Way to slow down box fan?

[heathcliff]

Just bought a cheapo box fan, which we use in a window at night to draw in cooler outside air. However, even at the slowest of its 3 speeds, the fan is too noisy. I'd like to make it less noisy, which I think the best way would be to make it turn slower. I'm wondering if it would be possible to wire in a resistor in series with the motor to accomplish that. If so, what would be the correct specs on the resistor?

thx, H

[The Daring Dufas]

You could try a regular light dimmer. It's easy to build a unit for what
you wish to do rather inexpensively. You can use 4" conduit box,
one with the rounded corners, a dimmer, a duplex outlet and a
combination 4" metal box cover with a position for a switch and the
duplex outlet. You can get a cheep three wire extension cord and cur the
outlet end off and use it to supply power to your dimmer. You'll need a
cord grip to attach to the 4" box. Another route is to use a
regular handy box with rounded corners, dimmer, metal switch cover,
cheap extension cord, two cord grips and cut your dimmer into the middle
of the extension cord. It's very easy to make. ^_^

TDD

[micky]

On Mon, 29 Jul 2013 11:08:59 -0700 (PDT), heathcliff
<kenle...@gmail.com> wrote:

>Just bought a cheapo box fan, which we use in a window at night to draw in cooler outside air. However, even at the slowest of its 3 speeds, the fan is too noisy. I'd like to make it less noisy, which I think the best way would be to make it turn slower. I'm wondering if it would be possible to wire in a resistor in series with the motor to accomplish that. If so, what would be the correct specs on the resistor?

I know exactly what you mean about the noise. Almost any fan, when
run slow enough, will be totally quiet.

I don't know if a resistor would work, and rather than get into the
possible problems, fire and everything, I'd recommend

either a) getting a fan speed control and finding a box to mount it
in, For the most part, the only fan speed controls I've ever found
were the kind that fills the same size box that a wall switch or
receptacle goes into. Pretty big. I did once come across, at an
electronics flea market maybe, one about the size of a brownie, but I
couldn't find a box the right size and ended up putting it one that
was the right width and depth, but was 4 inches high.

Hmmm, http://www.ebay.com/bhp/ac-motor-speed-contro The first one has
a case and a cord l Not real attractive, but still.
The second one I've never seen before. Only $6.50. I may switch to
this if I ever need a sixth control.
The two near the bottom are nice too
http://www.ebay.com/itm/800W-AC-220V-Electronic-Motor-Speed-Control-controller-Switch-Regulation-new-/321134354360
and
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AC-220V-500W-SCR-Electronic-Regulator-Motor-Speed-Controls-Dimmer-w-Switch-/141025594059

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2000W-25A-Voltage-Regulator-Pulse-PWM-AC-Motor-Speed-Control-Adjustable-50V-220V-/271236401606

http://www.ebay.com/itm/500W-AC-220V-Electronic-Motor-Speed-Control-controller-Switch-Regulation-new-/321134354405
has its own plastic box

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Solid-State-AC-speed-Control-for-Blower-motors-/141020556064

They didn't have any of this stuff 15 years ago, I think.

Or b) getting a light dimmer, which usually comes already in a box and
which also usually has a cord with a combination plug/receptacle, that
you can plug the light [or fan] into and plug all of that into the
wall.

Whenever I recommend this, I'm certain to get criticism about how
light dimmers won't work with motors, and they are correct that they
are not designed for the purpose, and once in a while I find a dimmer
that will not work with a fan (probably it's the fan that is different
from other fans, and less likely that the dimmer won't work with any
fan.) but I have 30 years experience here, with about 12 fans and 3 or
4 different kinds of dimmer, and I think only one fan, at most two,
would not work with the light dimmer I tried it with. None have
shown RF interference with the radio or tv.

But you should never turn the speed down so low that the fan stops
spinning. There were probably still be some current running through
the fan motor, and if the energy in the current doesn't get turned
into motion, it will be turned entirely into heat, with the
possibility of a fire. (Although I seem to recall that I did test
one combination, by turning the speed down just enough until it
stopped, and letting it sit where it was always within my view for a
30 minutes and feeling the fan to see how hot it was. And it was
only a trifle warm, so I probably decided it couldn't get too hot.
But still there is no point to turning the speed down so it doesn't
turn, when it's just as easy to turn the fan off.

