help please (12v fans & controller)

[divy]

Hello all,

Im new here and to be honest i only really joined for help with these questions i have since my question is computer based but after reading a few threads i just might say awhile

anyway i building a aquarium light and i want to run a few computer fans on it to help keep it cool also i would like to have a contoller and if possible temp reading for the fans

my problem is well most of the wiring lol,

the fans will run while the lights are on and im thinking of using a halogen light transformer (240v to 12v) to get the 12v needed for the comp fans,
oh and yes 240v (Australian)

my question is firstly all the fans im seeing have three wires on them is there a way to wire them only using two? positive/negitive?

I was looking on ebay and saw there was alot of fan controllers and some with temp displays and i thought that would be cool to use one of the to turn them down if they are too loud

Is there a way again to wire one of these to a 12v transformer? since like i said all of them are running three or more wires
and can i also wire up the temp display or are these somehow plugged into a computer motherboard to get the reading?

Thank you in advance and i would really appreciate any help

cheers

 

[heydockyle]

Yes, you can power them with only two wires. You just have to figure out which wire on the fan is 12v and which is ground.

 

[TFT]

Hello all,
the fans will run while the lights are on and im thinking of using a halogen light transformer (240v to 12v) to get the 12v needed for the comp fans,
oh and yes 240v (Australian)

As the fans are a dc voltage and most lighting halogen transformers are ac voltage output the fan will oscillate.
Make sure you get a 240v ac/12v dc transformer rectifier.

As far as the three wires are concerned, just use the red (12v+) and black (0v) or if you use a controller then use the white as well.

 

[divy]

Thanks alot for the replys,

and i forgot about the fans being DC,
I checked my transformer and it says 12Vac so ill have to shop around for one which is 12Vdc

IT's good to hear that i can run the fans and a controller but is it possible to run one that has the little lcd displays? that show the temp aswell?

its just that im not sure how they would connect to the computer

 

[sniperchang]

Thanks alot for the replys,

and i forgot about the fans being DC,
I checked my transformer and it says 12Vac so ill have to shop around for one which is 12Vdc

IT's good to hear that i can run the fans and a controller but is it possible to run one that has the little lcd displays? that show the temp aswell?

its just that im not sure how they would connect to the computer

That will work. Most likely, the controller would be connected by a molex connector. The molex connectors have a 12V line a 5V line and two grounds. However, not all components use both voltages. So if you want to get a fan controller with a display, you should order one in, and find out what power it requires, then figure out what power supply you would need.