Humidor Fans for Dummies!!

[Smokin Gator]

Alright... I have the new to me tower humidor and I can tell I want some fans to even out the temp and humidity from top to bottom when the humidification device isn't on.

I can do a lot of things, but I am dunce when it comes to electrical. I would really appreciate it if someone would make a materials list and a detailed set of instructions on how to do three computer type fans set up an a timer. I do have electrical outlets in the humi.

Thanks in advance.

[XTRazzer]

I believe shilala has a very clean way of doing this. You may want to PM him.

[aich75013]

Here's what I did in my Vinotemp.

1 computer fan (3v)
1 power supply (3V) I don't remember what it was from, but I always hang on to power supplies. I think it was from an old cell phone. You want the voltage to be as close as possible. You want the amps to be atleast as much as the fan needs. More is ok.
1 household timer

I stripped the wires and connected them to the fan. Just twisted them together for now. And plugged it in. I think if you have them swapped, that it won't work. Once I knew I had it wired correctly, I soldered them together and put some shrink tubing on them. That is not necessary. You could just put some electrical tape on it once they are twisted together.

I then used a household timer that I already had. I set it to go on/off for 45 min every 2 hours. It has dipswitches so it made setting the time easy.

[MrOneEyedBoh]

yeah get a pc fan make a mount somehow and just get an old cell charger and solder the leads from the charger to the fan and heatshrink. Bam, humidor fan. I would get like 100mm to 120mm and run it at like 3-5v ( most chargers are this anyway ) and that thing will purr and run under its specs so it wouldnt be loud at all.

[bobarian]

Have you tried taking an Rh reading inside boxes? The Rh of the air means nothing. I would bet that you will find less than a 5% difference between top and bottom readings when measured inside boxes or drawers. Be sure and take two readings and then switch hygrometers and take two additional readings.

Several people have wired computer fans to remedy this "problem"

[DBall]

As a word of caution:

I have a tower and installed 3 120v fans in it... the RH dropped about 15-20 points in no time (I guess it exploited leaks in my cabinet that don't really matter when the fans are off).

[MrOneEyedBoh]

Ahh never thought that Dball. Makes sense though. OP you might want to consider those oust fans are they push a bit of air, but better than nothing.

[Bubba - NJ]

I have a fan built as noted above that I used to run in my coolidor . Saving it for a cabinet humi someday . The heat shrink tubing really cleans the wires up . In place of solder I think I used crimp on connectors from Radio Shack . I don't know how to solder wires yet , gonna learn real soon .

[XTRazzer]

Some other thoughts:
You can actually buy a power supply to have a 12v molex connector for computer fans. These runs about $10 to $15 but it would be plug-and-play. If you want more than one fan, just add a splitter. One caution is the power supply will likely put out more heat than a wall plug (phone charger).

[shilala]

I did a step by step "how to" somewhere.
Low speed is where it's at. I just want to move a little air, not create a hurricane.
I think that's what happened to Dan.
I use 3 speed computer fans and run them at low speed powered by an ac adapter.
Otherwise I run them at 5 volts off a power rail on a cpu power supply, or off a 6 or 9 volt power supply (a wall wart or ac adapter, whatever you wanna cal them).
My favorite is to stack a pair of 3 speed fans, add grills to each side, and power them off of a big 12 volt ac adapter. It sits around like a fan brick and I can keep the speed real low.
I use one like that in a wine fridge that I use for drinks so that ice doesn't form on the back of the fridge. Works awesome.
It works just as good in a vino or cabinet humi or whatever.
I run mine 24/7. I have no idea why anyone would want a fan to cycle on and off in a controlled environment, or where that idea comes from, but it's completely unessessary and goes against every air conditioning principle ever created.
I'm just saying.

could you please post some pics up for us?

Thanks!

[shilala]

Originally Posted by whodeeni

could you please post some pics up for us?

Thanks!

I did a whole bunch of threads here on fans. The pics are all here already.
If I can find them, I'll link them up.

