PC fans for wineador
 

I originally was going to use an Oust fan in my wineador, but found out the battery life is about 30-60 days at best, and I don't want to keep buying batteries. Is there a way to hook up PC fans to work in a humidor? I have dozens of them lying around, (I build PC's as a hobby for friends and family) and I was wondering if anyone knew how to hook them up to some sort of adapter I could maybe just plug into a power strip.

Maybe not possible, but I don't wanna go the Cigar Oasis route. I decided I would probably go with Heartfelt beads and wanted a fan to blow the humidified air up the back wall of the humidor towards the top.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

It's possible and there are lots of ways to do it. You can get a 110v socket that allows you to power a USB cable and you can get an adapter to connect a USB cable to a PC fan...

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

Look at the nameplate data on the fans, it should give an operating voltage range, for example 7 - 12VDC, and an amperage, then go find an old wall wart transformer that is within that range, and outputs at least that much amperage. Something from 6-9 volts would work well to keep the fan speed down where it isn't so noisy or blowing like a hurricane.

Cut the connector off the end of the output lead on the wall wart, strip back the wires, connect (solder, crimp, wirenut) the marked wire (one of the two wires will have a ridge or a inked dash running the length of the wire) to the red (+) lead from the fan, and the unmarked wire to the black (-) lead. If you aren't sure which lead is which from the transformer, double check with a meter.

Mount the fan where ever you want, run the cable out under the door seal and plug in.

If you really want to be slick, before you attach the fan leads to the transformer, run the output cord from the wall wart up through the drain hole of the wine fridge, then connect it to the fan leads and re-seal the drain.

You can usually pick up the transformers at thrift stores for a buck or two, assuming you don't already have one lying around with some piece of old electronics that you've been meaning to throw out but haven't.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

TG nailed it on the wall. I used a variable convertor that you can control how fast they spin. The yellow wire on the fans isnt used. Its for speed control of them in the PC (which you probably already know).

If you don't want to buy a convertor, you can use an old cell or radio charger. They put out low voltages that work for the fans.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

Dam Derrick.....you got room for a fan in yours ?

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

I kinda like the idea of a PC fan. But I'm not gonna think about drilling holes in my humidor. Looks like Oust owns me for a while :)

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

I'll have lots of room... this thing is massive in real life lol. My tiny cigar collection is going to barely fill 1 tray when I get my drawers ordered and installed lol.

Thanks for the info guys, I should be able to take it from here. (hopefully)

Just a question tho, where is the drain hole at? I wasn't sure if mine had one or not, it's a Thermoelectric.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

I just stripped the wires from the fan, and stripped the wires from a old cell phone charger, attached the wires, little bit of soldering, little bit of tape to clean everything up, and have the fan running 24/7 with no problems.

Edit: Sorry, didn't see you already got your answer. Haha, as for the drain plug, from what I have seen in stores, some have them, some don't.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

thinking of putting one on a lamp timer. Just wondering if you guys had heat build up in the humidor from having a running fan in it all day?

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

This should not happen. Although all electrical components create heat as waste, PC fans create very very little, just your ambient room temp going up 1 degree would have a far greater effect on overall temperature in your humidor than a fan going 24/7.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

I use one of these in my cooler set to dead low:

http://www.amazon.com/AC-Cooling-120.../dp/B0072RV63E

Best way to do it is to place it about 2 inches off the bottom blowing up into the cooler and set things up to force a circular flow of through the cooler.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

... which is what T.G suggested. You need to make sure the power source (wall wart, charger) has the right output voltage and at least enough current, as found on the fan's label.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

Does the wire come off the fan to feed through the drain hole?

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

As you can see under my post, I edited it apologizing because I didn't read the entire thread, and didn't realize that the OP had already received an answer.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

Probably not, but you would need to cut the wire anyway, so it shouldn't matter.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

As I said before I really like the whole USB thing. The cables are small and fit through the drain hole and it all works out -- just put the whole thing on a timer as it only needs to run a few minutes every few hours.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

I quoted that post because it was for an all in one fan and power supply... If you dont have to cut it would just be easier

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

Hey buddy I did this to mine.
I used the drip whole and ran wire though that and sealed it with some caulking

I used a Ac to DC plug and plugged that into a digital timer.

What I found out leaving the fan on all the time just messes with the RF to much. You want a constant RF though the whole box.

So what I found out at least for my box is putting it on for 5min every 15min seemed to do the trick.

Will have some trial and error.