I only use the AC about 10 days a year, fewer now that it has broken,
so I have a fan in almost every room, even in the basement (which
never gets that hot but on humid days, the fan feels good), and when
the house is warm, I use them every day.

In the bedroom I had a small table fan, and sometimes it would get too
cold at night, as it cooled off but the fan was still on. So I took
a thermostat from a burned-out big box fan, mounted it in a big
plastic cap from a large aerosol can, and wired that into fan wiring
so the fan turns off completely if it gets colder than where I set it
while I'm sleeping.

The dimmer I use the most they sold for maybe 20 years or more, but
they don't seem to sell it, at least not in the same case now.
It is like this one
http://www.amazon.com/Leviton-TBL03-10E-300-watt-Tabletop-Control/dp/B00A80756O/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1375127449&sr=8-4&keywords=tabletop+lamp+dimmer
except the control box has square corners, is brown plastic, with a
center plate that is brown metal, and a knob that slides up and down.
(Perhaps a little better than a round knob when doing this in the
dark) The only way to tell if newer dimmers work as well is to test
one. This new one has the on/off switch built in, so that is very
good, especially since it's not at the end of travel of a knob. You
can turn off the fan without changing the speed, it seems clear.

>thx, H

[micky]

On Mon, 29 Jul 2013 16:29:51 -0400, micky <NONONO...@bigfoot.com>
wrote:

> and they are correct that they
>are not designed for the purpose, and once in a while I find a dimmer
>that will not work with a fan (probably it's the fan that is different
>from other fans, and less likely that the dimmer won't work with any
>fan.)

When the dimmer didnn't work with the fan, I mean that the fan didn't
spin at all no matter what setting the dimmer was on. But the dimmer
did work with other fans.

If the fan spun at all, everything else was fine, IME.

[micky]

On Mon, 29 Jul 2013 16:29:51 -0400, micky <NONONO...@bigfoot.com>
wrote:

>

>The dimmer I use the most they sold for maybe 20 years or more, but
>they don't seem to sell it, at least not in the same case now.
>It is like this one
>http://www.amazon.com/Leviton-TBL03-10E-300-watt-Tabletop-Control/dp/B00A80756O/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1375127449&sr=8-4&keywords=tabletop+lamp+dimmer
>except the control box has square corners, is brown plastic, with a
>center plate that is brown metal, and a knob that slides up and down.
>(Perhaps a little better than a round knob when doing this in the
>dark) The only way to tell if newer dimmers work as well is to test
>one. This new one has the on/off switch built in, so that is very

You can see this if you rolll the cursor over the slider control and
see the enlarged picture of the dimple at one end.

>good, especially since it's not at the end of travel of a knob. You
>can turn off the fan without changing the speed, it seems clear.

More dimmers

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=tabletop+lamp+dimmer&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=25460299585&hvpos=1t3&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13077369871681061617&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_937wg3ydmt_b
http://www.lampsplus.com/products/dimmers/type_table-top-dimmer/
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/catalog/servlet/Search?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&keyword=plug-in+light%20dimmer&Ns=None&Ntpr=1&Ntpc=1&selectedCatgry=Search+All

[passerby]

replying to The Daring Dufas , passerby wrote:

> the-daring-dufas wrote:
>
> You could try a regular light dimmer.

Small AC fans usually have shaded pole motors, RPM of which is frequency
dependent. By cutting off part of the phase with a light dimmer you will
just make it start even harder than it already is for this type of a
motor. There may be *some* RPM control due to torque losses when dimmer is
dialed down, but it's only a small percentage point around the designed
RPM, not from 0 to the max.

