Tornado Rheostat help!!!

Codinerx

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Hey guys... I can't live with this jet turbine that I call a PC anymore- its driving me nuts. I bought a vantec tornado heatsink fan, and although the cooling is great, I would like to build a rheostat to keep the noise down. Anyone have any experience with these, or know of a website tutorial that might help? The other issue is that the tornado has two connectors, a 3 pin that connects to the mobo and a four pin for power- which of these would I actually connect the rheostat onto- or am I way off? Thank you so much for your help in saving my sanity!
 

svol

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I think that 3 pin one is only for the RPM rate and the 4 pin is the one you need to connect the rheostat with.
First calculate how much watt your fan is by multiplieng the amperage with the voltage.

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Codinerx

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Alright, you were definitly right about connecting it to the four pin connector, I read that on a couple of sites. The wattage is 9.1. I looked at the radioshack website, they had a rheostat, however I don't believe it could handle the mighty tornado. So where should I go from there? And by the way, thanks for your help, I think every time I have posted you have posted back!
 

svol

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Well the rheostat should be atleast 9.1W and then you still have to calculate the desired resistance. But you can also hook up 2x 3W resistors and an atleast 4W rheostat in serie.

I'm sure I read a guide about silent casecooling at overclockers.com explaining how to use rheostats and potmeters... but I can't find it.

My PC eats so much money that I'm in 'desperate' need of it to buy PC3500 RAM, help Svol with his OC project!
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Codinerx

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Alrighty- I took a trip to radioshack today, they have a couple of rheostats... but how do I calculate the resistance required?
 

mjjohn

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Check out these sites for fan control. Cliff's Fanbus.com is very informative. It has all the formulas and calculations for rheostat size. You might have a tough time finding a rheostat with the wattage you need. The best I could find was a 5watt at Jameco.com. I think anything larger will need a case and cooler of its own !

Thats where the first two sites below come in. Voltage regulation via an IC. Fairly simple construction. Higher wattage. Less heat. Probably better for your needs.

http://www.procooling.com/articles/html/quiet_fans_-_power_control_met.shtml

http://casemods.pointofnoreturn.org/vregtut/

http://www.fanbus.com/

Logic goes away if it is not the first or seemingly obvious answer to a problem. :eek:
 

svol

Champion
That is why I use a couple of 5W and 4W resistors in serie with my Delta HP120 which drains 36W.
I just took some of them and soldered 2 in serie and those parallel with another 2 in serie without calculating before and it worked fine (lucky me).

My PC eats so much money that I'm in 'desperate' need of it to buy PC3500 RAM, help Svol with his OC project!
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Codinerx

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Hey thanks a lot, those are some great sites. I went over to radioshack today, the best they had was a 3 watt- I picked that up, as well as two 2-watt resistors... I am not sure if I connect them all up, if I will be able to regulate the fan properly or not. I would assume that having the resistors connected to the wire would take away 4 watts at all times, regardless of the rheostat, but I guess its worth a try
 

phsstpok

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You'll find a lot of good links with a lot of good ideas here.

<A HREF="http://hwfaq.overclockersonline.com/dbase.php?catid=62" target="_new">http://hwfaq.overclockersonline.com/dbase.php?catid=62</A>

I like the one about using an automotive dimmer to control 11 fans (32 watts).


<b>99% is great, unless you are talking about system stability</b>
 

Codinerx

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So if the resistors are in series, and are connected to the fan, won't they be limiting the wattage to the fan at all times? How are you supposed to reach full speed with the fan?
 
Radio Shack EH? You may be looking in the wrong place for the rheostat you need, try looking at automotive electrical parts from your local parts store, most are already 12v rated and will certainly handle the wattage.




Details, Details, Its all in the Details, If you need help, Don't leave out the Details.
 

LCARS

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Yes, an auto parts store might have it... it might be very bulky though.

I'd try a very well stocked Hardware store. Such as True Value or Ace.

<b>OR</b> here's another <A HREF="http://store.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/bus-05.html?id=TLAMN6s3&mv_pc=1119" target="_new">linky-loo</A>.
 
Disregard my previous post I may have stumbled onto exactly what you need, as a matter of fact I'm considering this for myself also, check out the <b>A1268 Three Speed Fan Control</b> at this website<A HREF="http://www.crazypc.com/products/fans/fanaccessories.htm" target="_new">http://www.crazypc.com/products/fans/fanaccessories.htm</A>




Details, Details, Its all in the Details, If you need help, Don't leave out the Details.
 

error_911

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Yeah, but at $23 its not even worth a switched fan controller, you can find one for $15 at www.casetc.com but thats not the point, it won't let the Vantec Tornado run at optimal speed since it can't provide the proper wattage on such a high demand fan... besides, Vantec's fan controller is $27 with crazypac and well worth it.

Ahhh! It's 2003 and wait, whats this!? My computer didn't blow up! ... Well damn, there goes my new Athlon @ 333FSB and my inssurance claim... heheheh
 

mjjohn

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Neat and easy but I don't think I would use it. The slide switch is just combining certain pairs of power leads.

On your power supply;
yellow + black = 12 volts
red + black = 5 volts
yellow + red = 7.5 volts

I would not count on any fan starting with only 5 volts. If you MADE SURE you switched to the high setting, 12 volt, when you turned on the pc then switched it to low you could be ok. But, are you always going to remember ?

