good fan controller to handle Scythe Ultra Kazes?

[Rich'[ard]]

greetings from the chilly winter weather down here in Melbourne!

i'm currently using a Lamptron FC4 that i won from a competition to power my CPU fans. i've got an Antec tri speed and a Scythe Ultra Kaze 3000rpm.

the thing is, the fan controller's just a bit dodgy. the controller is stated to run up to 30w per channel and i have the 2 fans on separate channels, but neither of the fans run up to the full speed when i turn the controller knob all the way to max. also, the fans don't start spinning until i turn the knob about 1/3 of the way.
i'm sure the Ultra Kaze doesn't use more than 30w does it?

i've tried connecting the fans through 4-pin molex and the Ultra Kaze spins MUCH faster than when i max it on the fan controller. on the controller, it only sounds like it spins at about 2000rpm.

my fan controller sounds pretty cheap, so is there something that can fully handle powerful fans? shuold i stay away from lamptron, or do they have other decent products?

thanks for any suggestions!!

 

[psionic98]

I think it's Bobnova that can make fan controllers that handle 100w/channel.. though it wouldn't be uber cheap.

the Fc-4 you have does 20w/channel. If you wanted a straight 0v-12v w/o the dials you could get one of those lamptron hummer 5ports.. they use toggle switches that handle 100w/channel too. I personally use a sunbeam rheobus 4 channel that does 30/w per and have run panaflo 100+cfm monsters off it w/o a hitch.. though only 1 on a channel. And at last there's always the new lamptron FC9 that handles 50w/channel.. we have a review on our frontpage about it.. sleek lookin controller by far!

 

[Automiketic]

Have you tried using other ports to see if they have the same problem? Lamptron usually make some decent products. You may even want to try to contact them and tell them about your problem. Other than that I would highly recommend the Sunbeam Rheobus, great controller and can handle very powerful fans so the ultra kaze should be no problem. I have one controlling 4 high speed deltas and it doesn't skip a beat. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...BESTMATCH&Description=sunbeam+rheobus&x=0&y=0 Also i think that ultra kaze is only 7.2w so you really shouldn't need a high power controller...

 

[Rich'[ard]]

ahh thanks for the replies! =)
yeah all the ports are the same. even for the Antec tri-cool fan which is far less powerful compared to the Ultra Kaze, when the knob is turned to the max, its speed is noticeably slower than when connected through 4-pin molex.

mm yeah i was looking at the Lamptron FC9 controller on their website just then...i love their designs. they're different from everybody else on the market.

it's not like i need the ultra kaze to reach all the way to 3000rpm, but it'd be nice if i could get accurate control over my fans.

 

[Conumdrum]

Voltage fan controllers usually can't get to max RPM, at 12VDC because the circutry drops at least a volt controlling the voltage. So you only get about 11 volts or so to the fan, a loss of about 10% rpm, maybe more depending on the fan circuit.

 

[Seebs]

greetings from the chilly winter weather down here in Melbourne!

i'm currently using a Lamptron FC4 that i won from a competition to power my CPU fans. i've got an Antec tri speed and a Scythe Ultra Kaze 3000rpm.

the thing is, the fan controller's just a bit dodgy. the controller is stated to run up to 30w per channel and i have the 2 fans on separate channels, but neither of the fans run up to the full speed when i turn the controller knob all the way to max. also, the fans don't start spinning until i turn the knob about 1/3 of the way.
i'm sure the Ultra Kaze doesn't use more than 30w does it?

i've tried connecting the fans through 4-pin molex and the Ultra Kaze spins MUCH faster than when i max it on the fan controller. on the controller, it only sounds like it spins at about 2000rpm.

my fan controller sounds pretty cheap, so is there something that can fully handle powerful fans? shuold i stay away from lamptron, or do they have other decent products?

thanks for any suggestions!!

Your issue has nothing to do with the controller being defective....

These Kaze Ultra fans have a startup voltage of around 3V so you will have to turn the knob on a 0V to 12V controller about a third of the way up before the fan starts spinning.... That answers one of your questions.

And as stated by Conundrum; the circuitry on the controller will eat about 1V off of the 12V source so your max voltage to the fans will be aroun 11V and that is why the fans won't spin at 100% speed when the controller is turned to the max setting.

Hope this helps
Sebastian

 

[Rich'[ard]]

Your issue has nothing to do with the controller being defective....

These Kaze Ultra fans have a startup voltage of around 3V so you will have to turn the knob on a 0V to 12V controller about a third of the way up before the fan starts spinning.... That answers one of your questions.

And as stated by Conundrum; the circuitry on the controller will eat about 1V off of the 12V source so your max voltage to the fans will be aroun 11V and that is why the fans won't spin at 100% speed when the controller is turned to the max setting.

Hope this helps
Sebastian

ohh ok that makes sense.
it's good to know my fan controller isn't a dud.
thanks for hte info guys!

i was looking at some other fan controllers last night and the NZXT Sentry Mesh looks pretty sweet for its price. 30w/channel and it uses sliders instead of knobs like the Lamptron FC9. mmm