Need fan controller for 25+ wats per channel

repilce · Dec 20, 2008

Okay.. so the title may be a lil "wtf" , but on my build coming up i gotta Q9550 with an HR-01 and it's gonna be in a antec 1200

.. so i am replacing one of the rear 120's with my GFB (for pedal to the floor purposes ;D ) using the duct on this thing when i need to

i cant seem to find one over like 20W.. Now this unit has 2 rotors.. but it's total intake as calculated by 12v and 3.98A with this is like 47.+ so i figured divide by 2 and round up so 25W per channel should cover it.. i'm wondering if i will have to make this myself.. i was hoping to find something slick for the 1200

meionm · Dec 20, 2008

sunbeam extreme is like 30w per channel
http://www.svc.com/rhk-ex-bk.html

repilce · Dec 20, 2008

nice! thanks much
i'm basically gonna setup the tube for the HR-01 ducted to one of the rear 120mm holes on the 1200 and my 216CFM monster will be there to kick in "forced induction"

bing · Dec 20, 2008

Well, if you're keen to do some electronic DIY, click on my sig below at the DIY > 5 AMP Fan Controller, that is a whopping 60 watt or even 90 watt if you can find the right component !

An example picture of the final product from an OCFer on building that circuit HERE, not the most pretty final product I've seen though, but it works.

From the picture, I think you will get the idea of the final size and I believe it can be even smaller if you have the craftmanship.

.

ShadowPho · Dec 20, 2008

Home made would be by far cheapest and powerful (if you got a soldering iron and some skills first

). Electric parts cost $.10 to $1 per piece.

Now looking at that thread, wouldn't it be easier to get a 555 timer chip and add an op amplifier to make a simple PWM circuit?

bing · Dec 20, 2008

ShadowPho said:
Home made would be by far cheapest and powerful (if you got a soldering iron and some skills first ). Electric parts cost $.10 to $1 per piece.

Exactly, but for me, primarily its the fun part during the making process and the histeria when powering it up for the 1st time, and watching it runs as expected.

Watch that post, it has two threads and one of them was building from the scratch without any prior electronic DIY experience.

ShadowPho said:
Now looking at that thread, wouldn't it be easier to get a 555 timer chip and add an op amplifier to make a simple PWM circuit?

Easier ? I dont think so, just compare the component's count.

Also "not all" fan loved to be PWM-ed, certain models (2 pins or 3 pins fan) will actually noisier/louder if they're slowed down using PWM method, since the PWM signal's edge is not soften enough, and this "softening" PWM edges technique is not easy cause it needs trial and error on the "soft-edge" adjustment.

Worst once you found the right adjustment spot, it will be different on other model/type. Also the PWM circuit will screw up the RPM reporting on 3 pins fan that with RPM sensor, since it turns the fan's power on and off at high speed that affects the RPM signaling it self.

For 4 pins fan that has the dedicated line for PWM like the one at stock intel cooler, that is another story, cause it is designed to be driven with PWM signal, thats why it has extra PWM pin. But most of the times it will be plugged and controlled by the mobo circuit that already have the dedicated PWM signal for this kinda of fan. Not to mention 4 pins fans are quite rare.

I am aware that this linear circuit is not the best on it's efficiency at power consumption, but its really slowdown the fan without the side effect of the fan's noise caused by the sharp PWM's signal, and also if its used on 3 pins fan with the RPM sensor, the RPM reporting in most cases is not affected and will work as normal.

Of course the best undervolt circuit for fan driving is to use a switching power circuit that has the best efficiency, but that kinda circuit is quite complex, difficult to troubleshoot especially without proper tool like a scope, and DMM only is not enough, IMO is not suitable for electronic newbie.

muddocktor · Dec 20, 2008

I just ran across this Lamptron Silver Aluminum FC-2 Fan Controller at Sidewinder Computers and looks like a bad @SS controller for high power fans. It's rated for 20-45 watts/channel, with 6 channels on it.

Sounds like the perfect controller for building a hovercraft case full of Delta 120 TFB and GFB fans. The price isn't too bad either, $35.