I also mounted min at the bottom on a 45 degree angle facing forward My door has curved glass so managed to move the area around better that way..

and of course if your using beads make sure you have some at the Top, middle and bottom.

On a side note I also have a johnson thermometer ran through that drip whole also turns it wine cooler on and off at a certain temp again trial and error to get the perfect temp/constant RF through the box..

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

What digital timer do you use?

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

Get a good timer from like Lowe's. Get one that has settings on how long you want the fans to run and when you want them to turn on (and off). They run about $10-20.
I have mine set to run about 5 or 7 mins every hour on the hour.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

I bought one from Home depot but it only allows 7 on off times a day ill have to try lowes---

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

7 should be plenty...

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

I tried our 2 local menards, our lowes, our home depot, and our 2 walmarts and none of them had anything but your typical on off timers for christmas lights. I had to buy a timer online on Amazon. I'll post more about it soon tho. Just too busy. Working almost every day and too many hours for my crap pay. I get salaried and the pay sucks, i need a new job lol. Either way, i'll fill ya'll in soon.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

It would be like every 3 1/2 hrs thats enough? I guess the cooler itself has the fan as well.....

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

Well honestly there are hundreds of Cabinets sold that have no fans or anything and people use them without any issues. Fans are pretty much for the diehard to keep a constant RH throughout the entire humidor.

It doesn't take much to circulate the air. Most PC fans will circulate the entire cu/ft of the humidor in under a minute.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

I guess your right i have it already so ill give it a whirl

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

Haven't had a lot of time to look at this for awhile, just got my PC fans setup, but how do you get the wires thru the drainhole? My drainhole goes down, does a 90 turn and goes out the back, I can't get the wires to follow the 90, they are just too flimsy.

Any advice?

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

You can get some tie-down holders that stick to the side and use a tiewrap to attach the wires to the holders. These are what I use:
http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pro...d8011a_300.jpg

They have double-sided foam tape on the back. I picked them up at Home Depot.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

Thanks, but my problem isn't that the wires aren't staying on the back, I want to get them out the drain hole, but I can't get them thru it. It's got a 90 degree bend inside the drain hole and I can't get the wires to bend to follow the 90 so I can push them thru... Lots of people have my model of edgestar, so I was hoping maybe someone would have experience doing this.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

You can suck a string through the hole with a vacuum. Then tie the wires to the string and pull through. ;)

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

That makes sense, I'll give that a shot.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

Derrick, most winadors are wired with the evaporator fan (inside fan) running 24/7. The reason I say "most" is only because I haven't worked with every thermoelectric. Every single one I've worked on, large and small, are wired as such. It's basic refrigeration principle, the air needs to be stirred to create an even temperature and to deliver a proper reading to the thermostat to power the peltier coil as necessary.
All that means that there's absolutely no need for an auxiliary fan in a winador. You've already got a perfectly ported fan running 24/7.
The only reason you'd need an auxilliary fan is if you don't plug your winador in.
You can find if your fan runs 24/7 by lowering the temp setpoint, letting the unit cool to that setpoint, then raise the thermostat to it's highest setpoint. Then open the door and see if the fan is running, as it should be.
Back in the day there were some Vinotemp TEDS- units out there that were miswired with the fan shutting off when the setpoint was reached. Guys had lots of problems until someone grabbed the schematics and made a phone call and found they were miswired.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

I'm putting all my beads at the bottom, I am just hooking up a circulation fan to circulate for about 5 minutes 2-3 times a day to get the RH moving around the bottom of the unit. I just basically want to help eliminate the chance of the RH being way too high at the bottom of the unit and give it a route to the top of the unit.

Even I am am wasting my time, the fan mount is already built and assembled. I just need to get the wires through so I can plug it in.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

Well I am late to the party but the way I did it was too use old 2 wire NorthBridge South Bridge computer fans powered from the generic Cigars International Cigar Oasis optional extra fan power source. That power source uses ribbon power connectors that can go through the door and it sill will seal. The fans run 24/7 unless you use a timer though.

Its hard to find the 2 wire fans but CI sells them for a remarkable markup, still not bad really, over what the computer stores used to sell them for back in the day.


