Powering a 12v fan via 5v USB

[m4gicfour]

Not with a desktop PSU, no. He is however using a NETBOOK.

If he uses an external power brick, those tend to only have 3 pins in the molex end. If the missing ground pin is the one on the 12v side....

 

[Toothless]

This @m4gicfour

The fan would be plugged directly into the controller. Not fan > controller > board.
I'm thinking inside the case now.

 

[m4gicfour]

Okay, I see. It looks like that's just a cable to connect your controller to the mobo in order to report RPM, yes?

In that case, you *might* need to leave the cable it came with plugged in depending how it's wired.

From what I can tell from the photo, it looks like it would be fine to plug the fan in directly.

 

[Toothless]

Awesome. I'll give it a try in a few.

 

[peche]

Basically what the title says, but will there be any issues besides the fan spinning slowly?

What do you want to do with?
i use old PSU fans and also old 120mm / 80mm/ Fans for making heat blowers for air fresheners, via USB,

i have done tons of USB fans, they not work as fast as 12V ones but they are OK for refreshing the air near your hands at desktop for example, also they look nice
Regards,

Take a look:

 

[m00k]

All the fans that will spin will be slower than at 12 V, and some will not even start.

To get the fans to work as if they were on 12V you will need a boost converter from 5V to 12V Like this one

This one has a USB connection on it

Sorry for the thread revival but hoping for some help along the same lines, I want to run two 80mm fans as efficiently and cheaply as possible in my garage. They will be running constantly

Will one of those 5v - 12v converters run two off one connection or best to run one for each fan?

Or any other recommendations?

Thanks

 

[eidairaman1]

Sorry for the thread revival but hoping for some help along the same lines, I want to run two 80mm fans as efficiently and cheaply as possible in my garage. They will be running constantly

Will one of those 5v - 12v converters run two off one connection or best to run one for each fan?

Or any other recommendations?

Thanks

I don't think you want to overload it, 5v is pretty low.

 

[Vario]

I run a Koolance 120mm fan on a 7 volt AC adapter for the past 2.5 years 24/7 to cool my modem and router. Works great.

 

[Brusfantomet]

The easiest solution would be to use a mains (230V or 110 V) to 12V converter, since they are dirt cheap

If you want to run it from a USB port, check the fan rating, 1A at 5V is 5W, while its 0,41 A at 12V, factor in some losses in the converter and you are looking at 0,4A at 12V, so if the fans draw less than 0,2 A each it should be fine to use one of those.
If on the other hand you have a Delta rated at several amps then you will need a 230V to 12V thing.

 

[m00k]

I'm not particularly great on specs and power ratings

But basically if I can get two of these to run

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152430563634

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131578409320

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/311253580924

Would that seem plausible?

I'm happy enuff with soldering connections etc

Just need two USB plugs two step up's and two fans?

That won't cost the earth to run 24/7?

 

[Toothless]

So after a while of working on stuff, I came to this for you @m00k

Get a phone charger, like an outlet to USB, USB cable and cut the non-USB end off. Get a 3-pin fan splitter and run the two fans off all that. It'll keep the power required and is pretty easy to DIY yourself.

 

[Brusfantomet]

I'm not particularly great on specs and power ratings

But basically if I can get two of these to run

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152430563634

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131578409320

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/311253580924

Would that seem plausible?

I'm happy enuff with soldering connections etc

Just need two USB plugs two step up's and two fans?

That won't cost the earth to run 24/7?

that fan draws 0,14 A at 12V, so using two should be no problem.

But a 230V to 12V adapter in stead of the phone charger and converter is cheaper and can power more than ten of that fan.

 

[m00k]

that fan draws 0,14 A at 12V, so using two should be no problem.

But a 230V to 12V adapter in stead of the phone charger and converter is cheaper and can power more than ten of that fan.

Have you any links to what I would need by chance?

 

[Brusfantomet]

try clicking on the text "230V to 12V", its a link.

you will also need something to cut wires with, something to strip insulation of the wire with and a soldering iron.
Having a multimeter will also be handy, but is not necessary.

Also note that the exact fan you linket to will run at 5V, but slower than it will on 12V

 

[m00k]

Yeah handy enuff with soldering iron side of things just not sure which converter I would need

With what I'm planning it might be as handy to do the USB plug for each fan as they will be on opposite walls and be easier to run wires from the sockets above

 

[Potatoking]

just get 100-250v to 12v adapter
like this one
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AC100-240V-...-Power-Supply-Adapter-Transformer-LED-Strip-/
you can run as many fans as you like.
also you probably have some old stuff from router or something simmilar, i have like 10 of those

 

[SnakeDoctor]

A unit load is defined as 100 mA in USB 2.0, and 150 mA in USB 3.0. A device may draw a maximum of 5 unit loads (500 mA) from a port in USB 2.0; 6 (900 mA) in USB 3.0.

