mini 12v case cooling fans,controlling speed?

davidroberts30

Member

Location

pembrokeshire

• Sep 13, 2018

• #1

im going to fit a fan
https://www.quietpc.com/mini-kaze
to the xtc control box for the hedger
is it possible to wire this up through a variable resistor to control the speed of it?

 

Mursal

Member

• Sep 13, 2018

• #2

Yes, but probably not the most elegant solution as the resistor will get hot the slower the fan runs.

This PWM controller would be more suitable, click

I'll have a wee look at the spec for you later to make sure its suitable.

 

Pheasant Surprise

Member

Location

Woodbridge, Suffolk

• Sep 13, 2018

• #3

Agree with @Mursal suggestion above.

Can you also add passive cooling, more or better heatsinks to the components within the XTC box that are generating the most heat?

Finger test will usually be enough, although if you can borrow an infrared camera it’s amazing what they will show up.

 

davidroberts30

Member

Location

pembrokeshire

• Sep 13, 2018

• #4

Mursal said:

Yes, but probably not the most elegant solution as the resistor will get hot the slower the fan runs.

This PWM controller would be more suitable, click

I'll have a wee look at the spec for you later to make sure its suitable.

Click to expand...

That looks spot on ,cheers

 

davidroberts30

Member

Location

pembrokeshire

• Sep 13, 2018

• #5

Pheasant Surprise said:

Agree with @Mursal suggestion above.

Can you also add passive cooling, more or better heatsinks to the components within the XTC box that are generating the most heat?

Finger test will usually be enough, although if you can borrow an infrared camera it’s amazing what they will show up.

Click to expand...

I haven't actually opened up the case to see what is in there but the dealer told me mcconnell's solution is now to fit a fan of some sort

 

Netherfield

Member

Location

West Yorkshire

• Sep 13, 2018

• #6

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zalman-Fan-Speed-Controller-FANMATE-2/dp/B000292DO0

Might be quicker than coming from China

 

Pheasant Surprise

Member

Location

Woodbridge, Suffolk

• Sep 13, 2018

• #7

davidroberts30 said:

I haven't actually opened up the case to see what is in there but the dealer told me mcconnell's solution is now to fit a fan of some sort

Click to expand...

I would hazard a guess there are probably some current switching components (like power transistors) for activating spools which are getting quite warm, and if there is no or insufficient air-flow around them and/or they don't have (enough) heat sinking, then they will eventually fail.

Take a photo while you've got the box opened up.

 

Badshot

Member

Location

Kent

• Sep 13, 2018

• #8

What's the reason for the cooling?
Been noticing mine seems to slow down towards the end of the day. As in the operations, ie, pushing the arm across.

 

davidroberts30

Member

Location

pembrokeshire

• Sep 13, 2018

• #9

Badshot said:

What's the reason for the cooling?
Been noticing mine seems to slow down towards the end of the day. As in the operations, ie, pushing the arm across.

Click to expand...

Exactly that
You will find if you turn the box off for 10 minutes during the day the control will return to normal until they heat up again

 

Lazy Sod

Member

Location

Warminster Wiltshire

• Sep 13, 2018

• #10

Will the ingress of dust be a problem?

 

General-Lee

Member

Location

Devon

• Sep 13, 2018

• #11

I thought of some sort of ducting from the a/c but was quite a wild idea!

Mine slows down too.

 

joe soapy

Member

Location

devon

• Sep 13, 2018

• #12

why do you want to control the speed

 

davidroberts30

Member

Location

pembrokeshire

• Sep 13, 2018

• #13

General-Lee said:

I thought of some sort of ducting from the a/c but was quite a wild idea!

Mine slows down too.

Click to expand...

I thought about that too but I'm worried about condensation

 

davidroberts30

Member

Location

pembrokeshire

• Sep 13, 2018

• #14

Lazy Sod said:

Will the ingress of dust be a problem?

Click to expand...

My cab is clean

 

General-Lee

Member

Location

Devon

• Sep 13, 2018

• #15

davidroberts30 said:

I thought about that too but I'm worried about condensation

Click to expand...

Will be intrigued to see what you come up with, I notice whether it is linked the standby light flashes, switching the box on and off brings it back to constantly on.

 

davidroberts30

Member

Location

pembrokeshire

• Sep 13, 2018

• #16

General-Lee said:

Will be intrigued to see what you come up with, I notice whether it is linked the standby light flashes, switching the box on and off brings it back to constantly on.

Click to expand...

You calibrated it?

 

General-Lee

Member

Location

Devon

• Sep 13, 2018

• #17

davidroberts30 said:

You calibrated it?

Click to expand...

No, had Halse out to it last month but was combining and didn’t see the fitter.

 

Badshot

Member

Location

Kent

• Sep 13, 2018

• #18

davidroberts30 said:

Exactly that
You will find if you turn the box off for 10 minutes during the day the control will return to normal until they heat up again

Click to expand...

So would it be worth running a pipe from an air vent? I've one directly under the box, easy enough to stick a pipe in it and cut a hole in the box.

 

General-Lee

Member

Location

Devon

• Sep 13, 2018

• #19

Badshot said:

So would it be worth running a pipe from an air vent? I've one directly under the box, easy enough to stick a pipe in it and cut a hole in the box.

Click to expand...

Or even some well placed holes to let air in??

 

Mursal

Member

• Sep 13, 2018

• #20

That controller seems OK, for what you want.
But with little on no spec sheet, you would just have to test it on the bench first to see if it ticks all the boxes. Be careful as some controllers (for computers) are only 5Volts as the boards run at that voltage.

Your fan will be doing 3500RPM you can always upgrade to a 8500RPM fan click, if you feel its just not good enough, the faster one will be noisy. But the same size .........

Some of the older computers use a two speed fan, that would allow you to choose without the controller, had a look on E-bay but just cant find one to fit.