Since the actual complaint is noise, not RPMs per se, I would take the fan
apart and try to balance the blades to deal with vibration. You know,
disconnect the motor from power and spin the blades by hand. Mark which
blade stops at the bottom, do it again. If the same blade stops at the
bottom again, file some material off that blade, repeat until no single
blade stops at the bottom repeatedly. Hard to say how effective it will be
with lightweight plastic blades coupled to a badly constructed motor, but
is worth a try. Not much else to do: if you have to look at the motor, you
might as well just get yourself a new fan - motor is the bulk of the cost
of it, anyway.

--
posted from
http://www.homeownershub.com/maintenance/way-to-slow-down-box-fan-757381-.htm
using HomeOwnersHub's Web, RSS and Social Media Interface
to home and garden related groups

[David L. Martel]

Ken,

Return the fan and try another brand. If you can't find one that's quiet
enough look into balancing the blades. That's where the noise is coming
from, most likely.
Forget the resistor.

Dave M.

[micky]

On Mon, 29 Jul 2013 16:56:10 -0400, "David L. Martel"
<mart...@frontier.com> wrote:

>Ken,
>
> Return the fan and try another brand. If you can't find one that's quiet
>enough look into balancing the blades. That's where the noise is coming
>from, most likely.

A lof of fan noise is not caused by out-of-balance fans but by the air
which is moving because of the fan. No matter how good the bearings
or how well balanced the blades, if there is too much air moving, one
can hear that. Many people may not mind or even notice, since it's
the essense of a fan to move air, but I sure mind. Maybe that's what
is bothering Heathcliff too.

(My last 3 Chrysler LeBarons had 4 speed fans, and I almost always
kept the speed on 2, almost the slowest, because that was the fastest
speed I could not hear. After 23 years with LeBarons, I bought a
Toyota Solara, which has 5 fan speeds. Sounds better, but only the
lowest speed is silent. But the lowest speed moves less air than
speed 2 (and maybe even speed 1) of the LeBaron. So I'm forced to
use speed 2 and put up with the noise.

(One of twenty reasons so far that the Chryslers (and the GM cars)
were better than the Toyota.)

[Bob F]

Is it a lot quieter if tou hold it in the air so it doesn't touch anything else?
If so, isolated it vibration wise, from the house structure with soft foam or
something. Sometimes, most of the noise comes from the fan shaking the house or
vibrating against it.

[Nate Nagel]

The real solution would be to get a quieter fan, as a resistor in series
with the low speed will draw just as much power as the low speed does
now, and shed all its heat into the airflow going into your house.

I know, that's not the DIY way, but it's the truth...

If you really, really don't want to do that for whatever reason, I would
remove the 3-speed switch, wire everything up so the fan runs on its
FASTEST speed, and get a triac based motor speed control so your fan now
has infinitely variable speed.

nate


--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

[Stormin Mormon]

Lamp dimmer control maybe?

.
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

[gregz]

Newer box fans are noisy. I have an older kmart box which is very quiet.
Many upright fans are very quiet.

NO resistor.

Some motor speed controllers are only for brushed devices. A heavy duty
dimmer will probably work, but may introduce buzzing.

Greg

[micky]

On Mon, 29 Jul 2013 18:59:49 -0400, Nate Nagel <njn...@roosters.net>
wrote:

>On 07/29/2013 02:08 PM, heathcliff wrote:
>> Just bought a cheapo box fan, which we use in a window at night to
>> draw in cooler outside air. However, even at the slowest of its 3
>> speeds, the fan is too noisy. I'd like to make it less noisy, which I
>> think the best way would be to make it turn slower. I'm wondering if
>> it would be possible to wire in a resistor in series with the motor
>> to accomplish that. If so, what would be the correct specs on the
>> resistor?
>>
>> thx, H
>>
>
>The real solution would be to get a quieter fan, as a resistor in series
>with the low speed will draw just as much power as the low speed does
>now, and shed all its heat into the airflow going into your house.
>
>I know, that's not the DIY way, but it's the truth...
>
>If you really, really don't want to do that for whatever reason, I would
>remove the 3-speed switch, wire everything up so the fan runs on its
>FASTEST speed,

Not a bad idea, except there's no need to remove the 3-speed switch.
He can just set it to the highest speed. Then, if he or the next
user ever stops using the speed control, he'll still have a 3-speed
fan.