 

[m00k]

A unit load is defined as 100 mA in USB 2.0, and 150 mA in USB 3.0. A device may draw a maximum of 5 unit loads (500 mA) from a port in USB 2.0; 6 (900 mA) in USB 3.0.

You've lost me I'm afraid... sorry

 

[Brusfantomet]

With the 12V adapter you are not using a USB connector at all, you just solder the wires for the fans on the wires for from the adapter.

If you absolutely need to have a connector then a standard 3 pin fan header should do, cheapest solutions i could find in my limited ebay search was this fan splitter remove the female connector (the one its one of) and solder the +12V from the adapter to the yellow wire, and the 0V from the adapter to the black wire, you can now connect and disconnect the fans from the adapter.

Or you could get some of these, as they also are connectors for fans, but more expensive that what i linked to first.

Also, when SnakeDoctor talks about "unit load" fro USB its about what amount of current the USB standard allows for, 500 mA for USB 2 and 750 mA for USB 3 (both at five unit loads). All modern phone chargers supply 1 A, that is why your phone might charge slower if tis plugged into a computer than a normal wall cadger. BUT this has nothing to do with powering some fans from a wall socket.

 

[SnakeDoctor]

You've lost me I'm afraid... sorry

USB2 support 0.5amps(5 x 100ma devices) and USB3 0.9amps so max draw can be calculated

Op you could use a USB powered hub aswell then separate from laptop power

 

[valdotdev]

Hi there! Sorry for reviving an old thread.

I'm building a cabinet for my video game consoles and I was researching for a way to power two (2) 120mm fans via my PS3 and/or PS4's USB ports. Basically an 1 for exhaust and 1 for intake. I use this fan since I have a few of these lying around.
http://www.coolermaster.com/cooling/case-fan/sickleflow-x-red-led/

What I want is when I turn-on my console, the fans also turns on so they're only active when needed. My problem is that USBs typically outputs 5 volts and 120mm fans are usually rated at 12 volts. Specifically, my fans are rated 12V and 0.35A. Plan B is I'll just use a 12V adapter but I don't want to go that route just yet.

I also have a lot of spare USB cables lying around so I was planning to strip off one end and solder them to the fan, or specifically, the 4 pin molex adapter that comes with the fans so I don't have to strip the cables attached to the fan itself.

So before I do this I would really like some advise if this set-up is doable or if it will actually work. Actually I already tried doing it using a standard 5V smartphone USB wall charger. To be expected, after soldering cables and connecting it to an outlet (220V) the fan is pretty slow but works.

Any ideas/suggestions? Should I use step-up boosters or something? Many thanks!

 

[Toothless]

Use fans that require lower power to run and use the USB charger. I think I've used fans that need lower amperage and those worked better than most other fans.

Your consoles should be able to power them but I'd recommend a USB 3.0 powered hub that has switches if possible for better control. More power too.

 

[AsRock]

USB hubs work a treat, although i am currently checking out thermal controlled ones on a Adapter.

Here's the kind of thing i am on about
http://www.ebay.com/itm/172468332549?_trksid=p2060353.m2763.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

[Brusfantomet]

i would use a 12V adapter with a 5 volt relay, found this, a relay that needs 5V to activate, use the 5V from the USB port to activate the relay. This couplets the circuit with a 12V adapter and fans, this is probably the cheapest solution, but it requires some soldering on your end.

 

[valdotdev]

Use fans that require lower power to run and use the USB charger. I think I've used fans that need lower amperage and those worked better than most other fans.

Your consoles should be able to power them but I'd recommend a USB 3.0 powered hub that has switches if possible for better control. More power too.

I don't want to purchase additional fans as much as possible since I have a bunch of them here. I think 12V 80mm fans runs well on a 5V source but the cabinet already has holes for 120mm fans

Should the hub have an external plug/psu or a USB 3 powered hub is enough? I imagine the USB 3.0 hub won't do much if you plug it in a USB 2.0 port like with the PS3. Though the PS4 has USB 3.0

USB hubs work a treat, although i am currently checking out thermal controlled ones on a Adapter.

Here's the kind of thing i am on about
http://www.ebay.com/itm/172468332549?_trksid=p2060353.m2763.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

I was initially thinking of doing this too. But the limitation of a 5V source is preventing me from trying this out.

i would use a 12V adapter with a 5 volt relay, found this, a relay that needs 5V to activate, use the 5V from the USB port to activate the relay. This couplets the circuit with a 12V adapter and fans, this is probably the cheapest solution, but it requires some soldering on your end.

I was actually thinking something along those lines if I happen to use a 12V adapter. I was looking for a way to activate the adapter automatically when the console was turned on so I won't rely on a wall plug as a source. Unfortunately, aside from soldering, my knowledge in electronics is very limited so I'm not sure if I can do this, at least not properly. Do you have any resources/tutorials or anything I could use? I even forgot how to make simple circuit diagrams but I at least know the terminologies.