Hi. Does anyone know what happens when I slow down an AC fan with a diode to kill one phase? (I tried it, it slowed down, but I don't know will it keep working like that)
Please answer asap, I made an incubator which has 17 eggs in it now, and the airflow is bad in it, my 12V DC fan is too slow, and only stronger fan I have is too fast. Lives of little chickens are at stakes here, help please!
I don’t think the fan will
I don’t think the fan will die. You are removing one half of the AC waveform, but as long as that is still enough to turn it, I don’t think you will damage the fan.
How long does it need to remain in operation? Can you monitor it somehow? Just in case?
Reply:
It has to work for 15 days this time, we will instal it on first checkup of the eggs, when we have 1-2 hours of free time. I could probably check it once a day, but if it stops working very soon after checkup it would be fatal…
I will test it out first, and see if it heats up, if it doesn’t I’ll put it in. It probably can’t get worse than without it, I don’t think I can hatch any eggs with my current setup.
Lubricate your fan. With
Lubricate your fan. With only half the AC pulse, it will not have as much impetus. Maybe check the lubrication once a week. If the fan gets very dirty in the chicken coop, take time to clean it.
Good luck.
Will do it
Ok, I’ll lube it. I tested it for 15mins, it didn’t get very hot, it just cut alot of skin from my finger xD
It isn’t in the coop, it doesn’t have anything to get dirty from, it’s an insulated incubator which holds just eggs, and little chicks for 1 day untill they dry.
Thank you for the help.
Have you considered
diffusing/diverting the airflow rather than changing the fan speed?