However, my experience is that sometimes it's better to use the
external speed control with the lowest speed. Frankly, I forget
why, but it might have been this: Say the knob and the rheostat is
such that one can set the control to any one of 200 physical
positions. If the fan has natural speeds of 400, 800, and 1200,
then at the low setting, one can control the speed in increments of 2,
(2 x 200 = 400) but at the highest speed setting, he can only control
the speed in increments of 6. If he's going to use a speed below 400
anyhow, he'll have more control over the speed when the fan is set at
400. (I'm not saying 400 or 1200 what, revolutions per something or
other. I don't know what actual speeds these fans run at.)

[The Daring Dufas]

On 7/29/2013 3:45 PM, passerby wrote:
> replying to The Daring Dufas , passerby wrote:
>> the-daring-dufas wrote:
>>
>> You could try a regular light dimmer.
>
>
>
> Small AC fans usually have shaded pole motors, RPM of which is frequency
> dependent. By cutting off part of the phase with a light dimmer you will
> just make it start even harder than it already is for this type of a
> motor. There may be *some* RPM control due to torque losses when dimmer is
> dialed down, but it's only a small percentage point around the designed
> RPM, not from 0 to the max.
> Since the actual complaint is noise, not RPMs per se, I would take the fan
> apart and try to balance the blades to deal with vibration. You know,
> disconnect the motor from power and spin the blades by hand. Mark which
> blade stops at the bottom, do it again. If the same blade stops at the
> bottom again, file some material off that blade, repeat until no single
> blade stops at the bottom repeatedly. Hard to say how effective it will be
> with lightweight plastic blades coupled to a badly constructed motor, but
> is worth a try. Not much else to do: if you have to look at the motor, you
> might as well just get yourself a new fan - motor is the bulk of the cost
> of it, anyway.
>

My suggestion was about a low cost experiment. I built a variable
voltage box using a triac, pot, trigger diode, capacitor, single 120
volt 15 amp outlet, cord, cord grip and sloped project box. I was able
to use it for all sorts of things including shaded pole motors, light
bulbs and universal AC/DC motors. If he uses a triac type dimmer, it
should work. A dimmer using an SCR might not work very well. The link
below is about LED dimming but shows the waveform output of a triac type
dimmer. ^_^

http://www.digikey.com/us/en/techzone/lighting/resources/articles/Dimming-LEDs-with-Traditional-TRIAC-Dimmers.html

https://tinyurl.com/l655p55

TDD

[The Daring Dufas]

Dang, I forgot all about the dimmer already built on to the cord. The
only thing I don't know about them is whether or not they use a triac.
Perhaps one made to dim LED lamps would work better but those may use
SCR's instead of triacs. I'm so use to building things I forgot about
the ready made dimmers on a cord. O_o

TDD

[The Daring Dufas]

I have an 89 full sized Dodge van that's older than the girls I chase.
The poor old guy makes all kinds of noise. I'm looking for a vehicle
manufactured in this century like a small SUV and I'll keep the old van
since it carries a lot of stuff and has a ladder rack. ^_^

TDD

[micky]

On Mon, 29 Jul 2013 22:26:19 -0500, The Daring Dufas
<the-dari...@stinky-finger.net> wrote:

>
>Dang, I forgot all about the dimmer already built on to the cord. The
>only thing I don't know about them is whether or not they use a triac.
>Perhaps one made to dim LED lamps would work better but those may use
>SCR's instead of triacs. I'm so use to building things I forgot about
>the ready made dimmers on a cord. O_o

LOL. This reminds me of when I wanted to build a lid for lidless
frypan, but you all convinced me to buy one meant for another pan or
pot. (I had to go to 8 thrift shops, but it took only about 5 minutes
each and was a lotl easier than making one.)
>
>TDD
>

[micky]

Good plan.

When I was in college my 80-year old cousin gave me his '50 Olds, in
1968, I noticed a similar car and left a note trying to buy his
back-up lights. He wouldn't sell but we became friends. He was 30 or
35 and would drive his '50 olds around campus, saying he thought the
college girls might find the car interesting. I'm sure none did, but
I didnt' tell the guy since it seemed to be his whole social life.


