JBJ Formosa DX Fan Mods?

Hello all,

I just received my JBJ Formosa DX PC lighting fixture. Man, what a difference from the crap I was running before.. Anyways.. the unit has 3 small built in fans for cooling. As many will attest these fans are pretty loud.. especially when trying to watch TV..

I was reading various articles/posts on the web looking for ideas on how to quiet them down or disconnect them.. etc. apparantly due to the fans short blade lengths the pitch has to be increased for maximum air movement. The increased pitch at high speed is what makes them loud.

One guy stated that his fans were loud (on a different unit) so he installed a ceiling fan control on it to adjust the speed of the fan. Lowering the rpm of the fans just slightly reduced the noise significantally and they still moved the heat out of the fixture.. I would imagine a suitable rehostat/potentiometer from radio shack would work and could be installed into the light fixture..

Do you guys think this would work? Anyone ever done it? I dont mind running the fans full speed at most times but would like to be able to turn them down during the evening.

Lemme know what you think.

Cheers,
Jerid

 

P.S.. I think a lot of computer gamers add fans with rehostats on their computers for adjustable cooling..

 

That sounds like it would work ok, But there are also Temperature controlled fans designed for computer use that may also be an option? They automatically increase fan speed when the temp rises, Just a thought................... John

http://cgi.ebay.com/6-80mm-COMPUTER...oryZ3673QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
WQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Update.. I took the fans off the fixture.. They are 12v DC fans and are sub 2" square.. I dont see any reason I cant put a potentiometer on them to slow them down.. I will go to radio shack and see what they say.. potentiometers are only a couple bucks a piece.

 

Ok... I did it.. installed 3 potentiometers. Posted a pic over in the DIY forum..


http://www.3reef.com/forums/i-made/...j-formosa-dx-power-compact-fixture-34825.html

 

dc vs ac

Just so everyone knows the trick. You can use a pot to reduce the speed of most dc fans but many fans are ac motors. Don't know what is most common in the hobby, but these ac motors would need a thyrister (silicon controlled rectifier or triac) to reduce the speed. Not something a novice should dyi. Just look at the nameplate to be sure which you have.