This is what I am talking about. You do not need the cigar oasis humidifier just the dc power supply.

http://www.cigarsinternational.com/p...-FANKIT&cat=10

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

I had a couple Nexus Real Silent PC fans laying about. These fans are soooo super quiet. Less than 15db at 1m in a sound chamber, so virtually inaudible to the human ear. I rigged them up on a board mount with 3" machine screws, spacers, rubber washers for vibration control and a fan grill for each. I'll get a picture up soon, as soon as I get the wires thru the drain hole that is.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

Your evap fan is likely to already be vented up and down, sucking air into the center. That's something you can check for, my brother.
If things seem to be stratifying, you may just need to pull boxes and stuff away from the back, top and bottom of the unit so that fan can do it's job.
It's real easy to overstuff a vino. By getting in the habit of not pushing things to the back, it'll avoid filling a box of smokes with the condensate that drips down the back wall.
There needs to be airflow over that condensate, too. It has to get evaporated and sent back to the air and beads.
If you imagine what the airflow looks like after you look at your fan, at the very least it'll help you to properly place the auxilliary fan so you get the results you want.
It's just always better to practice good, informed husbandry than to try to fix troubles that we create, cause they tend to compound until we cause a really big problem.
Mind ya, I'm just going from experience from building lots and lots of these units. I haven't seen yours, and your evap fan may not be working correctly. That might be causing your problem, it may not.
Adding another fan won't hurt anything at all. Just make sure your condensate puddle around the plugged drainhole is getting airflow and your boxes aren't pushed against the back. One of our guys flooded a whole tray of Anejos and ruined most of them by pushing the tray all the way to the back and allowing it to fill with drippage for a long period of time.
That was a very sad day.
Good Luck, my man!!! :tu

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

Thanks for the good advice Scott. I'll be mindful of my drawers. I had my drawers made by Forrest and they already have a 1/2 inch gap between the back of the trays and the back wall. I suppose I can always slide them a little further out if 1/2 inch isn't enough. I think they will be fine tho. I'm also not going to plug my drainhole initially. I want to see how it handles without it plugged before I throw any extra things into the mix. I'll be showing pics soon of my fan setup tho, I just finally got the wires thru thanks to Freebirds suggestion of sucking a string thru it with a vacuum, that worked great. :D

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

You can plug your drain hole or not, but realize it's just that, a hole in your humidor.
You can no more control humidity in a desktop humidor with a half inch hole drilled in the lid than you can control a winador with a half inch hole in the bottom.
I won't take time to explain vapor pressure and all the reasons why it'll cause you dire problems because you're gonna do what you're gonna do. I'd just feel remiss if I didn't state the obvious, and that's that you have a hole in your humidor. It'd be a super good idea to plug it like everyone else.
If the humidity problem isn't enough to make you see the light, maybe all the bugs that'll crawl in and out of that hole will. :D

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

I guess I'll take your advice this time. Just I have seen others say they don't plug it without any issues. Either way, yeah, bugs would be a bad deal. That's a good enough reason for me.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

Sometimes, depending on the ambient, guys can get away without plugging their drain. Those guys are very few and far between.
They probably aren't relaying all the crap they have to do to keep their units at a proper RH, because it's "normal" to them to do tons of maintenance. Hell, I can drill a 1/2" hole in the glass front of my winador here beside my desk and still get it to keep a reasonably steady RH, but it'd be a huge pain in the ass, ya know?
If a guy's winador showed up with a 1/2" hole in the glass front, what would he do? He'd send it back or at the very least, it'd be immediately obvious that he'd need to plug that hole up with something. Same if a desktop showed up with a 1/2" hole drilled in the lid. They'd think it was ludicrous.
Why we think differently when the hole is in the drain pan has always been a mystery to me. I'm not singling you out or trying to make foolish, you're about the umpteenth guy that I and others have pointed this out to. It's one of those crazy things that escape us, ya know?
I just want you to have a pain-free experience. You've layed down lots of coin to save trouble and have a top-notch rig, you deserve it, my brother. :tu

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

I got a question, I just got my hands on a couple PC fans and I am thinking of doing this as well but my problem seems to be that the RH on the top of my 18ct is at 70 while the bottom (where I have 2 8oz bags of shilala beads) reads at 60. is it more of a matter of not enough beads or that circulation isn't enough. I have the majority of my sticks towards the top also, not sure if that makes a difference

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

This is the easiest method. Here's how to do it, with pictures.

http://thechive.com/2012/06/06/a-che...mmer-8-photos/

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

Very similar to what I did. Except I went the whole AC/DC adapter route. I keep forgetting to upload pics, busy tonight, but I might get it uploaded later.

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

MAC fans for Obama!

Re: PC fans for wineador
 

LOL. It took me a second. I admit it.