Cannabis Fact Contributed by:
Moshmont
Cannabis Tip Submitted: june24 2010
A little bit of info on what can control shaded pole and
other general types of AC motors:
Potentiometer NO
Dimmer NO
Rheostat NO
Solid-State Speed/Power Controler YES
Variable Hertz/Frequency Drive YES
Potentiometers, Dimmers and Rheostats can not be used to
control the speed of an AC motor. They all use forms of
voltage resistance.
From first hand experience I know that even low draw Hz
drives can cost well over $100 (I have seen them as high
as $500 at a 1 Hp rating). Hz drives are a waste unless
you need to precisely control the speed/pulse of
something beyond/below the input frequency (or a
capacitor run/start motor). The next best thing is a
solid-state adjustment contraption.
$10-$15 Solid-State Controler (I.e. Ԧan
controllerԩ
$1.50 #16 (or bigger) extension type cord, with ground (2
feet)
¸0 3/8Ԡcable connectors (x2)[/b]
$5 1 male and 1 female standard rubber 3-prong
electrical plug
$3 Deep set 2ո3Ԡelectrical box
All of this can be bought at an home improvement store
for around the same price (such as Home Depot or
Lowes).
Note: you need to have some basic wiring skills to do
this.
The first thing you need to do is confirm your not buying
a Rheostat or Dimmer. Look at the price and what\'s
printed on it (fan controls are more expensive). You need
to make sure it says it can control ԡtticԠand/or Էhole
houseԠfans. I chose the 100% controllable one, they also
make them with a Low/Med/High setting. The next part
isnӴ much harder, basically all you do is strip your
cable and wires and put on your plugs. In this case I
already (knowingly) left some on the M/F ends from a
previous project. Strip your cable and wires at the other
end, then using the supplied wire nuts connect all
commons (white wire) together. Connect one hot (black
wire) to ether hot lead (black wire coming out of
contraption). Now for the ground/s (green wire) use an extra
wire nut. Or you can strip about 2Ԡoff all of them and
twist them together nice and tight (if you don\'t have a
wire nut). Next push the fan controller into the box,
before doing so tuck the cluster of grounds under the
other wires. There should also be 2 supplied machine
screws that you will use to attach the mounting plate to
the box.
Thatӳ all there is too it, it can be used just like a
regular fan (only now you can adjust the
CFMӳspeed).
Notes: DonӴ load it to max capacity. In this case
using the 5 amp model donӴ use it to control a
fan/motor the uses more than 4 - 4.5 amps. These CAN
NOT control capacitor start or run motors (you would
need a Hz drive for that.). When used, the motor will
get warm/warm-hot as if it where running regularly,
this is normal. Another thing I would do is let the
motor run for at least 3 hours (check on it from time
to time) on the lowest setting just to make sure it
wonӴ over heat.
