[SOLVED] Will This Fan Controller Power All Four Fans?

[Mulsiphixx]

I am working on a little project. The main goal is to have four speed controlled 80mm fans hooked up to a computer power supply. I'm concerned whether the fan controller I've chosen can power all four fans. Do you think 1 controller will do it or should I purchase two of them to ensure I have enough power?

ZALMAN FAN MATE 2, Fan Controller
Output Voltage: 5V - 11V +/- 2%
Allowable Power: 6W or lower
Connector: 3-Pin

APEVIA 80mm 3pin UV Blue Case Fan
Start-up Voltage: 6 VDC
Rated Voltage: 12 VDC
Rated Current: 0.25 A
Connector: 3-pin

Note: I know the controller only supplies power to one fan. I plan on using a splitter to connect all the fans to the one controller.

 

[Charlie98]

It should... those fans only draw .25amp each.

 

[JackMDS]

Hmm.. The controller supports 6W.

The fans are 3W each 3x4=12W

I would Not use this controller for 4 Fans.

 

[corkyg]

In order to control each fan separately, you would need a controller with multiple switches/ports. A gang controller would move all of them together. No?

 

[Mulsiphixx]

Thank you very much for the feedback Charlie and Jack :biggrin:.

In order to control each fan separately, you would need a controller with multiple switches/ports. A gang controller would move all of them together. No?

For what I have planned I will not need to control each fans speed individually. All at the same speed at the same time works perfectly for me.

The big problem I'm running into is that apparently fan controllers often don't work well with various fans (dependent on manufacturer). I'm finding reviews for various controllers (much higher end ones than this) that all share the same sort of feedback. For many fans the difference between min/max setting via the controller may only be a difference of 100RPM. Many fans apparently don't respond well to having their voltage regulated.

Given my project won't use a motherboard I can't really rely on PWM either. Finding the right combination of fan controller and fan may be a question of blind trial and error :'(.

 

[BrightCandle]

I have not heard of problems with controllers that didn't change the voltage to the fan at all. Most controllers go between 5-7V and 12V and that is usually sufficient to half the spin rate or a little better. But your main problem if your ganging fans together on one control on the controller is the total amps the fans can pull, and you absolutely need to make sure that the controller is sufficient or you'll burn it out.

 

[Mulsiphixx]

After looking over the various options at my disposal I think the most cost effective and likely least-problem ridden path is to go with a fan with built in speed control via a built-in switch. Thank you all very much for your help. Knowing the possible problems with the setup I proposed ultimately led to the solution :awe:.

 

[sm625]

I have a couple of those fan controllers, or something very similar anyway. I'm pretty sure its just a simple rheostat inside, forming a simple voltage divider. That means the fan controller gets hotter as you slow the fans down. (ie the power dissipated inside the fan controller increases as the voltage sent to the fans decreases). But it shouldnt matter how many fans you have connected, except that it will raise your minimum fan speed as you add more fans. That's how mine works anyway. But it was never even close to being a problem, since it only takes a 3 volt drop to really quiet a fan down.

 

[aigomorla]

It should... those fans only draw .25amp each.

how did u come to this conclusion?
6W /12V = .5amps

Which means it can handle a total of .5A

4 x .25 = 1A

.5A - 1A = -.5A which means the OP will potentially pull double the raited amperage off that controller.

Hmm.. The controller supports 6W.

The fans are 3W each 3x4=12W

I would Not use this controller for 4 Fans.

+1 with Jack...

the math shows u can not handle more then 2 fans OP
Im with Jack on this, I do not recommend u using this controller for 4 fans.

For what I have planned I will not need to control each fans speed individually. All at the same speed at the same time works perfectly for me.

The big problem I'm running into is that apparently fan controllers often don't work well with various fans (dependent on manufacturer). I'm finding reviews for various controllers (much higher end ones than this) that all share the same sort of feedback. For many fans the difference between min/max setting via the controller may only be a difference of 100RPM. Many fans apparently don't respond well to having their voltage regulated.

Given my project won't use a motherboard I can't really rely on PWM either. Finding the right combination of fan controller and fan may be a question of blind trial and error :'(.

Well if u intend to controller all 4 fans at the same time, you will run into a problem with the RPM Sense line.
You can not combine all 4 sense lines and have it accurately report the RPM of the said fan.

Unless u have a super expensive laser refractor which will count the RPM manually, there will be no accurate way to determine what the RPM on all the fans are.

And no 2 motors are identical, meaning while one is running 1000rpm, the other can be running 1005rpm while another 1010rpm.

If you need to fine tune a fan, then I suggest u get a pretty expensive fan controller like a FC5 and have each fan on its own port

http://www.amazon.com/FC5-Channel-30...s=lamptron+fc5

It will probably help you in your tuning as well as it displays voltage and RPM on each header.

 

[Charlie98]

how did u come to this conclusion?
6W /12V = .5amps

Which means it can handle a total of .5A

4 x .25 = 1A

.5A - 1A = -.5A which means the OP will potentially pull double the raited amperage off that controller.



+1 with Jack...

the math shows u can not handle more then 2 fans OP
Im with Jack on this, I do not recommend u using this controller for 4 fans.

I stand corrected. I've always had problems with the math on those conversions even using the Power Wheel.

 

[aigomorla]

I stand corrected. I've always had problems with the math on those conversions even using the Power Wheel.

lol... ive done a lot of stupid things like ignore the power raiting on controllers and well... here was the result.

u can see I could of had big problems... very very big problems..