DIY better clip on fan for tents

TurboBucket

TurboBucket

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I noticed when looking around that most clip on fans for tents suck. They don't oscillate, and the few that do seem to break quickly. Most clips won't hold onto a grow tent pole very well either. This is my simple solution.


These fans are slightly larger and move more air, they oscillate and seem to be quite robust.
IMG_20190427_141709007.jpg

IMG_20190427_141709007.jpg


IMG_20190427_141347156.jpg

IMG_20190427_141347156.jpg

I use tablet holders for microphone stands. They grip the tubing and the fan base very well.

IMG_20190427_141357020.jpg

IMG_20190427_141357020.jpg


IMG_20190427_143828571.jpg

IMG_20190427_143828571.jpg

They don't take up much space in the canopy and zero floor space unlike a tower or pedestal fan.
IMG_20190328_092234539.jpg

IMG_20190328_092234539.jpg

The turning radius is much more manageable than the big 10 or 12 inch fans
IMG_20181126_162622282.jpg

IMG_20181126_162622282.jpg

You can even tuck them below the canopy if you need to.
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IMG_20181126_161635579.jpg



Just something I thought I would share. I've been using them for awhile now and they seem to work pretty well.
 
Nice idea, and thanks for sharing it with us.

My circulation fan is an 18" diameter oscillating fan that, according to the date stamped on it, was manufactured in 1968 :rolleyes: . Low moved a pretty good amount of air, and high would probably knock over small animals, lol, but it's getting old (duh! ;) ) and, the last time I had a grow going, I noticed that it was starting to growl at power up and taking a minute or so to get up to speed. Plus it's heavy and probably not real energy efficient. I should probably think seriously about getting a new one. But I doubt I could ever find one that'll be on its last legs... 51 years after it's first turned on :rolleyes: .
 
TorturedSoul said:
Nice idea, and thanks for sharing it with us.

My circulation fan is an 18" diameter oscillating fan that, according to the date stamped on it, was manufactured in 1968 :rolleyes: . Low moved a pretty good amount of air, and high would probably knock over small animals, lol, but it's getting old (duh! ;) ) and, the last time I had a grow going, I noticed that it was starting to growl at power up and taking a minute or so to get up to speed. Plus it's heavy and probably not real energy efficient. I should probably think seriously about getting a new one. But I doubt I could ever find one that'll be on its last legs... 51 years after it's first turned on :rolleyes: .
Click to expand...


Kinda makes one wonder if it's rebuildable. Although a modern replacement motor still won't last as long as the original it may last longer than most new fans.
 
TurboBucket said:
I noticed when looking around that most clip on fans for tents suck. They don't oscillate, and the few that do seem to break quickly. Most clips won't hold onto a grow tent pole very well either. This is my simple solution.


These fans are slightly larger and move more air, they oscillate and seem to be quite robust.
IMG_20190427_141709007.jpg

IMG_20190427_141709007.jpg


IMG_20190427_141347156.jpg

IMG_20190427_141347156.jpg

I use tablet holders for microphone stands. They grip the tubing and the fan base very well.

IMG_20190427_141357020.jpg

IMG_20190427_141357020.jpg


IMG_20190427_143828571.jpg

IMG_20190427_143828571.jpg

They don't take up much space in the canopy and zero floor space unlike a tower or pedestal fan.
IMG_20190328_092234539.jpg

IMG_20190328_092234539.jpg

The turning radius is much more manageable than the big 10 or 12 inch fans
IMG_20181126_162622282.jpg

IMG_20181126_162622282.jpg

You can even tuck them below the canopy if you need to.
IMG_20181126_161635579.jpg

IMG_20181126_161635579.jpg



Just something I thought I would share. I've been using them for awhile now and they seem to work pretty well.
Click to expand...

I did a retrofit on my Hurricane digital fan. It was a 18 inch ocsilating fan and i would run into it whenever i was on my room since I only have about 48 sqr feet. I took the fan blades and guard off and taped a 6 inch duct to it. The other end stretches to a 6 inch inline above it with a speed adjusting regulator on it.

So now i have a fan that is infinitely adjustable that ocsilates in a few different ways with a much less intrusive footprint. Its pretty silly, but it works. I hope the pictures make sense

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20190506_143401.jpg

  • Media owner Stltoed
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20190506_143349.jpg

  • Media owner Stltoed
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20190506_143356.jpg

  • Media owner Stltoed
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odam2k said:
So the fan "stand" is just oscillating the duct which is blowing air from an inline fan further upstream?
Click to expand...
Yep. Kinda silly, but beats the crud out of knocking the big fan around
 
Hey turbo :ciao: I like your innovation a lot. I’m on a seemingly impossible mission to find some circulating fans that are not so noisy they keep me awake!

I end up going back to an old Dyson bladeless which works but is stupid big for the space (and needs a plinth to stand on).

I’ll check out those mic stand tablet adapters, great idea. Then I just have to find some quiet desk fan...

What’s the noise factor on those ones like?
:Namaste:
 
Amy Gardner said:
Hey turbo :ciao: I like your innovation a lot. I’m on a seemingly impossible mission to find some circulating fans that are not so noisy they keep me awake!

I end up going back to an old Dyson bladeless which works but is stupid big for the space (and needs a plinth to stand on).

