///WARNING ELECTRICITY KILLS\\\
SERIOUS GUYS IF YOUR GOING TO MAKE ONE OF THESE PLEASE BE CARFULL A SHOCK FROM ONE OF THESE CAN KILL!!
Technical Difficulty
- 4 /10
I decided to make a 2 fan controller for inlet/outlet, if i was to make one box for 2 rooms (4 fan's) id need 2 thermostats and that's when wiring gets complicated. If you wanted to run 4 fans in one room then simply get a larger amp variable transformer and run 2 fans of each.
The Plan
Note: Check thermostat manual for wiring diagram as diffrent makes and models can vary.
Parts used and cost
Weatherbox 210mm wide - 150mm height - 350mm length £15.00 (fleabay, p&p inc)
2 Maplins 1A variac variable transformer £35.14 each + £2.99 P&p or £58.86 for 2 + free p&p
Relay - 'Min 5A DPDT 240Vac £3.54 (maplins)
Relay holder - 8Pin Rly Skt DIN £1.98 (maplins)
1 Pk10 Lucas 6.3 female spade connectors £1.00 (maplins)
1 Pk10 Lucas spade covers £1.00 (maplins)
3 Inline fuse holders £1.69 X 3 = £5.07 (maplins)
1 Pk10 1A quick blow fuses. £1.69. (maplins)
Honeywell T6360 thermostat £9.00 (fleabay, p&p inc)
15A Connector block £1.50 BNQ
4 Black 20mm grommit glands £3.52 BNQ
1 Pk20 self adhesive cable tie mounts £1.50 BNQ
1 Pk500 cable ties £ 1.00 BNQ
2 Single trailing single sockets £3.70 each - £7.40 for 2. BNQ
10m of 1.5mm 3 core cable £10.00 BNQ
1" Velcro square pads pads £2.00 BNQ
1 Plug £ 1.00 BNQ
Total £125.00
Part 1 of build will follow shortly
Part 1 ~ Variac 2 Fan speed Controller - The Build
This part is going to be mostly diagrams, step by step construction of the build, iv hit a few technical dificulties that i will clear up and explain when we get to them.
Line the weather box with valcro for easy installation.
Cut out for thermostat wire.
1 Amp Variable resistor
Fitting the Variable resistors
Used the face plate to mark were to drill
All Fitted
Please remove the sticker on the back as variable resistors can get warm.
Drilling for fan lines and power input
So that is the general construction of the unit, there shouldnt be any more drilling needed, just the wiring left to complete.
Stay tuned.
Part 2 ~ Variac 2 Fan speed Controller - Wiring up
Wiring pt 1
I ran the power in & used the connector block, running 2 lives with
2 1A inline fuses to terminals 5 & 8 on the relay holder.
Wiring pt 2
here i run in 2 lines for the 2 fans & connected them to more connector block.
Wiring pt 3
Here i daisy chained the earth to the other blocks.
Wiring pt 4
Heres the variacs wired up, i used 6.3mm female spade connectors with see through covers.
Wiring pt 5
1 live in - 2 neutral - 3 variable output.
Wiring pt 6
I used velcro pads & stuck then to the relay holder as i didnt have a din rail to connect it to & i didnt want to drill the case.
Wiring pt 7
Here i used self adhesive cable tie mounts to tidy things up.
Wiring pt 8
Almost there
Wiring pt 9
Here ive ran in the 3 core cable for the thermostat.
Wiring pt 10
Ta Da, heres everything wired up.
Wiring pt 11
Heres how the wiring looks when the lids going on, it tucks in with plently of room between the variacs.
Wiring pt 12
Wiring pt 13
Wiring pt14
This is how i wired up the thermostat, the neutral wire is the live return & runs to no 13 on the relay.
Heres the inline fuse holders & how they work.
This is how i stuck things down.
Its a great piece of kit & was well worth the effort to quieten things down.
theres no hum what so ever with the 6" high power ruck L1
& the fan runs from as low as 10% and is silent when set anywere up to 60%, you could sleep next to it and not hear a thing!
I could of saved some money in places, building a single fan controller can nock £60 off easy, so you could have a brilliant silent fan controller for around £65 - £70, ok so there are loads on the market for this price but i garentee you that you will be pissed with the quality unless your willing to spend over £200, alot of the cheaper ones adjust the voltage causing a humming, variacs adjust amps making them silent and alot better for your fan.
1970s Grower
Thanks man serious i keep saying anyone can do this iv only ever wired a few things in my life and this was so simple!
Twelve12
Bigirishdoode
Bro i promise that you can achieve these same results with a few spare hours, im kinda intrested to know more about this tatto machine now, ever given yourself one?
WhiteHouse
Hi mate there are loads on the market, if your happy with one that humm's and doesnt have a thermostat kick in then you can get a dimmer switch and wire it inline for about £5, if you buy a rvk you have to put a plug on it so adding an inline dimmer would be a few second job, but you will get a humming and it is loud.
fncg
Lol realy ?? ha if im honest with you guys i was a bit smoked when i built it, i got out the soildering iron to soilder the wires to the variacs and i was seeing double pins.. so i shot out a got the spades lol
Yeah temps below = variac set, temps above = thermostat cut in (max)
Lol you got me.Re: Variac 2 Fan speed Controller
FAO GodSpeed if he's still about.
my names joint hogger & i usually hang around UK420 but earlier i was searching google for variac fan controllers
& i found the twin variac controller pics you'd posted & the instructions on how to put it together (as the builder)
& i thought to my self, has this guy never heard of the word Plagiarism & what it actually means ?
so i registered with 420magazine as it looks like a good site to hang about & pull you up about your variac controller build.
i honestly wouldn't have minded you ripping my pics & instructions of how to build a twin thermostat controller
if you'd given me credit for the build in the first place but you posted it on another site & claimed it as your own !
so i declare SHENANIGINS you little liar !
if anyone wants to see the proof, all they need to do is go to uk420 & have a look through the diy kit subforum in the growroom design section, im all over the place with my various variac controller builds.
heres the original thread i started hXXp://www.uk420.com/boards/index.php?showtopic=185930 (you dont have to register to see the thread)
oh & by the way, i'd wired up the Honeywell T6360 thermostat wrong by using 3 core but its now working perfectly with 4 core.
joint hogger
