How to hook up heatsink fans

[dunc101]

I just ordered my DIY LED kit from rapid led, but I just realized that I do not know how to properly hook up the fans that come with the heatsinks.
I know that I can use an external power adapter to hook them up with the kit that they provide, but I would rather not have ANOTHER power source to plug in.... Can I hook the fans up with the meanwell dimmable (ELN-60-48D) driver? I also have an APEX, could I hook it directly up to the APEX?

Below is the fan and specs:
92mm Vantec Stealth Fan
* Model SF9225L
* Dimensions: 92 x 92 x 25mm
* 12V DC power required
* Fan speed: 1750 RPM
* Air Flow: 28 CFM
* Noise Level: 20 dBA

Thanks.

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Can I hook the fans up with the meanwell dimmable (ELN-60-48D) driver?

Nope.

I also have an APEX, could I hook it directly up to the APEX?

Probably not.

The fan requires a DC voltage to run. It's spec'd at 12v but will likely work fine down to at least 9v, if you want it to run a little slower (and quieter).

If you have an appropriate DC power supply for some other equipment on your system, you may be able to wire the fan to that source, as long as it has a sufficient current capacity to accommodate the fan (you didn't list the fan's current in the specs you gave, but it's likely stamped on the fan itself).

Otherwise, yeah, time for another power supply.

[Mike31154]

My build is somewhat different than yours and not really a solution, but thought the info might come in handy since it's first hand experience. I've done a 10 watt chip array build with a heatsink/fan for each LED & rather than wire them separately, I decided to solder the fan leads directly to the LED terminals. Like yourself, I'm attempting to save on extra wiring & hardware as far as this is feasible. The heatsinks come with the fans which run on 12VDC. The reason I went with 10 watt LED arrays is that most of them require in the neighborhood of 9 to 12VDC forward voltage to run at maximum current of 900-1000mA. I have a 250watt 12VDC power supply providing power to the fixture through manual dimmers. As I mentioned, somewhat different than your set up & you'll need a separate power supply to run your fan, since meanwell drivers won't provide the voltage/current to properly drive your fan. DWZM has pretty much spelled out your options in that regard.

I decided to give my scenario a try & so far it's working well. Worst case I can cut the fan leads off the LEDs, rewire them to a dedicated 12VDC supply & run them at full speed. At the moment, since the fans are slaved to the LEDs, they run slower when I dial the voltage down & faster when I bump it up. The drawback is that if I start the LEDs on a very dim setting in the morning, the fans need a kick start to get them turning. Once running they will keep spinning with the voltage all the way down to approx. 3 volts, albeit very slowly. Fortunately at that voltage, the LEDs don't need the fans since the heatsinks handle the minimal heat produced at that setting. Once the voltage is up around 5 to 6 volts, the fans spin at a good speed. As far as noise, I've actually found that the fans are quieter at full speed. Some of them have a mildly irritating whine at low to medium speed which disappears when they're closer to running full bore.

Looks like the fan you're needing to run is somewhat larger, so it will more than likely require a voltage closer to 12 volts (like DWZM says, 9 volts or higher) to get the mass turning, so again, my hookup is not a good comparison, just to give you an idea what happens under somewhat similar circumstances.

Here are some photos. My setup is a parallel hookup with the power supply providing a regulated DC voltage to each individual LED/Heatsink/Fan combo. I find it much simpler than the constant current, series hookups more commonly used to DIY the 3watt LEDs.
https://public.blu.livefilestore.com/y1ph4OJo9E6BTUoY53nBzUnClLmlvFIR-UKRd6itl8Y1xuHqFqN-lNKXbWGyqzAVwIJVOwmk6cTX9kr9xJJ42BIKw/P1040642e2.JPG?psid=1
https://public.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pymRzF_lvjXp2GP8KQXTuHISu9YYGiQRT1V-i-HKTiu-5FThAcC5RGtifeYXLnpBBsEYqpVeXaJgCzQWdYHQb4A/P1040678e.JPG?psid=1

[dunc101]

OK, thank you, DWZM! I'll just have to use another power source then. Good thing I have my birds nest hidden now =) (built a cabinet for it a couple of weeks ago). This will make a total of about 13 different power plugs on my 90 now.

[dunc101]

Very nice, Mike! Thank you for the response.

[reefergeorge]

My .02 I run 120v ac fans jumpered off the input of the meanwells. If I was running dc, I would add a pot to slow it down if noise is an issue.

[drtrash]

I don't see why you can't run it off the 10v supply for pot

[Sonny n Colleen]

Grab a plug in cell phone charger you don't use anymore, cut the end off, find the power wires (confirm voltage) and you have a power supply for your fans. That or go to Radio Shack and pick up a 12 VDC plug in converter. Most plug in power supplies for electronics are usually 10-12 VDC. Look at the tag on the plug in and it should show you voltage and which wires are + and -.

[NirvanaFan]

Grab a plug in cell phone charger you don't use anymore, cut the end off, find the power wires (confirm voltage) and you have a power supply for your fans. That or go to Radio Shack and pick up a 12 VDC plug in converter. Most plug in power supplies for electronics are usually 10-12 VDC. Look at the tag on the plug in and it should show you voltage and which wires are + and -.

Most cell phone chargers including Samsung, most Nokia, iPhone, etc. are 5v so they can charge over USB. Using one of them may spin the fans, but lots of fans won't spin at a voltage that low. Find a 9-12v one to be sure.

[gpx1200]

my local wallmart has 600 and 1200ma dc power suplys with an adjustable voltage switch that could be used as a speed controle for about 12$, you could wire several fans to this one power suply and they have a small standard size wall plug with a seperate transformer so it doesn't take up a bunch of spaces on the power strip

[drtrash]

For me is the issue that the power for fan would have to take up another plug on controller or it will be on all the time.