I’ll check out those mic stand tablet adapters, great idea. Then I just have to find some quiet desk fan...

What’s the noise factor on those ones like?
:Namaste:
Click to expand...


Hi Amy! :ciao:

It's hard to say if these would be too noisy for you. I'm going to guess yes. They move a fair bit of air and have some pops and clicks when oscillating. I don't notice them outside the tents but it's pretty loud in the grow room. Sorry it's not much help.
 
I know what you mean TurboBucket about the oscillating fans quitting after just a little while. I recently bought a Secretjardins oscillating fan designed to grasp the tent pole. The instructions said that if you use it in oscillation mode be sure to only aim it straight out and not up or down while in motion or it will harm the motor... Well that was written on the inside of the box and if I had known that I would not have wasted $45 on it. I followed the instructions to a "T" and only even aimed it level. Well after only about 3 months it quit oscillating and I came home to the sound of loud clicking coming from my tent. The gears were stripped. Also it never really hung onto the pole properly and slid down a little each day.
Where did you find those if you don't mind me asking?
 
I have purchased these through Amazon. You could probably find them locally at a home improvement store or maybe Walmart type store.

Amazon offers a two year replacement plan, for I think $10? So it's just an extra warranty and way to hopefully ensure I get at least that long out of them. I think it costs like $75 USD to build a pair of them. It was cheaper than a pair of tower fans I remember that.
 
We have a place around here called” the restore “ it’s run by habitat for humanity, it’s a warehouse that’s always changing. One day it’s sinks,the next time who knows? Any way I found 2 Holmes oscillating clip on fans in original box’s $3.00 each the clips are strong and hold well and as long as the fan stays level they work well. Lol
 
TurboBucket said:
I noticed when looking around that most clip on fans for tents suck. They don't oscillate, and the few that do seem to break quickly. Most clips won't hold onto a grow tent pole very well either. This is my simple solution.


These fans are slightly larger and move more air, they oscillate and seem to be quite robust.
IMG_20190427_141709007.jpg

IMG_20190427_141709007.jpg


IMG_20190427_141347156.jpg

IMG_20190427_141347156.jpg

I use tablet holders for microphone stands. They grip the tubing and the fan base very well.

IMG_20190427_141357020.jpg

IMG_20190427_141357020.jpg


IMG_20190427_143828571.jpg

IMG_20190427_143828571.jpg

They don't take up much space in the canopy and zero floor space unlike a tower or pedestal fan.
IMG_20190328_092234539.jpg

IMG_20190328_092234539.jpg

The turning radius is much more manageable than the big 10 or 12 inch fans
IMG_20181126_162622282.jpg

IMG_20181126_162622282.jpg

You can even tuck them below the canopy if you need to.
IMG_20181126_161635579.jpg

IMG_20181126_161635579.jpg



Just something I thought I would share. I've been using them for awhile now and they seem to work pretty well.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the super fan mount conversion TB. Best idea ever to get them mounted.
 
Arise thread, for thou art not dead!


Well, it's probably obvious why I'm reading this thread. a) thanks to the search that works, and b) I need some fans.

I have some 6" clip on ones that are USB, and they're fine up to a point. As the canopy thickens, I don't feel they move enough. At least they work, and haven't skipped a beat on me. (If you used 4 of them with a thicker canopy, it might be ok.)

Turbo was right about there (still) being two companies that make fans specifically to clip on poles. Let me tell you about the other one.

I ordered 6 initially. 4 are still working (so far) as of this post.

Two went kaput within about a month. Contacted the seller (vivosun) and they were happy to refund the purchase so that I could buy another pair.

That second pair lasted just about 3 days. Wed evening to my discovering the issue early Sun morning. (Were fine at last check on Sat night.) They have offered to again refund the purchase. However I do not believe I will be repurchasing any more of these. Great idea, crap execution.

Both issues seems to revolve around the connection of the power cord into the fan. The first issue was the fans would cut out while oscillating. They would get about to the end, just before they start back, and die. Sometimes their momentum would swing them back just enough they would kick back on, but more times than not they would just be dead. Nudging them back towards center and on they would come. That screams "poor connection point" to me.

The second pairs failure has to be at the same point, but not sure what the deal is. Maybe these just broke quicker to where they won't power on at all. I dunno, but it still says there is an issue there.

Both times I've recommended they have someone look at that area for improvements, so maybe some day they will get it right. I wish they would, because I'd buy a dozen of them if they could stand up to normal use.

So here I am.

Originally I started looking for oscillating clip-on fans. Nothing stands out past what I already have. Then I saw the fans turbo mentioned, but couldn't figure out a mounting strategy. Hit the site, did a search, here we are.

Mic stand trays. Who'd a thunk, right? Damn fine idea. :D


For the clip-on's, you can take about 6" of PVC (1/2" or 3/4", whatever you have) and then put a 90* elbow on one end. Then attach a "tee" fitting to that so that the longest side of the tee is horizontal. Now zip tie or whatever that to your pole, then clip your fan right to it. Works great.

However, like Tim "the tool man" Taylor... I need. more. powerrrrrr!!!! :rofl:


This idea will work just great, and I'm off to chat with Mr Bezos as we speak.


Thanks @TurboBucket!
 
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