Reducing fan speed w/resistor

[cvonseggern]

I hooked up a fan in my nanocube's hood to keep the upgraded lighting from heating it up too much...the only problem is it's moving too much air and cooling way too much, on top of being loud. I'm thinking I could put a resistor in-line with the fan to slow it down. I'm running a 12-volt 0.11-amp fan on a 500-mA transformer. Can someone help me out with the best way to do this? I'm electrically challenged and am not sure what to use or how to put it in.

Thanks,

Chris

[SBreef]

Why not use a pot? Thenk you could control the speed as to what you want! Have you tried the resistor yet?

Roy
acclaim96

[cvonseggern]

I hadn't thought of using a pot, but that *would* make sense, wouldn't it? I haven't tried anything yet. Like I said, I'm electrically challenged (read: stupid) and don't really know exactly what I need. What I'm really hoping for is if anyone is willing to help me figure out exactly what to get and confirm how it should go into the circuit.

[SBreef]

Chris,

I can give you some help with that. Also, I can get you that parts that you need. I just need to know if you want a out of the way place in your cabinet to mount the unit at. Just let me know.

Roy

[cvonseggern]

Roy -

Everything is hanging out the back of the cube already, so what I plan to do is to just do all the wiring behind the cube, then put in some kind of wire management to keep everything out of sight.

Thanks,

Chris

[SBreef]

Chris,

That will be simple enough! I will try and get the parts. I will let you know.

Roy

[cvonseggern]

Much appreciated, Roy. All I *really* need is some help identifying the right pot to use and some guidance in how to set it up, but I'm not one to refuse any assistance I can get :)

Chris

[mathias]

or you could do more than one fan and use a computer fan bus.... they look real cool lol got lights and everything.... www.newegg.com you can find one there...

[SBreef]

Lets see if this works

Roy

[cvonseggern]

That should be easy. Thanks for drawing it out... but I have just a couple of questions. Where do I get the pot? Does Radio Shack carry parts like that, or do I need to find someplace more specialized?

[cvonseggern]

Oh, almost forgot to ask. The abbreviations in step 1 are 1 kilo-ohm and 5 kilo-ohm, correct?

[SBreef]

Yes, Rat shack should have them. If you go near AW, Atex would be cheaper, bigger variety. Yes K-ohm.

Roy

[cvonseggern]

You mean I might be forced to head down to AW? That might kill me. Or at least my bank account.

[cvonseggern]

Thanks, Roy, for your help. I finally made it down to RShack and got the pot. The only one I could get was a 10K ohm, so I have to turn it up a ways before the fan will even spin, but it works great. I'm running the fan right now at a conservative speed with both lights on to see what happens with the temp.

Thanks again,

Chris