# Help needed for speed control on a DIY Stir Plate build.



## Rubix (12/10/14)

Hey Guys,

I've finally got around to upgrading the old stir plate last night. I purchased all new parts from eBay etc. I'll list the parts below for your reference. The problem i've encountered is that the there is no speed control and the pot just turns the fan on or off. Is my issue with the pot, power supply or the fan itself? Having purchased a fan speed control to use I thought that it would be a simple plug and play type build. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Parts list.
Fan - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/331103400267?var=540312668633&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
Fan Speed Control - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/220951783233?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
Power Supply - Old router adapter. 12v 1000mA

Cheers in advance,
Michael


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## real_beer (12/10/14)

Hi Rubix,

The page for the fan shows pictures of how to connect it for a single and double fan setup and two mistakes commonly made doing it, that is probably your problem. I made a home-made stir plate using similar parts and it works great. :icon_cheers:


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## real_beer (12/10/14)

I just uploaded some old pics into an album from when I made mine a few years ago.
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/gallery/album/1246-home-made-amiga-stir-plate/


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## Rubix (12/10/14)

Cheers for the reply and pics real_beer. Had a look at the images on the fan controller link but everything seems legit. Just so i'm clear though. The yellow wire coming from the fan is essentially just an output from the fan to the motherboard, so is in this case redundant and not needed? The thing that frustrates me here is that when I first hooked it all up to test the parts it seemed to work fine. Once I put it all together in the project box it stopped functioning as it should.


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## Rubix (12/10/14)

This is essentially the exact build and instructions that I followed.

http://youtu.be/XVLB9c0j1iU


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## btrots87 (31/1/15)

Hi guys, reviving an old thread but was wondering if anyone has had the same problem as me. I'm using one of these dimmer switches as a speed control for a 120mm pc fan but I'm getting a really annoying whiny noisy any time is not at full power.

http://m.ebay.com.au/itm/110629196512?nav=SEARCH

Had anyone had a similar problem and know a way to fix it, or should I just try and find another fan?


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## Camo6 (31/1/15)

I had one do that too. Does your fan have leds? I tossed it in the end and just have a few different rated transformers. But my stirplates are pretty basic.


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## btrots87 (31/1/15)

Yeah the fan has LEDs but I removed them and it didn't help. Might just try and find another fan and put this one into the fermenter fridge instead.


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## btrots87 (31/1/15)

Okay, different fan had the same problem so I just got a 500ohm linear potentiometer from Jaycar and a switch. Works perfectly, sometimes simplicity is best.


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