[FuzzDad]

So here's where I sit...I have six fans pushing air through three radiators (360, 240, 120) and I'm using the Koolance 452X dual-bay reservoir/pump combo w/twin 450 pumps (very quiet on high too...superb pump/reservoir deal although a bit of a pain to prime). I have a 1250W PSU so getting power isn't too much an issue. I'm getting ready to install a ASUS Rampage III Formula (I shorted out my eVGA X58 board the other day...).

What are your recommendations for pump/fan control? Currently i have manual fan speed control using a simple 4-fan controller where I wired up all three of my 360 fans into one connection, the two 240 fans as one connection and the 120 by itself. Pumps are straight molex w/o control right now. I'm gobbling up Martin's posts on controllers and DIY wiring but I'm not sure what's the best approach. Sure...I could go balls-out w/hi-end setup but I'd be happy with just a simple controller setup. I'm currently looking at the TMS200 solution from Koolance but I don't want to go any higher up (in price). Thoughts?

 

[slickwilly]

have you looked at getting a potentiometer with a high enough watt rating to use on the pump from Radio shack?

 

[Zaiber]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slickwilly;12998747
have you looked at getting a potentiometer with a high enough watt rating to use on the pump from Radio shack?

Even though potentiometers are cheap, they are frowned upon for fans because they damage the fans or shorten their life or something, I can't really remember but you can google it.

Most fans use Pulse Width Modulation or PWM in which they give bursts of voltage with varying length to control the speed of the fans. Sticking to fan controllers would probably be a good idea.

 

[charliehorse55]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zaiber Even though potentiometers are cheap, they are frowned upon for fans because they damage the fans or shorten their life or something, I can't really remember but you can google it. Most fans use Pulse Width Modulation or PWM in which they give bursts of voltage with varying length to control the speed of the fans. Sticking to fan controllers would probably be a good idea.

There's nothing wrong with voltage control on a fan. It doesn't damage it at all. In fact, that's how most fan controllers do it.

It's just an electric motor, lowering the input voltage won't have any effect on it.