Fan Controller for 3 x Sanyo Ace H101's?

[scottsee]

I've orderd 3 x Sayno Ace H101's fans for my Coolmaster RC 690 and need help getting a fan controller.

I was looking at the Lamptron FC-2, but the more I read about it the more mixed reviews and opinions i see. The Syno Ace H101 is rated at 6.24 watts with an opperating range of 10.2 - 13.8volts. My other fans are just the stock 1200rpm case fans and a Scythe mugen-2 fan that shouldn't dray more then 6w's. I would really like a 6 channel controller, I would go with a 4 channel though If I could ues 2 x H101's on one channel without harm/issue I wouldn't mind. I would just daisy chain the 2 top exhaust fans on one channel, and the 2 H101's cpu/exhaust fans on another. that would leave me 2 indipendent intake/fan channels for fiddling with intake airflow.. What do you think?

The FC-2 is rated at 45w or 60w per channel with is way, way more then I need, I'm getting pretty scatter brained about this, so any insite on how to shop for these controllers would be helpfull.

[ascl]

Sunbeam Rheobus Extreme has 6 channels at 30watts per channel. My only complaint with it is the very bright LEDs (which are easily changed or removed, or even painted to reduce the brightness).

[scottsee]

I've been reading about how rediculasly britght those controllers are.

Do you know how I would caculate if it were ok to run 2 of these fans in parrallel on one channel? Is it true it will cause the fans to split the 12v source and run only 6v each? Or does it just cause the channel to draw more power from the powersupply? Because they opperate at a minimum of 10v each..

[ascl]

If they are in series, then it should be roughly voltage x current == watts per fan. I think that running them in parallel should mean they run at 6v each (and hence probably not start).

Why would you want to run them in parallel? Just hook em up in series. The 3600 RPM San Ace's I have are 12v 0.52A, which should mean they draw just over 6 watts (the startup requirements may be higher, so some head room is probably good). If they are in series the controller should provide the full range of 0v to 12v.


EDIT: FFS I got that totally around the wrong way didn't I? serves me right for posting late at night.

[slim142]

Yeah the Rheobus has 2 complains from me.

1) You cant change the brightness unless you mod it
2) There is no LCD screen

[scottsee]

I guess I don't know what in series and parallel means.. I'll look it up..

[celemine1Gig]

Parallel = same voltage for all fans, but more current due to more fans being connected. And P=U*I per fan, which adds up if you use more than one.
Series = voltage divider = roughly 1/2 of the voltage for each fan as long as you use 2 fans of the same model of fans. ~1/3 of the voltage for 3 and so on. The needed power would of course decrease that way as the fans would run at a max. voltage much lower than the stock 12V and P=U*I still remains. The current will also decrease with the voltage, that's how it is with fans. At lower voltages(less rpm), the motor needs less current to spin the rotor-blades.


The rating of 6.24W is the peak that the fans will draw. That means 3 of these in PARALLEL will use roughly 18.72W(peak) and a little less at max. speed. And again way less when you tune down the voltage. But remember, at start up the fans will draw the full 6W for a moment, regardless of what voltage you have them set to.

That should answer you question.

[ecidious]

From personal experience with these fans you need to feed them a real change in voltage, not PWM such as with the FC-2 (which causes the fans to click louder than they were on full blast).

[scottsee]

@ celemine1Gig: Wow, that was a great discription of what both represent.. So, wich way is better to connect (2) of these H101's? Parellel or Series?

@ ecidious: So the FC-2 causes the fans to click? Can you recomend a safe - non clicking controller that will feed a real change in voltage? (whats PWM?)

From what I got out of this it looks like any controller rated for 20w will be enough to supply the power nessessary to run 2 for these fans on one channel with ease. I was at the zoo today with the kids, so I didn't have any time to look around the review sites at controllers or read about parellel/series fan info.. Thanks for the info guys.. This stuff is harder then I was expecting. I'm still confused though, It really dosen't seem like there is a general consensis out there about what fan controler will handle these fans and wich ones won't... On top of that, it dosen't seem like there is any "great" controllers that are out now. I wish I knew what I were doing, I'd feel a little more secure with my decision making when it comes down to buying one..

[celemine1Gig]

Parallel means connecting the Plus-wires (mostly red in color) of the fans to the same voltage source and the Negative-Wires (also known as GND and mostly black in color) again together to the same GND-point. That is what controllers do (current limited voltage source). They have one source per channel and a few connectors in parallel to plug in the fans. That way all the connected fans get the same voltage, regardless of their inner resistance.

You don't want to connect any fans in series, normally, as you will never get a perfect voltage divider with fans. That means the inner resistance of each fan is a bit different(in the same model that is; of course it is much different in different series and/or brands and so on), which again means the following: If you use 2 fans for example, and you expect them to each get 6V from a 12V source, then you are WRONG. There will be variations in the voltage that each fan ends up with. To exaggerate a bit, it could be 5V for the one and 7V for the other fan. That again would result in one being much louder than the other and I doubt that that would be what you are looking for. Right?

So, take my advice: Parallel is the normal way to go and in nearly all cases also the better way.

[scottsee]

Advice taken.

[scottsee]

So, if these fans don't take well to a PWM style fan controller, what controllers are out there that don't use PWM?