Just learned what a fan speed controller really is, and what is costs
- Thread starter herewego
- Start date
Ahh man you had to go there lol. Common misconception believe it or not. China only owns about 700B of our 13.6T in debt. They have actually reduced down to around there from about 820B 5 years ago. They are now second to japan i believe in largest single foreign holdings. Using round number our debt is owned 1/3 by foreign investors (countries, oil export funds, cayman islands and misc) 1/3 borrowed from our own gov't and ss funds, and the final 1/3 owned by individuals, pension funds, schools, etc, all usa entities.
You can google who owns our debt or something along those lines, actually wrote up a piece/notes on this a few weeks back. Its all true. It would however shoot up our rates and trash usa financial perception if a major country decided to dump that many treasury bills on the market.
Just trying to clear that up, you seem to know a few things and have the right idea though so dont take it the wrong way.
budtoaster - hes right on a level, basically create a working one for yourself first and then see what to do with it. Basically create a cost structure and suggested retail (best guess) and try to market it to larger company, since im assuming you dont have the capital on that level. Dont worry about the patent too much, its not worth the cost for something like that, and you would actually have to create it, market and sell it, step on someone elses toes, then have them sue you for the profits, or cut of them and win. A lot of work and unless you are managing to sell in excess of 500-1000 units year i dont think anyone will bother you.
First learn how to create the money, then worry about the people trying to steal it. No sense worrying about patents if you are not even up to a working prototype yet. Hand assemble your Vapo and start small if you get there, best thing to do IMHO. props on taking some sort of iniative though, more then most..
Fan speed controllers are simply a variable resistor also known as Potentiometers. It's what's a dimmer switch is, it's what a volume control is, it's what's in that router controller and virtually ever device where you want to be able to adjust the input or output of an item.
Dimmer switches only cause problems because a dimmer switch for a house lamp doesn't have the same voltage/current requirements as a heavy duty fan. If you knew what resistence level was needed to get the proper voltage drop and the correct current level you could shop for a specific dimmer switch with the right resistence to allow it to function safely on a heavy duty fan.
Thanks. This is model 14 in a 9 year effort to get it right. i'm using the Apple model for marketing -- create a great design and people will pay the asking price to own it.
i've got a day job, i don't care how much i make on the Bud Toaster -- although it will not be cheap-cheap (say, $400, complete with lifetime (mine) warranty and free shipping). A couple of CNC machines will handle production of 1000 per year. i just need to source the shorty glassware from India -- i hate the thought of cutting a 150mm test tube down to 38mm and trashing the top of the tube. They can recycle at the factory.
But i'm doing all the production myself -- me and my computers and my CNC.
i've got a day job, i don't care how much i make on the Bud Toaster -- although it will not be cheap-cheap (say, $400, complete with lifetime (mine) warranty and free shipping). A couple of CNC machines will handle production of 1000 per year. i just need to source the shorty glassware from India -- i hate the thought of cutting a 150mm test tube down to 38mm and trashing the top of the tube. They can recycle at the factory.
But i'm doing all the production myself -- me and my computers and my CNC.
Since you seem to have the above parts covered, how are you planning on handling liability issues?
Remember there are people buying coffee @ McD and they don't even know that stuff's hot.
Remember the woman who sued McDonald's for compensation for her injuries (about $11,000) and was awarded nearly $3 million in compensatory and punitive damages by a New Mexico jury.
Motta-Tokka
Member
Whats funny is I already had the 35 dollar one from htgsupply for over a year now.. In harbor frieght the other night for tools and there it was under the rotary timmer tool. Basically just repackaged and a yellow sticker on the side of the controller saying something.. China has been bringing us stuff for years so this should be nothing new to anyone. A TON of stuff on ebay is all china.. umm anyone selling LED's? Them too.
LOL that had me laugh.
LED's have been a sore subject recently, the regulars will know.
They dont make a cost effective hi amp dimmer switch for under 20 bucks as far as i can see.