ShadowPho · Dec 20, 2008

bing said:
Exactly, but for me, primarily its the fun part during the making process and the histeria when powering it up for the 1st time, and watching it runs as expected.

Watch that post, it has two threads and one of them was building from the scratch without any prior electronic DIY experience.

Easier ? I dont think so, just compare the component's count.

Also "not all" fan loved to be PWM-ed, certain models (2 pins or 3 pins fan) will actually noisier/louder if they're slowed down using PWM method, since the PWM signal's edge is not soften enough, and this "softening" PWM edges technique is not easy cause it needs trial and error on the "soft-edge" adjustment.

Worst once you found the right adjustment spot, it will be different on other model/type. Also the PWM circuit will screw up the RPM reporting on 3 pins fan that with RPM sensor, since it turns the fan's power on and off at high speed that affects the RPM signaling it self.

For 4 pins fan that has the dedicated line for PWM like the one at stock intel cooler, that is another story, cause it is designed to be driven with PWM signal, thats why it has extra PWM pin. But most of the times it will be plugged and controlled by the mobo circuit that already have the dedicated PWM signal for this kinda of fan. Not to mention 4 pins fans are quite rare.

I am aware that this linear circuit is not the best on it's efficiency at power consumption, but its really slowdown the fan without the side effect of the fan's noise caused by the sharp PWM's signal, and also if its used on 3 pins fan with the RPM sensor, the RPM reporting in most cases is not affected and will work as normal.

Of course the best undervolt circuit for fan driving is to use a switching power circuit that has the best efficiency, but that kinda circuit is quite complex, difficult to troubleshoot especially without proper tool like a scope, and DMM only is not enough, IMO is not suitable for electronic newbie.

Wow. Thanks for explanation. That was a long and very nice read.

Just curious, maybe the fan just needs PWM with a smaller period?

Now I really want to make one at 1KHz and 1MHz and see if that's any better.

repilce · Dec 21, 2008

i think it'd be fun to DIY myself.. i am novice with my soldering iron, but i can usually get mosts tasks done

but for this build i've retarded back to a antec 300 to loosing my budget for things like this.. and i think i will go with the black version of the sunbeam extreme here

bing · Dec 21, 2008

ShadowPho said:
Wow. Thanks for explanation. That was a long and very nice read.

Just curious, maybe the fan just needs PWM with a smaller period?

Now I really want to make one at 1KHz and 1MHz and see if that's any better.

You're welcome ! :beer:

If you want to play with the PWM freq & duty cycles, I would not go that low (1Khz) or that high (1 Mhz), worry that too low will actually make more noise (the clicking noise), especially without "softening" the PWM signal's edge, and if too high > 100Khz will have impact on the power efficiency and sometimes with strange results.

These needs trial & error, for start I'd like to suggest to sweep through 10Khz up to 50Khz with different duty cycles starting from 20% upto 100%, too low on duty cycle sometimes will yield strange & inconsistent results. A microcontroller circuit driving power transistor will be better/easier and less hassle than plain 555/op-amp/comparator circuit if its just for experiment sake. So you can play with wide range of different parameters on freq and dutycyle, and once you got the best combination, just transfer those parameters into those common 555/opamp circuit. A scope will be a really handy tool if you plan to do this seriously.

FYI, the Intel's stock cooler fan which is a 4 pins PWM controlled fan, their spec for the acceptable PWM frequency operational range is from 21 kHz to 28 kHz, with target at 25Khz, and with "minimum" duty cycle of no less than 30%. Lower than 30% will yield unexpected result/behaviour.

Been thru that long2 time ago, IMO for non PWM fan, still it is the best method to use undervolt to slow down the fan rotation, at least this method will not affect the RPM reporting on 3 pins fan and much simpler.

Hope this helps.

Need fan controller for 25+ wats per channel

repilce

Member

meionm

Member

repilce

Member

bing

Low Profile Senior

ShadowPho

Member

bing

Low Profile Senior

muddocktor

Retired

ShadowPho

Member

repilce

Member

bing

Low Profile Senior

Similar threads