Fan help

[sufunk]

Ok, i bought 2 3' fans at my lfs to help cool my canopy. I get them home and open them and they have no plugs, just about 6 inches of wire with exposed ends???

I have ZERO knowledge of electronis and apparently need to hardwire these or something.

Anyone have any idea what i need to do?

Oh yeah, They are radio shack computer fans.

[Joshua1023]

Try to find the voltage printed on the fans or the packaging somewhere. If its 115 volt you could wire them directly to your lighting or if you are not comfortable w/ that you could get a replacement cord at the lhs and a few wire nuts and your done. A simple scavanged extension cord would serve your purpose as well.

The guys on the diy forum will have great answers if you come up dry here.

[DarthBaiter]

What Joshua said...plus if it is a DC fan you will need to get a transformer also. Might want to check with a local Radio Shack too.

On the middle of the fan it should tell you what power the fan uses.

[sufunk]

The packaging and fan says its, 120v, 60hz and 12 watts???

I dont know squat about electronis so wiring it to the lights is definitely out of the question. I'm pretty sure even i could wire it to a plug if thats all i need to do.

Is that all i have to do and the best option??

[Joshua1023]

Just wire it to a plug. If you want you could join the fans together on the same cord. All three whites together and all three blacks. You get the picture.

[LeeMc]

I understand your concern about wiring if you've never done it before. Perhaps a better Idea is to return the fans to Radio Shack for two with the power cords and plugs already installed for you. If the fans you have are for a computer they are low voltage DC fans. You will get better air flow (rated in cubic feet per minuite or cfm) with 120 volt units with a typical power cord.

[DarthBaiter]

You have the fans that Lee is recommending. You need to decide how you want the fans connected. If you want them to have a plug so you can put it in an outlet, you need to get an extension cord, cut it and connect the fan wires to each of the extension wire. Make sure you connect the same color fan wires, like Joshua says.

[AZDesertRat]

AC fans will probably be very noisy. You might reconsider, take them back and get two DC computer fans that will move just as much air but at milliwatts and 12v DC rather than 12 watts at 120v. DC fans like the 4" Vantec Stealth move 53 CFM at only 28 dBa sound. If you have an old cell phone charger or other 12v DC power supply you have everything else you will need. Fans are $12 at newegg.com here.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?SrchInDesc=120%20&Page=1&N=0&Submit=ENE&Nty=1&Description=vantec+&Ntk=all