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12v camping / cooling fan, found

Submitted: Friday, Feb 02, 2007 at 06:26

Member - Arkay (SA)

Follow up on thread 41086. I purchased a 120mm Thermaltake Smart Case Fan II model A2029 from a computer parts shop. This 12v fan has 3 set-ups. Full speed 12v, speed of fan adjusted automatically by supplied temperature probe, or fan speed adjustable by supplied control knob. The full speed (2600rpm) moves the most air but is noisy, especially at night when all else is quiet. At a slower setting (lowest 800rpm) it moves sufficient air (max. 120.68CFM, minimum 35.20CFM) to be able to feel air movement but is quiet, and all sound / speed settings in between. Cost was $29-95. A speed control is essential IMHO.
I put 120mm fan guards on both sides of the fan (part No. YX2515 from Jaycar $3.50 each) to avoid chopped fingers. You also need to add a 12v cigarette lighter plug or a couple of crocodile clips to the power lead. We use a 12v 7ah SLA security system battery to power ours in the tent. In the test mode I ran the fan at home off this battery for 28hrs continuously and the battery voltage dropped from 12.6v or so to 12.4v or so. The specifications say it uses 0.08amps (slowest speed) to 0.48amps (full speed) which seems to be close to correct.
I made up 2 removeable (for packing) wooden clip on legs to give some forward to rear support to stop the fan blowing itself over backwards on faster speed settings, and to make the whole thing more stable. You could put the whole thing in a wooden or similar frame if you wanted to take the trouble.
SWMBO seems to be happy with the whole deal. Enuff said.
If you're not living on the edge you're taking up too much space
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AnswerID: 219176   Submitted: Friday, Feb 02, 2007 at 09:18

Member - Dedalus (SA) replied:

Good idea! Can you please send some pictures .... I'm sure I'm not the only person in this forum interessed ...!!!
Thanks!
Luca
Life is like a big cake! I dont know why ...
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FollowupID: 479955   Submitted: Saturday, Feb 03, 2007 at 09:26

Member - Arkay (SA) posted:

Sorry, no good at posting pictures. All the detail is in the text here. All you would see in a photo is the bare fan, with finger guard (grill) either side (the bolts & nuts are included with the fan), and a few loose wires joined together. As you are an SA person I'll add that I bought the fan at the IT Warehouse in Grote Street (some 15/30 min free parks available in Morphett St, or 1 hr parks right outside the shop if you're lucky). The Grill guards came from Jaycar in Wright St. Enjoy!
If you're not living on the edge you're taking up too much space
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AnswerID: 219180   Submitted: Friday, Feb 02, 2007 at 09:42

Im.away replied:

I'm happy for you that you've got a fan that will do the job. I'm wondering, though, why you didn't just buy an "off the shelf" 12 volt fan (you know the ones, just like the 240V jobby)?

When we were at Broome last Easter it got a tad hotter than we were expecting so we went to a local auto parts store and purchased two "ready to go" eight inch, 12V fans. They were complete with stands, guards, cabling, on-off switch and connectors.

They were around $45.00 at Broome, so that would be around $35.00 anywhere else and they work a treat. They draw about an amp when flat chat and create a miniature cyclone, so we only ended up using one. I have since used a couple of variable speed contollers out of a couple of old cordles drills so that we can set the speed we want - but it wasn't all that necessary to do so.

Just my 2c worth.

Cheers

Russ
Reply 2 of 3
FollowupID: 479846   Submitted: Friday, Feb 02, 2007 at 18:56

Member - Arkay (SA) posted:

The brushless computer fans are more electrically efficient i.e. 0.08 amps to max 0.48 amps (specifications on box). I estimated actual use at quiet speed as between 0.1 and 0.2 amps. That is between 10 and 5 times less power used than "about an amp". Our 7ah SLA battery would last at least 4 nights use for 10 hours a night, and up to 12 nights for 10 hours a night run quietly just "moving" some air, before needing recharging. That's why I didn't go for a ready made off the shelf 12v fan (as per K-Mart, or similar).
Use LED clusters for lights instead of Krypton globes or similar for the same reason.
If you're not living on the edge you're taking up too much space
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AnswerID: 219445   Submitted: Saturday, Feb 03, 2007 at 12:49

zha zha cruiser replied:

What about using a normal 240 volt fan with an inverter? Would that drain more or less power from the battery via the 12 volt plug
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FollowupID: 480021   Submitted: Saturday, Feb 03, 2007 at 16:55

Tim HJ61 (WA) posted:

zha zha

plenty of other posts on the efficiency of invertors, but you're not going to get something for nothing - especially out of a battery. You lose energy through the invertor. 240v rooms fans move a lot of air but also have a pretty decent current draw. All is okay if you have heaps of battery capacity and don't want to run fan for too long and are not camping in one spot for too long i.e not running batteries down.

240v fans would be okay for a powered campsite; low volume low current fans would be just the thing for inside a camper or tent where a little bit of air movement would go a long way to making life more comfortable.

Tim

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