12v camping fan
Submitted: Monday, Dec 18, 2006 at 23:09
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zad
I'm going away to DI point up here in SE-Qld for a week or so leaving boxing day. I like a bit of a breeze on me whilst I sleep (especially in this summer heat, then factor in sunburnt skin, etc) and last time I went
camping (geez it'd be 12 months by now - done a bit of o/seas travelling this year instead) I had a little fan made up of a computer case fan, a bit of speaker wire, and a cigarette type plug on the end to have in the tent and run off the car battery. It was better than nothing - enough to evaporate the constant sheet of sweat over my body, and there was no chance of it draining the car battery overnight. I want something a bit more powerful this time. Coleman sell a tent fan that takes 4 x D cell battery's and is supposed to last 20 hours on full power.
Well thats less than 3 nights so replacing the D cells would work out to be pretty expensive. I've come to thinking of the old 12v fans you used to see screwed to the dashboards of old Kingswoods and the like. They are plenty powerful enough but I'm worried, as I don't have a dual battery system in my Grand Vitara, that one would drain through my battery within a night leaving me having to rely on a jump start the next morning.
Does anyone have any experience here? If that idea is no good, what are some other ideas?
cheers,
Darrin
Reply By: Member - Phillip S (WA) - Monday, Dec 18, 2006 at 23:29
Monday, Dec 18, 2006 at 23:29
Hey Darrin....You won't believe what I spotted the other day in a
camping store but a 12 volt evaporative cooler........might just what you need....has a big turbo fan...you might want to plumb it into your grand vitara engine for more boost...lol.
regards Phil.
AnswerID:
211111
Follow Up By: TerraFirma - Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006 at 13:23
Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006 at 13:23
12v Evaporative Cooler..?? please tell me more..? Brand etc etc, where available
FollowupID:
471228
Follow Up By: Jimbo - Saturday, Dec 23, 2006 at 19:05
Saturday, Dec 23, 2006 at 19:05
The only 12v evap cooler I know of is a "Lion" brand that is about as useful as hip pockets on your jocks.
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471989
Reply By: joc45 - Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006 at 00:34
Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006 at 00:34
Hi Darryn,
You need to drop the volts from 12v to 6v. Not sure what the current consumption of the Coleman fan is, but if it's less than half an amp, then a cheap voltage dropper comes in the form of a cigarette-lighter battery charger for your mobile. These are obtainable from Strathfield's bargain bin quite cheaply (bought one a while ago for $5). These are a switching regulator and can deliver 6-7v at about 0.5A, with reasonably high efficiency.
Alternatively, if you're handy constructing electronics, Oatley Electronics sell a power supply kit, normally used for powering Luxeon LEDs, which is basically the same circuit as above, for about $10. That will deliver about 0.8A at 5v and can be easily modified to lift the voltage out.
Over to you!
Gerry
AnswerID:
211117
Reply By: Peter - Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006 at 08:28
Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006 at 08:28
Why not try NMhi aa Batteries in the Coleman thing. You can get converters for batteries to make them fit where larger batteries go. Basically a tube that you side the aa battery into. Then all you need is a small battery charger the runs on 12 v.
These are all easily available from
places such as Jaycar
Peter s
AnswerID:
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Reply By: flappa - Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006 at 08:50
Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006 at 08:50
Worst case , Run the fan off a battery pack from Supercheap.
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211139
Reply By: Member - Arkay (SA) - Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006 at 10:37
Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006 at 10:37
Saw one in K-Mart the other day, in automotive section. 12v about 8" with a snap-dragon clamp on base, Think it was less than $25. May be cheaper in after Xmas sales all over the country, if they have stock. Thinking about it myself.
Another alternative would be a small 240v 2 speed fan (about $10 around the place) and use low powered 12/240 inverter. Reckon these would pull 1 to 2 amps.
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Follow Up By: joc45 - Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006 at 13:11
Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006 at 13:11
Hi Arkay,
Sadly, the cheap 240v fans are a shaded-pole induction motor technology, and not as efficient as others - whereas the brushless 12v computer fans are very efficient. The more expensive 240v capacitor-run induction motor fans are more efficient than shaded pole motors, but it might have power-factor problems with your inverter.
The Kmart version sounds better and is probably a cheap DC brush motor, but check the current consumption - should be printed on the box.
Gerry
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Reply By: Wizard2 - Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006 at 17:18
Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006 at 17:18
Fitted two 12 volt oscillating fans from Whitworths marine ($25 each). They only draw 1.4 amps and have excellant air flow, right up there with a 240 V fan. SWMBO rates them as one of the best mods in the van.
You can check them out on their website.
AnswerID:
211211
Reply By: Grungle - Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006 at 22:15
Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006 at 22:15
Hi Darrin,
Just hooked up a 12 volt fan earlier to see current draw - 1.2 Amps. Not that high and it really gets the air moving as
well. It is pretty old so would not be that efficient. I would look around to find what is currently on the market and compare current draw.
I will probably stick a couple fans in the camper as it can get pretty sticky here in the tropics.
I also had a computer fan connected to the back of an Engel which drew 0.5 Amps It didn't throw out much air really but it was enough to bring the cycle time of the fridge down.
With regards to power options, I would suggest the cheap jump starter packs you can get from Super Cheap. If you turn the fan on at around 9pm and stop at 6am thats 9 hours of drain at 1.2 amps equals 10.8 Amps for the night. A small battery could handle this easily and recharge quickly off the alternator the next day. You could even get 2-3 days between recharges.
Regards
David
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211268
Follow Up By: Member - michael H (NSW) - Wednesday, Dec 20, 2006 at 11:11
Wednesday, Dec 20, 2006 at 11:11
Hi Darrin
Just ordered a 12 volt fan from Springers in Queensland on Mon 18th Arrived on my doorstep early this morning $119.00 + freight. Draws .59 amps (catalogue says .4 amp packaging says .59amp) pretty happy with the service this time of year
Cheers Michael
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Follow Up By: Member - Andrew (QLD) - Saturday, Dec 23, 2006 at 18:44
Saturday, Dec 23, 2006 at 18:44
haha....i have one of those Caframo fans and they actually say 0.44A on the side of the fan :-)
I summise it could be possibly due to a low setting being 0.3A (their statement), high being 0.59A (your statement), with 0.44A being the average! I should double-
check one day :-)
Andrew
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471986
Reply By: zad - Saturday, Dec 23, 2006 at 17:54
Saturday, Dec 23, 2006 at 17:54
Thank-you for your attention and advice everyone.
I went to K-Mart and bought a 12v car fan for $20. Tried it in the
carpark after I bought it and geez it was noisy!!! I'm a sort of person who'll usually sleep through a flash flood in a tent but I don't think even I could get to sleep with that fan. So took it back. Bit the bullet and went to the
camping shop and picked up this fan from Coleman: Site Link
It works very
well, and even has a built in light so will be very handy. Just have to resign myself to buying D cell batteries for it though until I sort something out to step down from 12v to 6v. Oh I have seen those things that convert AA size battery's to be used in D cell appliances, but you wouldn't get long out of them would you?
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211811