speed controller. You would be surprised how much you can crank down a fan and still achieve sufficient air movement to meet your needs. I'd probably get an external controller, that way if you blow a fan you can throw it away but still keep the controller / power supply (~$15).
Generally I have not paid too much attention to the specific fan model. I look at the dBa output and CFM, and then I can crank the rpm's down. I would rather have a bigger fan running at a lower speed - generally less noise for the same air movement if you can hide the fan. All my internal fans use external speed controllers - the fans I use to vent hoods have built in controllers. For the hood mounted fans I use these:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003819MVQ
They are quiet and move good air even when the speed is turned down. I have not tried them in the viv though. The fans I have mounted internally have been the cheapo Fry's specials - basically just the lowest noise fans they had, usually in the $10 to $15 range for larger fans, below $10 for CPU cooler sized fans.
Good luck!
Hey thanks for the great response. What does FWIW stand for? I need it to circulate air in the glass frog viv I'm building. It will mount side by side to the vent I'm building near the top like this if you can kinda see what I'm aiming for (vent = ###)
[X][#####]
I haven't made one of these before so it's a new exp. What controller/power supply do you use? Can it plug into the wall so I can get it going on a timer or is battery power/toggle switch whats up?
For What It's Worth...
I picked up a $12 power supply from Fry's (regional electronics store that carry's PC parts). I can't seem to find a link for it on their site, but it's basically a 12v power brick with adapters made for PC fans. Worst case you can just recycle an extra adapter you have laying around from charging cell phones, strip the wires, and splice them to a fan power adapter (I've done this as well).
Speed controller example - $7:
http://www.frys.com/product/4319215?sit ... IN_RSLT_PG
Plastic fan guard - $3.50 per pair:
http://www.frys.com/product/6101239?sit ... IN_RSLT_PG
Add some fiber glass screen under the fan guard and you should be good to go. Phil asked me to write up a thread on how I did some of my fans - it's posted here:
http://dartden.com/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=6876
Have fun! Venting and air circulation has been a really interesting aspect of the hobby for me.
joneill809 Wrote:Building on Phils link, you can use blower style fans as detailed in that link. Here's a full kit with the power supply, speed controller and a pair of 120mm (BIG) blowers:
http://www.amazon.com/Coolerguys-Blower ... 12v+blower
Gives you an idea of what a complete kit could look like. Here's a link to a 4 pin power supply example:
http://www.amazon.com/Coolerguys-110v-M ... y_pc_img_y
i am not electronicly smart. why would a person buy the power supply when the the other link seems to have it all.
also another question. do anyone think those things to cool your lap top be of any use in ther viv. i know they are big but seems like it would circulate the air. like i said not electronicly smart. :?
pa.walt Wrote:i am not electronicly smart. why would a person buy the power supply when the the other link seems to have it all.
Hi. It depends on what you want to do - if you would like to pick your own fan and build out a solution on your own, then you can purchase the pieces individually. Generally if you opt to do it on your own you need a fan, fly/frog proofing material, parts to mount the fan, a speed controller, and a power supply. In some cases you can get combinations of those components (e.g. a fan that comes with a speed controller) or you can opt for a kit which is what the second like you referred to was. The drawback with the kit that I linked to was the size of the solution - 120mm fans are big, and some people don't like them. I don't mind using larger fans because you can turn down the RPM's while still moving a lot of air. This strategy keeps the noise down, but makes hiding the fan more difficult.
pa.walt Wrote:also another question. do anyone think those things to cool your lap top be of any use in ther viv. i know they are big but seems like it would circulate the air. like i said not electronicly smart. :?
Honestly I had not given it much thought since I had so much experience building out PC's and cooling them, so I naturally went the fan route. I'm not quite sure how I would install one - it might be awkward to mount within the viv. My concern would be how well they hold up to the moisture if you were going to mount one internally. I'd hesitate to put anything expensive inside the viv anticipating that it will wear out prematurely. But hey, it may be worth a shot to see how it works out.
I linked to that thread above where I built out a magnetically mounted fan - it's pretty easy to do if you are ok at slopping silicone on a fan to glue down some magnets...it's easier than you think. So if you don't feel like building your own, you can buy a kit with all the components, glue a few magnets to the fan/blower and stick it to your canopy. Route the cable through a mister port or gap in your canopy and you should be good to go.
joneill809 Wrote:Building on Phils link, you can use blower style fans as detailed in that link. Here's a full kit with the power supply, speed controller and a pair of 120mm (BIG) blowers:
http://www.amazon.com/Coolerguys-Blower ... 12v+blower
Gives you an idea of what a complete kit could look like. Here's a link to a 4 pin power supply example:
http://www.amazon.com/Coolerguys-110v-M ... y_pc_img_y
Those look awesome and I want to see a set up in person of that. The only thing I don't like is the price tag and that's just because moneys tight at the moment. If $ wasn't an option then I would love to have those in every tank I ever build.
Agree the kit has a relatively high price tag - more of an illustration of what a complete solution (sans fly proofing) looks like. The low cost route is:
- Find a cheap fan (<$10) or free if you can pull one from an old PC chassis
- Locate an extra / old / unused power supply from an old electronic device like a cell phone
- Splice the power supply cord to the fan power cable
- Put the fan on a timer, possibly the ones you have driving your light fixture
If you use lower milli-amp supplies (500 - 700 mA) you will not drive the fan as hard, so you can read the output on the power brick to see what options you may have sitting around your house. Generally I always have a few "extra" bricks laying around. The speed controller is a bit of a luxury, but well worth the $7 investment.
Jim, if you ever decide to make these viv fan kits...I will almost guarantee that you will see them for a high price. People will absolutely pay for them. I know I would.