He had two models of the 50 Olds, or a 50 and 51, and he had a whole
townhouse stuffed full of electronic parts, etc. on the first floor at
least, that he bought in bulk at auctions. He lived somewhere else.

Later, when my brother went to Viet Nam, he gave me his '65 Pontiac
Catalina convertible, and when I left town 18 months after that, I
couldn't take both. I didn't want to but I gave my Olds to my friend,
so he had three!

[The Daring Dufas]

Man I wish I still had my 1981 Dodge Aries station wagon. It was a neat
little car with bucket seats and four on the floor which was unusual for
those funky little cars especially in a wagon. I got the roller cam from
a later model 2.2L engine and it bolted right in and improved
performance but the other thing that really helped was getting the
clutch and flywheel off a turbo version of the 2.2L engine and it was
a direct bolt in too. The friction surface and disk took up the whole
flywheel which gave me the ability to lite up the front tires without
any clutch slippage. Darn, I wish I still had the little critter. ^_^

TDD

[Nate Nagel]

For "Small SUV" I don't think anyone will ever top the Jeep Cherokee or
early Grand Cherokee... everything since has either been too big or not
capable enough.

It'll be a sad day when mine dies but I'm hoping to postpone that day as
long as possible.

[The Daring Dufas]

Yea, I was thinking about an older Jeep Cherokee with the straight 6 in
it because I loved my Slant Sixes in my Mopars. I even built a 170cid
Slant Six with a 3/4 race cam. It was a real hoot to wind that little
sucker up but I kept blowing the stock muffler off of it at high rpm. ^_^

TDD

[Bob_Villa]

On Tuesday, July 30, 2013 7:14:55 AM UTC-5, The Daring Dufas wrote:

>
> Yea, I was thinking about an older Jeep Cherokee with the straight 6 in
>
> it because I loved my Slant Sixes in my Mopars. I even built a 170cid
>
> Slant Six with a 3/4 race cam. It was a real hoot to wind that little
>
> sucker up but I kept blowing the stock muffler off of it at high rpm. ^_^
>
>
>
> TDD

It's funny that cars occupy a place in our hearts...I'm sure it's the memories that went with them and not the cars themselves...

[Nate Nagel]

Not the same thing... the old slant six was a MoPar design, the Jeep six
was based on a similarly ancient and dead nuts reliable AMC design. I
have owned both and like both but the later "high output" 4.0 Jeep
engine is way stronger than a 225 slant six. Actually have to watch
your right foot when it's damp out and you're in 2WD :)

[bud--]

If you use a triac dimmer control the motor torque falls off pretty
rapidly. But as you reduce the fan speed the torque required falls off
rapidly also, something like the 3rd power of the RPM. I never used a
dimmer to control a fan, but it might work. From mickey, it often does work.

I believe a triac dimmer will maintain torque better than a resistor.

The box fans I have make noise because of the air being moved, not
because of balance problems.

[Steve Barker]

On 7/29/2013 1:08 PM, heathcliff wrote:

> Just bought a cheapo box fan, which we use in a window at night to draw in cooler outside air. However, even at the slowest of its 3 speeds, the fan is too noisy. I'd like to make it less noisy, which I think the best way would be to make it turn slower. I'm wondering if it would be possible to wire in a resistor in series with the motor to accomplish that. If so, what would be the correct specs on the resistor?
>
> thx, H
>

use a dimmer.


--
Steve Barker
remove the "not" from my address to email

[The Daring Dufas]

You don't really have to be concerned about starting torque with a fan
but if it's a problem, crank the dimmer wide open to start then back
off. ^_^

TDD

[The Daring Dufas]

Heck, I'm very aware of the differences, I wrote straight 6 in the Jeep,
not Slant Six. My dad owned a 51 Dodge sedan that had the old
L-head six which Chrysler continued to manufacture as an industrial
engine long after they stopped using it in cars and trucks. I know a
tiny little bit about engines, I've rebuilt a variety of them and my
favorite Ford engine is the 300cid straight six. I think it was used in
a lot of UPS trucks at one time or so I heard. I'm really looking for a
"small" SUV with a four banger but I tried to get into a Honda and as
usual, I cracked my fracking head open on the door frame. ^_^

