Question Fan controller for industrial fans?

[Ali Husain]

I am planning on getting 4 Delta AFB1212GHE-CF00 fans and want to control the speed. These can draw 38.8 watts at max speed so I will need something that has a lot of power through each channel. Do you guys know of any fan controllers that can do this, doesn't look flashy and is cheap? I would prefer a controller that is small enough to be mounted at the back of the case where cable management is done.

 

[delaro]

No common fan controllers are 30W or less most are far less especially RGB ones.

Lamptron makes a few that will handle in the range of 45W-100W a channel

https://www.frozencpu.com/products/...aybus_-_Silver.html?tl=g34c17s817&id=WgGwZ2k9
5 Channels @ 60W each

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811997019
5 channel@ 45W each

http://www.deepcool.com/product/dcoolingaccessory/2013-12/12_664.shtml
4 channel@ 40W each "Deepcool"

 

[popatim]

I wouldn't trust any of those.
5 channels at 60w/ea = 300w
5@45w = 225w
4@60w = 240w

all of them use a single molex connector which supports 130w 🤔

 

[Ali Husain]

No common fan controllers are 30W or less most are far less especially RGB ones.

Lamptron makes a few that will handle in the range of 45W-100W a channel

https://www.frozencpu.com/products/...aybus_-_Silver.html?tl=g34c17s817&id=WgGwZ2k9
5 Channels @ 60W each

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811997019
5 channel@ 45W each

http://www.deepcool.com/product/dcoolingaccessory/2013-12/12_664.shtml
4 channel@ 40W each "Deepcool"

Thanks for the suggestions. The Fanatic looks really nice but unfortunately, it only has 3 speed options so not that interesting. The FC2 does look good, however. Cheap, low-profile and functional.

 

[Ali Husain]

I wouldn't trust any of those.
5 channels at 60w/ea = 300w
5@45w = 225w
4@60w = 240w

all of them use a single Molex connector which supports 130w 🤔

Well, the specifications of these PSU cables aren't always reasonable. For example, an 8-pin power connector is capable of 150W but a 6-pin can only do 75 watts? I did a quick Google and found there to be no fan controllers that support anything more than one Molex connector. I am sure if it was insufficient, the fan controllers and power supplies of users of high wattage fan controllers would all be dead and products would have bad reviews, but that isn't the case.

 

[delaro]

I wouldn't trust any of those.
5 channels at 60w/ea = 300w
5@45w = 225w
4@60w = 240w

all of them use a single molex connector which supports 130w 🤔

He is asking for a niche product.. not many of them out there considering the wattage of the fan and noise output make them less desirable.

 

[Karadjgne]

Still trying to figure out the need to control 4x 3.11A server fans. Those fans were designed to just run, at max speeds with no control as anything less than 100% output basically rendered them pointless, no better than a standard pc fan. At 3.11A each, they won't hook up to a motherboard in any capacity other than by powered splitter/hub/controller, none of which exist to power 13A worth of fans.

That 38.8w usage is running speeds. It's somewhat different to power draw associated with motor start up draw.

Afaik, those are 4000rpm, 200cfm PWM fans (that's the blue wire) so that really messes up any external control since 99% of fan controllers are powered by molex and are for use with DC fans, not pwm.
I've seen them used (9 was the most) on external radiators (10 years ago?) with a dedicated power brick where the only other connection was a daisy chained pwm signal from the mobo. Of course that took chopping off all the actual plug ends and reattaching correct connectors to hook up to the brick and 4pin mobo.

 

[popatim]

Well, the specifications of these PSU cables aren't always reasonable. For example, an 8-pin power connector is capable of 150W but a 6-pin can only do 75 watts? I did a quick Google and found there to be no fan controllers that support anything more than one Molex connector. I am sure if it was insufficient, the fan controllers and power supplies of users of high wattage fan controllers would all be dead and products would have bad reviews, but that isn't the case.

I suspect that wires haven't melted yet because no PC user actually has such high loads on them.

