12V PC Fan Hookup

[isurus79]

So I got a 12V PC fan for my orchidarium to move the air around, but there are just 2 wires coming off it and no plug!! I went to Radioshack (which is where I bought the fan) and they had nothing to plug the fan into the wall. How do you all make a PC fan work in a typical wall socket?

[msaar]

If this is truly a 12V fan (it should say so on the fan), you will have to get a transformer to reduce the 120V at the wall to 12V. Do not plug the 12V fan directly into the wall outlet. The fan should also list the current draw in mA (milliamps) or A (amps), and the transformer should provide at least that much amperage.

[isurus79]

Thanks msaar! Do I get this stuff at Home Depot or Best Buy?

[msaar]

You should be able to get the transformer at Radio Shack or Home Depot. You get the plug and any extra lamp cord at Home Depot. (Don't forget a roll of electrical tape) Consider getting some appropriately sized 'wire nuts' to make your electrical connections.

[Ray]

Radio Shack sells the same fans in 120V versions - still no plug, but it's easy enough to just add a cord (I cut off the female end of a short extension cord).

[Paul Mc]

You might also look on Amazon - that's where I got everything I needed for what you are doing.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by Ray

Radio Shack sells the same fans in 120V versions - still no plug, but it's easy enough to just add a cord (I cut off the female end of a short extension cord).

I think if this fan dies pretty quickly, I'll probably replace it with a 120V version. Thanks Ray, its good to know that option is there.

Originally Posted by Paul Mc

You might also look on Amazon - that's where I got everything I needed for what you are doing.

I hadn't even considered that. I'll check out for the next one as well.

[s.kallima]

If you have an old cell phone or PDA transformer (any of these little transformer that get 12V or even 7V output), it's easy to plug your fan (that's what I did, I actually use a 7V transformer so my fan doesn't run at full speed, I like it better on my orchidarium).

[ronaldhanko]

A 120v fan can be wired with lamp cord and a plug and plugged directly into a wall socket, but a 12v fan is a far better option if there is water about.

[Discus]

Yeah, if I were to use a 120V+ fan around plants, I'd definitely put a GFCI/RCD on it! (indeed, one on your viv is probably a good idea; rather have nuisance tripping than nuisance electrocution...)

Anything that outputs 12V will do - just wire it up and off you go. If the fan blows the wrong way, swap the wires

Over here, we get DC adaptors with selectable voltages on from 1.5-12V; the lower the voltage, the slower the fan will spin - giving you some control over speed, which can be useful.

Some people will use an entire PC power supply to wire up fans, but you don't need to (but if you do, you can also get handy fan controllers).