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#1
12/05/2004, 12:56 PM
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Power Supply for moonlights and fans
Hello!
A yesterday my friend gave me an extra computer power supply that he had. I have in the past read a few threads abou using power supplies to power moonlights and cooling fans. What my question is, is which wires coming out of the power supply are the 12V DC? It was new in the origional box but it came with no instructions. In case you need to know it is the CompUSA 250 Watt ATX Power Supply. Ahy help would be great. If you need any more info about the power supply please ask. I'm not sure what to tell you. Thanks for your help!!! Kevin
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#2
12/05/2004, 01:59 PM
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I assume you're talking about the 4 pin cable that comes out the power supply? (which just FYI is WAY too much overkill for moonlights & fans, as it states, it can push 250watts, you'll be using at most, 3 watts on a fan, and .1watts for each led moonlight. But if you must use it, then what I would do is get your moonlights wired up (ie leds resistors etc, then just hold one end to a black wire, and the other end to maybe a red (just briefly) to see if it lights up, if it doesn't instantly light up, try another wire, and just play like that. Of course if you have a voltmeter handy you could easily test it by looking for +12 volts (instead of -12).
Personally I would go for some old antique throwaway transformer you might have lying around the house or something. Those should be more than enough for your power needs.
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Mike |
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#3
12/05/2004, 04:03 PM
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The additional electrical consumption of a power supply versus using old cordless phone, cd player, or other transformers isn't worth it.
250W will add up over time not to mention a PC power supply is gonna provide a bit more heat than you might expect. For that matter you could probably sell it and get more than enough to get the appropriate adapters. If you must use it they make connectors that tap the four prong pulg for PC fans. A quick look at DIY fan instructions should help you out. Steve |
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#4
12/05/2004, 04:38 PM
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Pescado - here is a pic of how I wired my 3 canopy fans. I just used a cheap 12v AC/DC adapter that I had laying around that was rated for the amps being pulled. The same applies to the moonlights. I will use the exact same wiring scheme when I wire my moon lights. Let me know if you have any questions.
  BTW - on normal PC power supplies the yellow wire is 12v the red one is 5v.
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Jeremy I know you believe you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant. |
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#5
12/05/2004, 10:29 PM
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The PC power supply will not draw "250 watts" all the time. It will draw only the current needed to operate the devices attached to it.
Please be aware that running an ATX supply with no load will destroy it... sometimes kinda spectacularly... Bean |
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#6
12/06/2004, 12:59 AM
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Ok, I see what you guys are saying. lol I guess it wasn't that great of an idea. I guess I thought the fans would use up more poer than that. I'm thinking I will be getting about 4 fans and then I already wired up 6 LEDs. So I would need like around 13 watts. I'll check around to see if I have a AC DC adapter that would have a sutible amperage and wattage. Thanks you guys!
Kevin
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Menue item at the Jakarta airport lounge: "Chicken Mouse in Tartlet" |
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#7
12/06/2004, 04:02 AM
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Here is a retrofit that I did on a Jebo light (it had no cooling fans) with an old 12-volt adapter. There is a fan at each end (one pushing air and one pulling air) and it improved the light cooling enormously! I mounted a small pin-type plug right next to the main hood power cord so that the 12-volt adapter could be unplugged at will. It works really well...I've since sold the light hood though.
 
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#8
12/06/2004, 10:26 AM
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i chose to use a 150 watt AT powersupply for a reason. LED lit 92mm fans, as well as Cold cathode lights. Other odds and ends as well can be added to the set up i have. I have a Marine Air pump that i also use. 12 Volt Wired up so that before a hurricane, i pop it on, superairate the water. Then when the power goes out, i flip the swith to the 12 volt battery pack. My powersupply will soon also run 4 120 millimeter fans that will cool the air in my fish stand.
I mainly chose to use a Computer PS because if nessicary i can add more to it with an easy quick connect, without a lotta rewireing, and extra powercords. I agree, an ATX powersupply, is likly not the best to use. a 100 , or 150 watt old referbished or new AT powersupplie is the easier. just my 2cents jsut some pics    
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