12v transformer to power PC fan.. dangerous?

[Toxhicide]

Hello!

I just got a PC fan from radio shack (12v rated with 6v starting, 0.16A, 1.92W) that I want to power using a transformer. The people there told me that they did not have a transformer for me there.. I found one on amazon (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0053V1NHA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20) but the transformer sais it is 12v and 12w.

My fan is 12v, but it is not 12w. If I were to wire the fan to the transformer, would I break something? Also, would the transformer be able to power my fan, I dont know how current works, and do transformers plug into walls??

Thank you!

 

[Toymaker]

It should work fine.
The voltage is good and the current is much less than the supply will provide

 

[PerfectD3]

Watts = Volts x Amps
12 = 12 x (X)
X = 12 / 12
Amps = 1

 

[Toxhicide]

Oh alright. So I shouldnt break anything by hooking it up? And transformers plug into walls, right?

 

[MrMeans]

I am going to do a DIY thread on this soon. I built a stir plate using a pc cooling fan and after a year it has gone caput. I am thinking its either the lift from the magnets against the stir bar wore out the bearing in the fan or since I used the most powerful magnets I could find I messed up the magnets in the fan drive. Either way I took an electric motor out of a $6 desk fan, cut the fan blades off, and attached my magnets to the hub. I built a sturdy wooden frame and for speed control I use a dimmer wall switch. I can stir a full bucket/carboy with no problem now.

Since it sounds like you are in the beginning stages of your build you may just want to go this direction. It cost me less than $20 for materials aside from magnets. Not trying to sound like a jerk, just offering a suggestion based on my bad experience.

 

[hillhousesawdustco]

Just a heads up to save you a couple bucks if you are interested:

it is super easy to use an old cell phone (wall) charger to power PC fans. I assume that this is to move air in a keezer/fermenter/kegerator sort of thing? They usually provide quite a bit less than 12v (pretty sure mine is 5v) but in my experience they move air around in a small space just fine. If you have an old one laying around it can't hurt cutting the end of and splicing the wires together to see what you get.

(don't kill yourself. it is really hard to do at 5v, but probably theoretically possible)

 

[bobmcstuff]

I use a pc cooling pump with a 12v adapter I got from Amazon for controlling fermentation temps. It's just a cheap multi connector type one and it was £5.99 sterling so I guess like $8 in the US?

It was simple to strip the cables and connect them up. Just check that the adapter has enough wattage (pretty unlikely that it won't for a pc fan though).

 

[RensBerserker]

Oh alright. So I shouldnt break anything by hooking it up? And transformers plug into walls, right?

That power supply plugs into the wall and converts the high voltage AC power into a low voltage DC output. The 12W is the output capacity rating. It will only supply as much power as needed, up to 12W.

The rating of your fan (1.6W), however, is how much power it CONSUMES. Since this value is much less than the 12W capacity rating of the supply, you will be in good shape. Assuming, of course, that you hook it up correctly... ;-)

Short answers: no, you won't break anything by hooking it up, and yes, it plugs into the wall.

 

[JuanMoore]

I am going to do a DIY thread on this soon. I built a stir plate using a pc cooling fan and after a year it has gone caput. I am thinking its either the lift from the magnets against the stir bar wore out the bearing in the fan or since I used the most powerful magnets I could find I messed up the magnets in the fan drive. Either way I took an electric motor out of a $6 desk fan, cut the fan blades off, and attached my magnets to the hub. I built a sturdy wooden frame and for speed control I use a dimmer wall switch. I can stir a full bucket/carboy with no problem now.

FWIW powerful magnets being so close to the motor will reduce the torque, and can cause issues with the performance over time. I see a lot of builds attach the magnet to the hub, and then mount the fan/motor to the lid of the enclosure to get the proper spacing. Mounting the fan/motor to the bottom of the enclosure and then using a spacer between the hub and magnet/s is a much preferable design IMO. It's also how the popular stirstarters.com stir plates are constructed.

Just a heads up to save you a couple bucks if you are interested:

it is super easy to use an old cell phone (wall) charger to power PC fans. I assume that this is to move air in a keezer/fermenter/kegerator sort of thing? They usually provide quite a bit less than 12v (pretty sure mine is 5v) but in my experience they move air around in a small space just fine. If you have an old one laying around it can't hurt cutting the end of and splicing the wires together to see what you get.

(don't kill yourself. it is really hard to do at 5v, but probably theoretically possible)

Yep. And if you don't have a spare phone charger, or the one you have doesn't supply enough voltage or power for the fan/motor, thrift stores are often a great source for them. The thrift stores around here have large boxes of old wall wart transformers in a huge range of voltages for $0.50-$1 each.