I have need of some electrical advise:
I am looking to do some cutting edge case modding (Read: Incredibly stupid stuff with a computer), and have been edging around the idea of using a HVAC Sidewall or exhaust fan. I have come across a viable candidate, but I want to make sure it would be possible to wire it up. Basically I have come across a 36” Belt driven exhaust fan that is supposed to run off of 230V 3-Phase power. I have done plenty of electric’s work, but usually its 24V max work (I have played with a little Mains power, enough to know how much it hurts). If I recall, 230V 3-phase would be transmission line power, right? So my question is this, how if at all can I wire up this exhaust fan to operate from a standard US 120V wall outlet? The fan is also supposed to run at 1,725 RPM, well above my needs, so if I run it at reduced voltage and get 1/3 the RPMs then I’ll sill be a happy man.

Thanks!


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"Well, if I am not drunk, I am mad, but I trust I can behave like a gentleman in either
condition."... G. K. Chesterton

“questions are a burden to others; answers a prison for oneself”

Ducttape

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"Ever since I was a boy, I have always kept your laws, now I want to follow you and join you in your noble cause. Jesus turned to him and said, 'Sell all you have give to the poor.' Rich young ruler hung his head, not to follow, walked instead." - Vanishing Lesson

Throwing a big fan on the side or your rig is not "cutting edge case modding".

What would be cutting edge, however, was if you attached a some sort of propeller blade to the top of the rig, thus enabling it to hover in the air.

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«»The Scratchware Manifesto
-¬thoughts from beyond observance

Your right, throwing a big fan on the side of an existing computer is not cutting edge case modding, but building a computer inside a length of 36" ducting including louvers on both sides that automatically open and close, along with an industrial stylized control panel to control and monitor fan speed and temperature, at lest in my book, is. Ideally I would like to create a sort of “Wind Tunnel Test chamber” with a large exhaust fan on one side, and a series of HEPA or other air filters on the other side, and then build into the actual side of the ducting a control panel and possibly even a small LCD with front loaded connectors for everything I need.

Oh, and Sajn, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING! If they had meant Ducttape to be used in HVAC work, then they would have called it HVAC tape, or Vent-tape, or who know, possibly even Duct-Tape!


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"Well, if I am not drunk, I am mad, but I trust I can behave like a gentleman in either
condition."... G. K. Chesterton

“questions are a burden to others; answers a prison for oneself”

Yes! I love 3-phase! [/sarcasm]
Well, either you'd have to have 3-phase power running into your house (contact your electrical company), or you'd need to have a device to convert the single phase power from a household 120V receptacle to triple-phase power. I don't know if that's something you'd want to build yourself. With three-phase motors, all three waves have to be evenly spaced, or you fry some (or all) of the windings. So if you go that route, buy the converter instead of building it, unless you're really good with 3-phase.

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Genesis 22:2-5 - And God said unto Abraham "You must kill your son, Isaac." And Abraham said "What? I can't hear you! You'll have to speak into the microphone." And God said "Check, check, check, check. Jerry, can you pull the high end out. I'm getting some hiss up here."
Valuable Life Lesson: Frog + Potato Gun = Blindness
Catalog of Electronic Components - Complete IC data sheets
National Electrical Code® (NEC®) Online - Legal requirements for wiring projects.

[This message has been edited by DogSRoOL (edited June 11, 2004).]

I just tried to call my dad, an electrician for 30 years, and of course he's not available. Typical. But I've done electricians work for almost 6 years so I'll try to aid.

If this fan is 3-phase, you have to run it on a 3-phase circuit. I seriously doubt you have a 3-phase circuit in your home. Your dryer runs 220V single phase (assuming electric). If you want this fan, you have to make a 3-phase circuit from breaker panel to place of this computer. Which means you'll have to tear up walls. Draping #12, or #8 wires across the floor would make inspectors **** themselves.

[Or you can do what Dogsrool said and build/purchase a device that converts single phase to 3-phase.]
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat.

[This message has been edited by Gandalf1120 (edited June 11, 2004).]

This is exactaly what I was afraid of, a 3-phase powersupply is not exactaly cheap equipement, and while it would be fun to have around I dont think I want to spend the money just to put it in a pet project. As for re-wiring the house, I really dont want to do that. As much as I love the Dirty-cyberpunk look of wires everywhere (My current room is modeled after it), I don't really know If I want 230 Volt AC lines draped across my floor. Plus I kinda wanted to make this a semi-mobile production (well, as mobile as 100 Lb's of steel with wheels can be). I was really hopeing someone would just havea trick up their sleeves to convert 120V household to something like 120V 3-phase, or even 80V 3-phase.

Oh well, I guess I might just have to go with the WaterCooled TEC project anyway, just to get this out of my system.

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"Well, if I am not drunk, I am mad, but I trust I can behave like a gentleman in either
condition."... G. K. Chesterton

“questions are a burden to others; answers a prison for oneself”

[This message has been edited by West Wind (edited June 11, 2004).]

Three phase isn't as simple as you may think. Between any one of the three wires and ground (on standard 3-phase) is 120V, between two of the hot wires is 240V, and between two of the others is 208V (or something like that. I might have the connections mixed up.)

I thought of something else, though. If you have a single-phase motor and a triple-phase motor, you could plug the single phase into an outlet, then couple the rotors together, so that the three phase motor acts as a three-phase generator. Be very careful if you try this, because I have no idea what the voltage would be, and if the wires of the motor would be able to handle the voltage & current without overheating.

You also might be able to find a schematic online that shows how to build a converter. Components are cheaper than a whole constructed unit, so maybe you could try that.

[edit] I just realized that you weren't concerned with the fan going at it's full potential. So why even use a three-phase fan? Get a regular single-phase fan. [/edit]

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Genesis 22:2-5 - And God said unto Abraham "You must kill your son, Isaac." And Abraham said "What? I can't hear you! You'll have to speak into the microphone." And God said "Check, check, check, check. Jerry, can you pull the high end out. I'm getting some hiss up here."
Valuable Life Lesson: Frog + Potato Gun = Blindness
Catalog of Electronic Components - Complete IC data sheets
National Electrical Code® (NEC®) Online - Legal requirements for wiring projects.

[This message has been edited by DogSRoOL (edited June 11, 2004).]

Hey, over here in Europe, ALL our household power is 230 volts AC. We have such power lines all over, and I don't see us dying from it all the time.. The problem is if inspectors don't like it, though.

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No signature for you.

230V is a waste of power. Most general appliances do not even need 120V.

Take a radio, for example. Only needs 12V (sometimes even less).

[This message has been edited by DogSRoOL (edited June 12, 2004).]