Sunday, December 4, 2011

My SparkFun Signature Edition Solder Fan

 So after looking around for some fans for a solder fume extractor, I came across some old PCs being recycled. I took out one of the PC cooling fans and tried that... it worked so well that it would scoot across the table under its own power!  So, I opened up one of the power supplies and removed the fan... it seems like the perfect size for a benchtop solder fan.  I hotglued it onto a piece of cardboard I cut out of an old SparkFun box I had sitting around.  Instant class and DIY cred at no extra charge!
For power, I attached a JST-RCY connector so I could power i from one of the small LiPo batteries I keep on my bench.  The fan uses .5A, so the battery in the picture will keep the fan going for two hours without problem. I measured this with my watt meter.  If you are doing anything with RC or motors you should have one.

If I would have had a spare 3-pin or 4-pin JST-XH I would have used that, so that it could have been powered off of any battery's balance port.

Here it is in action, shot with genuine shakycam:


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