I have an Arctic P12 PWM PST [1] that I would like to use in the drawer where I put my router (I made a whole in the drawer).

I first tried a USB "ELUTENG" [2] alternative (that I can just plug), but it is very noisy. I should be able to run the Arctic much slower (I'm thinking 200RPM), just to get some airflow in the drawer.

The thing is that the Arctic comes with a PWM, and I don't know how to connect that to a power socket. Are there converters available?Or would it be feasible to make something myself DIY-style? Ideally I would plug it to the power socket and have a potentiometer to set the speed, but I guess with PWM it requires some electronics (also something has to go from the power socket to 12V).

Would that be a feasible beginner project? Maybe should I look into some kind of Arduino? I am a professional Software Engineer, so coding is really not the problem. I am just trying to learn about the electronics part .

[1]: https://www.amazon.fr/ARCTIC-P12-PW...8af-96bf-2ab2c9d6f7df&pd_rd_i=B07GB5JRTZ&th=1

[2]: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0BBYZGQL4/ref=pe_27091421_487052621_TE_item?th=1

 

Before you plug anything in to a power socket you need to read the information about what power supply voltage it requires. I did not follow the links and do that reading. Those specifications should not be hard to understand.

 

you need to read the information about what power supply voltage it requires

Do you mean that the 12V I mentioned above are obviously not the voltage it requires? I mentioned 12V because the manual says that it takes 12V, and therefore I would need to convert from 230V to 12V. Your answer sounds like my understanding obviously completely wrong and 12V are certainly not what's needed. Is that it?

 

Reading more about it, I think the easier would be to go for 5V (which seems to work for slower speeds as per the manual: https://support.arctic.de/p12-pwm).

I am thinking something like a small Arduino that would be powered through USB (5V) and that would expose a PWM interface that would itself provide 5V to the fan.

 

If the fan needs 0.1A at 12V, can I know how much it would it need at 5V? Does the power need to stay the same (given that at 5V, the fan won't rotate as fast as per the manual)?

 

I was not certain about the TS technical insights and so I provided the safest answer about that.
Then, for the one who would choose to run 12 volt packages on 5 volts, there is an issue of not powering equipment on the corrct voltage, which often leads to unsatisfactory operation. It is seldom a good choice to cut the supply voltage in the interest of saving power, without doing s design evaluation to see that it would work.

 

I have an Arctic P12 PWM PST [1] that I would like to use in the drawer where I put my router (I made a whole in the drawer).

I first tried a USB "ELUTENG" [2] alternative (that I can just plug), but it is very noisy. I should be able to run the Arctic much slower (I'm thinking 200RPM), just to get some airflow in the drawer.

The thing is that the Arctic comes with a PWM, and I don't know how to connect that to a power socket. Are there converters available?Or would it be feasible to make something myself DIY-style? Ideally I would plug it to the power socket and have a potentiometer to set the speed, but I guess with PWM it requires some electronics (also something has to go from the power socket to 12V).

Would that be a feasible beginner project? Maybe should I look into some kind of Arduino? I am a professional Software Engineer, so coding is really not the problem. I am just trying to learn about the electronics part .

[1]: https://www.amazon.fr/ARCTIC-P12-PW...8af-96bf-2ab2c9d6f7df&pd_rd_i=B07GB5JRTZ&th=1

[2]: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0BBYZGQL4/ref=pe_27091421_487052621_TE_item?th=1

You mention "the Arctic comes with a PWM". Is that just a capability of the fan or does it come complete with a PWM controller? If it comes with a controller, its input voltage should be specified on the unit.

 

You mention "the Arctic comes with a PWM". Is that just a capability of the fan or does it come complete with a PWM controller?

I think it is a capability of the fan. In the manual under "Controlling the Fan -> In a DIY project" (https://support.arctic.de/p12-pwm), there is the image I attached. Which to me sounds like it's perfectly fine to run it at 5V, except that it won't be able to run as fast.

So I was hoping that I could use e.g. an Arduino Nano (which can apparently output PWM) and connect it to the fan. First I need to see if the Arduino Nano can have the PWM on 5V, and then if it can send enough current to the fan. Hence my last question: the manual seems to mention 0.1A for 12V, but I don't know how much it would need for 5V. I assume the current is related to the voltage and the RPM...

 

I would just buy and use the fan in your second link. Fans like this include a switch for selecting low, medium or high speed and the low is quiet and should move enough air for your cooling needs. I would not worry about building a PWM driver circuit as there is no need. You can also buy PC Fans along with drivers. If you want you can go the PWM route and just buy a simple controller like this or similar.

Just My Take....
Ron

 

I would just buy and use the fan in your second link. Fans like this include a switch for selecting low, medium or high speed and the low is quiet and should move enough air for your cooling needs.

My initial issue is that I do have this fan, and it is too noisy. In "low" mode I can hear it from the next room.

Also I would find it fun to try with something like an Arduino Nano, where I could have it control the fan based on the temperature in the shelf =).

If you want you can go the PWM route and just buy a simple controller like this or similar.

I had actually seen that, but I wouldn't know how to plug it to the Arctic P12, which has 4 PWM wires... This simple controller has apparently 2 input and 2 outputs, right?

 

I had actually seen that, but I wouldn't know how to plug it to the Arctic P12, which has 4 PWM wires... This simple controller has apparently 2 input and 2 outputs, right?

Yes, there are 4 wire fans. What we have is normally +12 Volts, Ground, PWM In and q Tach Signal out.

Yes, if you want to play around using an Arduino you can take that route. You want a temperature sensor to grab the air temp in the box. There are options but I would likely choose a DS18B20 here is an example.
Guide for DS18B20 Temperature Sensor with Arduino

You can also use a sensor like a DHT22 and again there are plenty of examples using either sensor I mentioned. So you get a temperature input and you want a PWM out from your uC (Arduino). Something to watch and address in your code is where your fan starts to spin. You would map your temp input against your PWM out starting with enough to turn the fan. Drive the fan low side (negative) using a logic level MOSFET and there is not much to it. I like the FQP30N06L but there are plenty of MOSFETs out there which will work.

There are also off the shelf turn key fan and driver which use a thermistor to measure temperature and PWM the fan based on temperature. So you can roll your own or buy off the shelf.

Ron