# Fan Speed Control...



## Peter B. (Feb 19, 2012)

To keep this 'on topic', I'll lie and say I want this for a wood stove blower.

But in reality...

I'd like to be able to vary the speed of one or two fans I have - a table fan with a (3) speed control of its own, and a wall furnace fan with a (2) speed selection.  Both plug into a typical 110V outlet.

Mainly, I'm hoping to reduce the noise the fans make.

I've been looking at these, because you can simply 'plug and play' without any additional wiring. 

http://www.amazon.com/SE-Electronic-Stepless-Speed-Controller/dp/B000HQAVNI/ref=pd_sim_sbs_ol_1

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-ACSC-Duct-Speed-Adjuster/dp/B003URBQ1M/ref=pd_sim_sbs_ol_3

Would either of these be okay to use with the fans I have in mind?

Would they - also - work for a wood stove / insert blower?

Can anyone offer a better suggestion?

Thanks...

Peter B.

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## WoodpileOCD (Feb 19, 2012)

I'll help you keep this on topic and keep it from getting kicked to general forum.   The fan on my Buck seems to only go from med to high with the rheostat setting.  It says low to high but the low setting is way higher than I would like.  So my question is whether or not one of these can be hooked up in front of a rheostat to slow the fan down some?  

Been wondering this for awhile but haven't posted it.   Any other Buck brothers or sisters have this issue with their fans.   I would love to run it low and slow a lot of times.


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## Ehouse (Feb 19, 2012)

I think your best bet is to call the manufacturer to see if the units are compatible to avoid a fire or electrical hazard.  Get the information from the tag on the fan motor ready.  I was able to connect a Vari-speed fan control and operate continuously on a 40,000btu unit heater with the manufacturer's blessing.  You can waste a lot of money and damage your equipment or worse by hooking up various control devices to see if they'll work.

Ehouse


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## begreen (Feb 19, 2012)

This will depend on how the motor is wired. In Peter's case these motors may have two windings. If so, a motor speed control may not be advisable. I would expect this with the wall furnace fan. That is also a risky one to tamper with. Without enough airflow, the unit may overheat. Not sure about the table fan, but am surprised that it is noisy on low speed. Our 12" table fan is so quiet that sometimes I have gone to bed forgetting to turn it off. But then again, my hearing is not what it used to be.


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## Peter B. (Feb 21, 2012)

Sorry to be slow to get back to this... and thanks for the (disappointing) replies.

Use of the furnace blower is optional... and I don't use it because of the noise... but I don't suppose I'm getting all the heat I could if I _did_ use the fan.

Attached is the blower motor circuit diagram (sorry about the image quality).  I'm guessing a three wire motor will have two windings as BeGreen suggests (?).

The table fan was hoped to be wall mounted above the furnace... but it's also loud enough to be annoying, even at low speed.

Yes, I'm a little 'fussy' about extraneous noise.  The fridge sometimes drives me crazy.  It's the only other noise producing item in the house, except entertainment devices.

If any other suggestions arise, I'm all ears.

Thanks Again.

PB

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## maverick06 (Feb 21, 2012)

I use the "SE Electronic Stepless Speed Controller " on a  box fan at work. with this I can slow down the fan until there is zero noise off of it when it sits under my desk. The fan its self has a high and a low setting on it. I leave the fan set to high, then control the power with the speed control . 

The same one is only $19.99 at harborfreight: http://www.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html  I think i got it on sale years ago for $13.... I was originally concerned with its compatibility with the motor... but now with so much run time on it (years) i figured its pretty darn happy.


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## taxidermist (Feb 21, 2012)

maverick06 said:
			
		

> I use the "SE Electronic Stepless Speed Controller " on a  box fan at work. with this I can slow down the fan until there is zero noise off of it when it sits under my desk. The fan its self has a high and a low setting on it. I leave the fan set to high, then control the power with the speed control .
> 
> The same one is only $19.99 at harborfreight: http://www.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html  I think i got it on sale years ago for $13.... I was originally concerned with its compatibility with the motor... but now with so much run time on it (years) i figured its pretty darn happy.




I use this same one with a large shop fan.

Rob


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## granpajohn (Feb 21, 2012)

Sounds like HF wins again, but...
...I used this with my old insert and was very happy with it:  http://www.northlineexpress.com/item/5SA-4008/Dial-A-Temp-Rheostat
Still $20.


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## Peter B. (Feb 23, 2012)

Thanks for the additional replies...

I think I may well try one of the speed controls... the suggestion of setting the fan to high with the 'native' control, then using the rheostat to limit speed seems like a fairly safe bet.

But since I'm not using the furnace fan _anyway_ at this point, it's sort of no loss proposition if I burn up the blower motor.

We'll see.

PB

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## planner steve (Nov 5, 2015)

maverick06 said:


> I use the "SE Electronic Stepless Speed Controller " on a  box fan at work. with this I can slow down the fan until there is zero noise off of it when it sits under my desk. The fan its self has a high and a low setting on it. I leave the fan set to high, then control the power with the speed control .
> 
> The same one is only $19.99 at harborfreight: http://www.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html  I think i got it on sale years ago for $13.... I was originally concerned with its compatibility with the motor... but now with so much run time on it (years) i figured its pretty darn happy.


I bought one of these to use with a box fan that I blow towards the woodstove.  Does indeed slow down the fan, but makes an annoying electrical hum that is worse than the fan noise.  Does it do this with all fans?  If so, I'm taking it back.


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## woodgeek (Nov 7, 2015)

I had to replace the rheostat on my '35 yo stove' blower last month.

I am pretty good with EE, and I found the available info on the internet confusing....with lots saying a new rheostat it would def work or def not work.  I decided to get a $30 stove blower speed control on EBay, as a 'gamble'.  It worked fine.

One thing important: there was a 'trim pot' adjustment on the controller, that allowed the minimum speed to be adjusted.  That was really nice.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/161695586306?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

So, @WoodpileOCD, you should check yours and see if you can adjust the speed range.


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