Make a two speed yourself - 12 volt and 7.5 volt. Your fan should start ok with 7.5 volts.

All you need is a DPDT toggle switch. Wire fan leads off the center lugs. Wire the yellow and a black lead from a power splitter (cut off the Molex) to one set of lugs on the switch. Run the red wire from the splitter and a jumper from the yellow wire already on the switch to the other set of lugs.

Now you have a high and low speed and don't have to worry about the fan not coming on when you fire up your pc. And the whole thing cost you only a few dollars. Set up a few switchs and control some additional case fans.


Logic goes away if it is not the first or seemingly obvious answer to a problem. :eek:
 

lhgpoobaa

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Yeah, That should do the trick.
I had to use 2 5W rheostats in series to slow down my 'tornado like' 80mm delta screamer fan to acceptable levels. (4900rpm 68.5cfm 45dBa)

<b><i>The Very Hungry Caterpillar</i> - George W. Bush's favorite childhood book.
Note: This book was first published a year after Mr Bush graduated from College.</b>
 

Codinerx

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So your rheostats worked in series eh? Thats cool, I thought about that too. Hopefully this one I am getting works, its a bit expensive, around 14 bucks. I guess they are very rare or something once you go higher then 5 watts, but I alreay know that since I spent a week trying to find one hahaha.
 

lhgpoobaa

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Well it was in my old case yes. Last november i got a new (BLACK) case thats got alot better cooling, so i ditched the fast fan and rheostat for one simple slow 80mm panaflo fan :smile:

With the delta screamer, full speed is 4900 to 5000rpm.
1 rheostat brings it down to around 4000rpm, better, but still very loud. The second rheostat brings it down to around 3000 to 3200 rpm, MUCH better.

With my old case i also wired up alot of other things to the two rheostats as well. the wiring went as follows:

PSU -> rheo 1 -> rheo 2 -> passthrough connector for cpu fan -> passthough connector for casefan -> GPU 50mm fan.

so the casefan, cpu fan and gpu fan all were varied by the same two rheostats.

<b><i>The Very Hungry Caterpillar</i> - George W. Bush's favorite childhood book.
Note: This book was first published a year after Mr Bush graduated from College.</b>
 

Codinerx

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Sounds pretty cool to me, I am glad those things really work. By the way, would you happen to remember what the resistance (in ohms) on those rheostats was? I calculated the resistance for my fan, it came out around 5, but that seemed way to low... would I be safe with a resistance around 100-200? Thanks for the help!
 

lhgpoobaa

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No idea, but one thing i do remember is that they got pretty hot!
So hot infact i stuck some 1 inch square passive heatsinks to the back of each rheostat so they didnt get so hot. Worked well too.

<b><i>The Very Hungry Caterpillar</i> - George W. Bush's favorite childhood book.
Note: This book was first published a year after Mr Bush graduated from College.</b>
 

error_911

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Where the hell did you find that ?! I'd been looking for a rheostat with more than 7.5W (the most I found) for ages before I happened upon the Vantec one... I still would have uses for it, though for $14 I don't know... but a 12.5W rheostat will be bale to give you more than that if it's cooled with a heatsink btw, so you could stick on more than the tornado (its 9.1W)... and by the way, the Toranado needs 7Volts to start-up, so your knob will be about half-way before the fan even moves, and the fan starts at about 2,100rpm (though its still loud).

Ahhh! It's 2003 and wait, whats this!? My computer didn't blow up! ... Well damn, there goes my new Athlon @ 333FSB and my inssurance claim... heheheh
 

Codinerx

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I actually got desperate and wound up calling a bunch of electrical stores from the phone book. The place that carries it is called MarVac, in Costa Mesa California. They have a website, Marvac.com, but I don't think they sell off of it... So you are saying the tornado is still loud even when it is turned down?! That sucks!!!

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error_911

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Hmmm, thats what I ended-up doing too (before I picked-up the Vantec rheostat), but it seemed like no one had anything above 5W. I even called a manufacturer and tried opening a reseller's account through my company to purchase stuff and I asked them if they had and they said no - and that if they didn't have it didn't exist in Montreal.. But yeah, they're still loud as hell... My friend came over after I got the fan controller and he was like "I thought it was supposed to be quiet now?" and yeah, I thought-so too. Mind you, I'm running two of 'em, but I had only one installed and it is definitely better than before, and I don't even know if i've run it full blast for anything usefull yet.. But my case is pretty loud to start with, though I've rudimentarily lined it with foam.. I've got a DVD-ROM, a 40Gig Maxtor 7,200rpm, a 1.5Gig WD Caviar 5,400rpm, a Vantec Aeroflow (31db) heatsink, a no-name PSU (which I'm upgrading soon), a Crystal Orb on my vid card, the two Tornados and a 120mm (105cfm/45db) fan over the chipset (in the side-panel window).. so yeah, I guess no matter what I do its going to stay loud huh?

Ahhh! It's 2003 and wait, whats this!? My computer didn't blow up! ... Well damn, there goes my new Athlon @ 333FSB and my inssurance claim... heheheh
 

svol

Champion
Yes they will. Anothere thing you can do is place a couple of rheostats in serie if you want to be able to run at full speed.

My PC eats so much money that I'm in 'desperate' need of it to buy PC3500 RAM, help Svol with his OC project!
--- PM me for information.