TDD

[micky]

On Tue, 30 Jul 2013 09:03:48 -0600, bud-- <remove....@isp.com>
wrote:

I should say that every fan I have except the 4" fan (which is a year
old) is over 25 years old. I have a Tintang** (or something like
that, 2-speed fan) that is about 25 years old, but I've never used a
speed control with it, or with the 4" fan. **Co-workers gave me this
when they felt sorry for me when I was using a fan from the '30's.
But I liked the older fan more, until it caught fire last summer (fan
stopped, overheated, and set fire to too much light oil).

The rest are 30 to 80 years old. I don't think newer fans from the
last 10 years are made differently from my older ones, which are all
(except maybe one) brushless, induction motors. I guess I could try
dimmers on those two newer fans if anyone was curious.

I got the old fans, with iron or heavy steel bases, from my father
when he died in 1955 at age 62. They were in his office or our home.

>
>I believe a triac dimmer will maintain torque better than a resistor.
>
>The box fans I have make noise because of the air being moved, not
>because of balance problems.

Yeah.

[Pavel314]

If the noise is causes by too much air being moved, maybe blocking part of the fan by inserting a piece of cardboard in the grill-work would help.

[Percival P. Cassidy]

On 07/31/13 07:58 am, Pavel314 wrote:

>>> Return the fan and try another brand. If you can't find one that's quiet
>>
>>> enough look into balancing the blades. That's where the noise is coming
>>
>>> from, most likely.
>>
>>
>>
>> A lof of fan noise is not caused by out-of-balance fans but by the air
>>
>> which is moving because of the fan. No matter how good the bearings
>>
>> or how well balanced the blades, if there is too much air moving, one
>>
>> can hear that. Many people may not mind or even notice, since it's
>>
>> the essense of a fan to move air, but I sure mind. Maybe that's what
>>
>> is bothering Heathcliff too.
>>
>>
>>
>> (My last 3 Chrysler LeBarons had 4 speed fans, and I almost always
>>
>> kept the speed on 2, almost the slowest, because that was the fastest
>>
>> speed I could not hear. After 23 years with LeBarons, I bought a
>>
>> Toyota Solara, which has 5 fan speeds. Sounds better, but only the
>>
>> lowest speed is silent. But the lowest speed moves less air than
>>
>> speed 2 (and maybe even speed 1) of the LeBaron. So I'm forced to
>>
>> use speed 2 and put up with the noise.
>>
>>
>>
>> (One of twenty reasons so far that the Chryslers (and the GM cars)
>>
>> were better than the Toyota.)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> Forget the resistor.

> If the noise is causes by too much air being moved, maybe blocking part of the fan by inserting a piece of cardboard in the grill-work would help.

Keep in mind that the airflow has to keep the fan motor cool enough as
well; restricting the airflow may allow the motor to overheat.

AND some kinds of electric motor (I don't recall which) overheat when
run on a reduced voltage, so the resistor or dimmer suggestions made
earlier may not be a good idea either.

Perce

[Ashton Crusher]

On Mon, 29 Jul 2013 20:45:02 +0000, passerby
<caedfaa9ed1216d60e...@example.com> wrote:

>replying to The Daring Dufas , passerby wrote:
>> the-daring-dufas wrote:
>>
>> You could try a regular light dimmer.
>
>
>
>Small AC fans usually have shaded pole motors, RPM of which is frequency
>dependent. By cutting off part of the phase with a light dimmer you will
>just make it start even harder than it already is for this type of a
>motor. There may be *some* RPM control due to torque losses when dimmer is
>dialed down, but it's only a small percentage point around the designed
>RPM, not from 0 to the max.

I've put dimmers on fans and all you do it trade off some fan blade
noise for increased motor noise because the solid state dimmers just
chop the current up and make the motor "buzz". The only way to do it
without the buzz is with an old fashioned transformer based
dimmer/motor controller.