[thebayratt]

Here is mine:
1. I got an AC variable voltage convertor from Walmart for about $14. (See 2nd to last pic) I cut the end off & stripped back the insulation from the AC adapter and the wires I had previously ran through the drain of the Vino. The wire with the white stripe is the ground which will be soldered to the black wire running from the fan.
I got an 8pk of various diameter 4" length heatshrink tubing from Lowe's for $1.98. Cut with scissors (knives do not work, use scissors) and slide the heat-shrink tubing over one wire. You don't need much, just enough to cover the joint and a little more for the sides. Solder the joints together for a good connection.
A soldering gun from Radio Shack with a small starter kit is only $10. I had one but lost it, so I grabbed another one. Soldering irons are hot and can burn you and anything else the business end comes in contact with! Helpful hints: make sure to test your connections before you heatshrink them and to put the heatshrink tubing on one side of the joint before you solder the connection.

2. I found another good use for a Jet Lite....... Heat source! If you don't have a heatgun a butane lighter will work just as good. Slide the tubing over the seal, and heat with the lighter. You don't want to get too close to the tubing or it will burn/melt. It only takes a second to seal the deal. I went from one in to the other to avoid any wrinkles or creases on the tubing.

3. Now the wires in the Vino (ran through the drain) are to be stripped. Slide the heatshrink tubing to one set of wires and solder the wires together (the fan & the power supply wires ran through the VIno drain). Heat the heatshrink tubing with my Jet-lite and that is done.
The black wire with the white stripe from the convertor to the black wire ran from the fan. The red wire from the fan to the solid black wire from the convertor.

4. I bought a digital timer that as 20 on/off times for $9 at Lowe's. You can program it down to on for only one minute or for however long you want. Even by the days/weekends which is pointless for what I am using it for. The timer is an Intermatic DT300



5. I got two 80mm fans from Newegg.com for $1.49 each.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835150007

6. I cut the connectors off the end of the wires and stripped off the insulation. The yellow wire is not used. When connected to your computer, it tells the fan controller how fast the fan is spinning. I just cut it back father off into the braided jacket that covers the wires.

7. I had a scrap piece of 1x4 and cut it to about 14" long. I sanded it on all sides and put a rounded edge on it for looks. I then put two coats of stain on it. Stain,wait 15 mins, wipe off excess, stain, wait 15 mins, and finally wipe off excess and let dry.
Later on I will use a piece of Red Cedar so it will match the drawer fronts. Basically this is a temporary piece to see how it works and what bugs need to be worked out.
I set the fans where I wanted them on the board and made small pilot holes for the machine screws I got to go through to attach the fans to the board with. Then I took a #8 countersink bit and made some counter sink holes so the heads of the screws will not stick out on the bottom of the board.
I got 8- #8x3" Round head machine screws, nuts, and 1" nylon spacers. Put the screws through the board with the head on the bottom of the board in the countersink.

8. Then turned the board over, put on the 8- 1" spacers, sat the fans onto the screws, put the nuts onto the screws, and tightened them down. The spacers allow for air movement.



9. I ran the wire from one fan to the next fan and Cut them off at the same length. I soldered the red wires together and the black wires together. I then had some small metal hammer in stapples and put two down over the wires on the board to stop them from moving around too much.

3. (pic used again) Solder the wires to the fan from the line ran through the drain and heat shrinked the joint. Helpful hints: make sure to test your connections before you heatshrink them and to put the heatshrink tubing on before you solder the connection.

11. Here is the temporary set-up till I change the wood to a piece of stained Red Cedar.
I have to secure the wires somewhat better, one set rose up and stopped a fan.
I chose to run one in the front and one in the back to push the humidity towards the middle and top layers.









Any questions/ comments I'm willing to answer/listen!

[eber]

^^^ nice setup, I agree with Scott, why is there a need to have the fans switched to run/shut off etc... as long as they aren't blowing directly onto your cigars why couldn't they just run all the time?

[thebayratt]

I think the timer theory started with the Oust fans being set to an internal timer and people just ran with it. Aren't the Hydra fans on timers or are they constantly on? Im not sure.
Maybe if the fans are constantly on the RH would just be blown to the top and them eventually forced back down by the "new" air being pushed up from the fans. Similar to a whirpool type effect. Thats my theory....

[tedrodgerscpa]

<-- Another guy who runs fans 24/7

Lower voltage = lower speed. Just enough to even out the swing in upper and lower cabinet humidity.