267w fan / 120v is pulling 2.23 Amps actually less then i originally thought. The router speed control most of us use i believe is setup as a PWM pulse width modulator that regulates the amperage and duty cycle of the device plugged in. The variable resistor type applications you think of can't handle the heat or amperage, i forget which one. That would make it nice and easy for custom setups. Ones that are large enough cost around $50 i believe and im sure still dont work as good as a PWM setup.
Im only fairly experienced but pretty sure on the above, let me know if someone else has some more detailed info but thats what my knowledge/research has led me to believe.
There is a really NICE electronic one available on Ebay. I'll see if I can find it. Someone I know bought one and it's awesome, his fan motor doesn't even hum while turned down (unlike with the one posted by OP).
Edit: NOT the one I mentioned above but wow this one seems like an awesome unit!
And it's not even from China! Thailand instead. lol
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260676526571
good basic plan anyway. Why not make the glass piece yourself ? I may be stretching here, but shouldnt you be able to make your own glass if you are that concerned ?
http://www.ehow.com/how_4487899_melt-glass-home.html
make the mold then find someone on craigslist to use their kiln for a free and you should be good to go
i looked into it a little as far as making my own pipes, good luck man
yea theres a couple on there around 100 bucks for 120v, would be really neat for that overkill hi tech grow room when you walk in and just have 20 switches on the wall and you dont have to touch anything else lol
the custom glassware from India is perfect -- although i have to flame polish the cut end -- and only costs $0.10 each for 1000 pieces. Plus $100 shipping DHL.
If you were familiar with grow room designs you would know there very rarely is a demand for 20 fan dimmers per room.
On another note if you would have bothered looking yourself and maybe followed my Ebay link you would have noticed those electronic dimmers (DC voltage controllers) are not $100 each but more around the $30/each area......
i use it four or five times a day.
i'm changing the power input design (from cable to Deans plug) and i think i've got it figured out, but need to fab it to be sure. then make a half dozen for field tests and nail down the fab procedure. And one more iteration on the pcb to accommodate the Deans:
And a bit more software debugging. As PID theory says "Diddle with the coefficients" -- i could diddle a bit more to improve the current 1°F temperature stability.
I wouldnt be so quick to jump over my knowledge of growroom design, considering i specifically said "that would be really neat for that overkill hi tech grow room when you walk in and just have 20 switches on the wall" so i believe your 'very rarely' would fall into an overkill hi tech grow room...
You could actually hook up a pwm to a digital ballast and now its a dimmable ballast that they want to charge $75 more for
And just as i left alone your statements about china owning all the us debt...come on
Also when i posted you did not have that link up, as seen in your edit, simply said that you were going to look for one. Thats not a 'dimmer switch' that we were talking about thats a pwm, dimmer is variuable resistor based as said by Hempkat and not suitable for larger amps due to heat issues in the switch.
And in my earlier posts i said a PWM would do the job but not cost efficient to buy seperately. All that thing is is a 30amp pwm, a 15amp pwm is what is inside of the fan speed controller anyway.
Why spend $35 to control a fan and you still need a box to protect it, as compared to buying the same piece with half the strength for $19 when its already 7 times the power you need to run a 2-3 amp fan ? Dont argue just for the hell of it here, doesnt make any sense.
high all day
high all day
Congrats...farther along then anticipated
high all day
i use it four or five times a day.
i'm changing the power input design (from cable to Deans plug) and i think i've got it figured out, but need to fab it to be sure. then make a half dozen for field tests and nail down the fab procedure. And one more iteration on the pcb to accommodate the Deans:
And a bit more software debugging. As PID theory says "Diddle with the coefficients" -- i could diddle a bit more to improve the current 1°F temperature stability.
Congrats...farther along then anticipated
I am not the one who brought up the dimmer subject in 1st place.
And as far as "arguing" concerns we all state our opinions and talk about experiences, what has worked well for one may not work for someone else.
That's just how it is.
Fair Enough
Johnny Rotten
Member
What would you guys recommend for a 115v 50/60 hz 14/11w PC fan. I have a dimmer for a ceiling fan but it hums fairly loud when hooked up to this. Thanks