 

[Karadjgne]

Ppl are by the most part, lazy. It takes some work to design and implement some way to get certain things like those Deltas working, in settings they weren't designed for. Far easier to get a single 4 or 8 or 10way pwm powered hub and just slap in as many normal pc fans as they need to. No thinking required. Using those Deltas is definitely 'outside the box' thinking and usually requires some sort of manual dexterity, patience and mechanical ability to get everything hooked up right and safely, and thats a whole lot more effort than most ppl want to stick into a pc that needs to be up and running games yesterday. That includes thinking about power supply needs, connector needs, lead sizes, current draw, voltage drops, resistance over length etc. A standard 18ga wire can handle about 12vDC 10A at 12", at 18" its closer to 7A. And all that has to be taken into consideration. Just plugging on a 10way pwm hub, with 0.3A fans.. No thinking required.

 

[Ali Husain]

Ppl are by the most part, lazy. It takes some work to design and implement some way to get certain things like those Deltas working, in settings they weren't designed for. Far easier to get a single 4 or 8 or 10way pwm powered hub and just slap in as many normal pc fans as they need to. No thinking required. Using those Deltas is definitely 'outside the box' thinking and usually requires some sort of manual dexterity, patience and mechanical ability to get everything hooked up right and safely, and thats a whole lot more effort than most ppl want to stick into a pc that needs to be up and running games yesterday. That includes thinking about power supply needs, connector needs, lead sizes, current draw, voltage drops, resistance over length etc. A standard 18ga wire can handle about 12vDC 10A at 12", at 18" its closer to 7A. And all that has to be taken into consideration. Just plugging on a 10way pwm hub, with 0.3A fans.. No thinking required.

It is complicated, but I think it is worth it.

 

[Karadjgne]

IF those fans are pwm, you'll have a hard time with a controller, since the pwm signal is generated by the motherboard. That means, to control individual fan speeds externally from the motherboard, you'd need someway to either generate a pwm signal, or change the signal. Changing the voltage of the fans won't work as they need the full 12v to operate correctly when used with a pwm signal. Pwm is pulse modulated, it's constantly in a state of trying to turn on, but never getting there unless set for 100%. If you lower the voltage, the motor doesn't have the power to 'kick start' the fans, so will either draw more current to do so, or fail. This is why hubs are used, it's a constant 12v supply, the pwm signal is shared by every fan. There's no individual control other than by seperate headers, which are controlled by the bios.

It's one of the few advantages a DC fan has, a simple resistor or rheostat will change the 12v, so individual fans can be controlled, usually 5v or 7v low. Pwm use a digital pulse instead.

 

[Ali Husain]

IF those fans are pwm, you'll have a hard time with a controller, since the pwm signal is generated by the motherboard. That means, to control individual fan speeds externally from the motherboard, you'd need someway to either generate a pwm signal, or change the signal. Changing the voltage of the fans won't work as they need the full 12v to operate correctly when used with a pwm signal. Pwm is pulse modulated, it's constantly in a state of trying to turn on, but never getting there unless set for 100%. If you lower the voltage, the motor doesn't have the power to 'kick start' the fans, so will either draw more current to do so, or fail. This is why hubs are used, it's a constant 12v supply, the pwm signal is shared by every fan. There's no individual control other than by seperate headers, which are controlled by the bios.

It's one of the few advantages a DC fan has, a simple resistor or rheostat will change the 12v, so individual fans can be controlled, usually 5v or 7v low. Pwm use a digital pulse instead.

They are not PWM fans. They either use a 3 pin or you can use a Molex with the included extension. Thanks. I noticed that I posted the wrong name of the fans. Here is the link: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4RE6HA8719&ignorebbr=1

 

[Karadjgne]

At 3.24A, for a standard mobo, that's molex only. Normal mobo is only @ 1A.

Generally a molex chain is good for 6-10A, depending on the wire guage, so with a decent sized psu (figure 15A is just for those 4 fans,) it's possible to do, but you'll still have no control.

There's reasons why these fans aren't used in commercial pc's, only servers.

You'll not be able to use a single controller for all the fans, you could ostensibly use 2 controllers, if you could find one rated for 12vDC at a minimum of 40w per channel.