[The Daring Dufas]

Otherwise know as a variable autotransformer or Variac. The dimmers
using a triac instead of an SCR may be less likely to make the fan motor
buzz. I've seen Variac light dimmers used in recording studios
because they don't make the lights buss or add noise to the electrical
power for the studio. ^_^

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autotransformer

http://www.variac.com/

TDD

[micky]

On Sat, 03 Aug 2013 01:43:16 -0700, Ashton Crusher <de...@moore.net>
wrote:

>On Mon, 29 Jul 2013 20:45:02 +0000, passerby
><caedfaa9ed1216d60e...@example.com> wrote:
>
>>replying to The Daring Dufas , passerby wrote:
>>> the-daring-dufas wrote:
>>>
>>> You could try a regular light dimmer.
>>
>>
>>
>>Small AC fans usually have shaded pole motors, RPM of which is frequency
>>dependent. By cutting off part of the phase with a light dimmer you will
>>just make it start even harder than it already is for this type of a
>>motor. There may be *some* RPM control due to torque losses when dimmer is
>>dialed down, but it's only a small percentage point around the designed
>>RPM, not from 0 to the max.
>
>I've put dimmers on fans and all you do it trade off some fan blade
>noise for increased motor noise because the solid state dimmers just
>chop the current up and make the motor "buzz".

Not in my experience. In one case the dimmer was a foot from my ear
when I lie down and the fan was 18 inches. Still heard no humming or
buzzing. And since the reason I use the dimmer is mostly to get rid
of noise, I would notice.

There is probably a lot of variety in motors and fans, and even maybe
dimmers.

[Shawn hill]

replying to The Daring Dufas, Shawn hill wrote:
best thing to do is buy something that will reduce the amps not the volts
because the speed is changed by a tapped winding in the motor which reduces
the amperage

--
for full context, visit http://www.homeownershub.com/maintenance/way-to-slow-down-box-fan-757381-.htm

[bob_villa]

TDD has gone the way of the Mormon...and is no longer with us. Alas!

[FrozenNorth]

BS, he is too busy, but still alive.

--
Froz....

[Uncle Monster]

He laughed when I told him he was dead because he hasn't posted to Usenet but unfortunately the IRS doesn't use that as proof. Usenet is too addictive and takes up a lot of time which is why my brother is staying away right now that he's taking up my slack on the business end. He was sad to hear and even a bit angry that Stormin Mormon had died alone on a roof. Paramedics saved both of us when had heart attacks. The difference is that each of us was around people and close to paramedics when it happened. I wish Stormy had been able to call for help, firemen would have gotten him off that roof quickly and saved his life. (⌣_⌣)

[8~{} Uncle Sad Monster

[bob_villa]

On Saturday, September 17, 2016 at 8:18:53 PM UTC-5, FrozenNorth wrote:

...you've been had.

[FrozenNorth]

No, you are an idiot, I personally know a friend of theirs, she has
confirmed both brothers are two distinct people and are both alive.
Quit spreading crap you know absolutely nothing about.

--
Froz....

[Uncle Monster]

She came by to see me a couple of weeks ago and giggled when I gave her a hug because my thigh, err, I mean neck tickler got her. \(◦'⌣'◦)/

[8~{} Uncle Tickler Monster

[bob_villa]

I have no reason to believe your story...TDD would not leave without saying something...he was descent person. Nothing like his "brother".

[FrozenNorth]

Remain ignorant then,it is entirely your call.

--
Froz....

[Leo]

replying to heathcliff, Leo wrote:
The best is to buy second box fan and connect wires in series, so these two
fans become very quiet and you have a lot of speed options: from knob position
3 on both to 1 on both. Even 3 on both is quieter than single fan on 1.
I also tried light dimmer but then fan motor was producing loud buzz, I guess
because dimmer output is not sine wave, so that was a bad idea.
Now, I am going to buy AC Motor Speed Control
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2000W-10A-Voltage-Regulator-PWM-AC-Motor-Speed-Control-Adjustable-50V-220V-Hot-S02/32722087063.html
and hopefully it will work better than regular light dimmer.