Hack a fan to work with timer - Orchid Board

Rothrock42 · #1 11-07-2017, 01:10 AM

I grow in the house with a lot of natural light, but I also have t5 and led lights on timers. I have several of the heavy wire shelves with plants on several levels.

I also have several different fans around the apartment to keep the breeze up. Some are just simple round fans, but I also have a couple of the tall oscillating kind. I want to put the fans on timers as well, but the tall oscillating ones don't keep their settings when the power goes out. So when the timer turns them back on they are at the wrong speed and not oscillating. Kinda defeats the purpose.

So I'm wondering if anybody knows a way to hack the firmware of the fans so they will turn on in oscillating mode with a specific velocity?

Or does anybody have experience with any tall tower fans that fan be used with timers?

marcmaubert · #2 11-07-2017, 11:23 AM

I have the same problem, my fan has a built-in timer but I have to program it everyday. There has to be a better way.

fooferdoggie · #3 11-07-2017, 11:27 AM

I think the only practical way is to just get a cheap mechanical fan. I should get a fan or two myself. I use hue bulbs and wemos and such to control the lights fans would be easy to add to the mix.

estación seca · #4 11-10-2017, 12:28 AM

Are you sure you need oscillating fans? I don't. The plants don't need a stiff breeze on the leaves, just some air circulation. You can buy a heavy-duty appliance timer, into which you can plug a multi-outlet power strip. Into this you can plug lights and fans.

Rothrock42 · #5 11-10-2017, 12:38 AM

I have two wire racks by the window. I put the tower fan across the room and with the oscillation I can go back and forth getting both racks and because it is tall it can hit all the different levels of the the shelves.

I can see all the leaves do a little tremble on each pass. So I think it is kinda in the zone. I think to get the equivalent without the oscillation and without the tower would probably take carefully mounting 5 or 6 smaller fixed fans. Which seems like too much work and probably wouldn't look so great in my apartment.

My friends and family have started calling it the orchids' apartment and that they only let me stay because I water them!

estación seca · #6 11-10-2017, 02:38 AM

I think if you pointed the fans all in one direction you would have adequate circulation in the room. The leaves don't need to be trembling.