Wiring The Xpelair Wac1 Fan Speed Controller (transformer Based)?

[h4z3]

Hi all

I just got my two WAC1's for 25 quid each.I will use each for my 2 RVK fans.

I ve heard good things about these controllers.Anyone of you has any experience with them?

They are transformer based ones so this must mean no wierd RVK fan buzz etc..They are 75w max.

I have very little 'electrical' related knowledge so I would like to ask for your help in order to wire them properly to my RVKs.

I have a RVK 125A1 and a RVK 150A1 (which has a 2mF capacitor)

Here are some pics from one of my two WAC1s:

First pic : Cover

Sec pic : 'Inside' view

Third pic : Diagrams from the instructions that come with the WAC1

So I see there are 4 connection points in the WAC1 :

LF , NF, N , L

What do these stand for?

I guess N = Neutral and L= Live , right? The other two?

I also see a golden screw connection on the second pic , upper left corner, is that for the earth?If yes how is it supposed to be conected.Sorry for being so ignorant but I never had any similar experience so any help and instructions to wire the RVK's to the WAC1's would be really appreciated.

Is there a difference in wiring the RVK 125 compared to the RVK 150 that has a capacitor?

[scraglor]

live fan and neutral fan, basically live and neutral output

yes thats the earth connection, just connect both the earth from your fan and from your plug to this

both fans will connect the same

Edited December 7, 2007 by scraglor

[Halfatree]

Im using the same controller... works a treat... I found the best way was to go in one end of the controller with a drill bit... just big enough for the wire to pass through, then cable tie to stop movement

LF as scraglor says is live fan...NF neutral fan... Wire that piece of wire to the fan block and the L N to the plug... both ends of the earth just wire into the small wire block on the case...

[scraglor]

use 20mm plastic cable glands

[h4z3]

Thanx guys for the help, its all clear now..I ll do the connections and let you know how things work.

[h4z3]

I just wired the RVK 125A1 and here is the results

There is one problem :

When I run this fan ( 125 A1 RVK) on setting 4 , I still find it too noisy and I dont need so much airflow..So from setting 5 to setting 4 , there is a little difference in noise and airflow.It doesnt get me to the point I want.

So I turned it to setting 3 ...But now it drops way too low..the fan is barely working..its more silent that a pc fan and the airlow is almost useless..way too little..If I turn it to 1 fan stops working...

So I wanted a setting inbetween 3 and 4...

There is a difference you d expect between 4 and 5 , but at 3 and 4 its day and night.

Like I said above when I turn it to 3 it feels as if the fan has almost stopped..it works but almost does nothing ..more like a good big pc fan.

It seems that the wattage of the fan drops way down on 3 ..

Is there a way to get to an intermediate setting between 3 and 4?

I dont believe this is possible though as its a 5 step transformer..but perhaps I could do workaround?..use setting 4 and lower the speed a little with 'something',somehow to go to an intermediate setting?

Edited December 8, 2007 by h4z3

[scraglor]

you could link two of the output taps together, essentially reducing the transformer to a 4 step, although i don't advise it as i haven't done it myself, so cannot predict the outcome, or just an inline resistor if you're only trying to shave off a small amount of voltage, all a bit of a pain in the arse though, and i wouldn't like to instruct you how without having one in front of me having done it myself, are you sure setting three is way too low? how are you judging what kind of airflow you need? do you have passive intakes? if so you could increasethe intake area to give a freer flow if the intake area is quite small, can't be much more help really

[h4z3]

Do you have an AC V meter? Can you measure the output voltages at all steps?

Well I dont have one at the moment..but a fellow has measured them and they seem to be similar to the 5step transformer the systemair(manufacturer of the RVK fans) produces for these RVK fans.

step 5 = 230v

step 4= 160v

step 3 = 130v

It was these numbers if I remember correctly. BUT Ill do a search and try to confirm that.Cause I might be wrong.

It seems this fan is a low wattage one and the voltage at 3 is too low to provide reasonable airflow...Its almost useless at 3 , barely working. On 4 its 'too much'..almost close to full speed.Little difference between 4 and 5 as I mentioned earlier.

By the way I love the no-buzz effect the transformer gives , thanx for advising me to buy one instead of other type 'fan controlles/dimmers' .

I wish I had bought a variable variac tranny though so I could adjust it exactly at the desired voltage.

you could link two of the output taps together, essentially reducing the transformer to a 4 step, although i don't advise it as i haven't done it myself, so cannot predict the outcome, or just an inline resistor if you're only trying to shave off a small amount of voltage, all a bit of a pain in the arse though, and i wouldn't like to instruct you how without having one in front of me having done it myself, are you sure setting three is way too low? how are you judging what kind of airflow you need? do you have passive intakes? if so you could increasethe intake area to give a freer flow if the intake area is quite small, can't be much more help really

I need to run my intake in less than step 4 as it is too much noise and I don't need all the power ,step 4 gives, ..in order to keep negative pressure.

I am only taking about my 125rvk here..I haven't wired the 150 extractor yet.

The 125 is for intake.

When I wire the other I ll post the results too.

Thanx for the help so far guys I appreciate it.

Edited December 8, 2007 by h4z3

[scraglor]

if you can locate the step 3 and step 4 output taps and join them together, you should get a voltage exactly halfway between the two. if you have a 150 for extraction, even if you have your intake on full whack you should keep negative pressure, the noise is mostly air movement anyway, so why not get a length of insulated ducting on either side of the intake and run it on setting 4, will quieten it dow a shit load

[h4z3]

if you can locate the step 3 and step 4 output taps and join them together, you should get a voltage exactly halfway between the two. if you have a 150 for extraction, even if you have your intake on full whack you should keep negative pressure, the noise is mostly air movement anyway, so why not get a length of insulated ducting on either side of the intake and run it on setting 4, will quieten it dow a shit load

If it is a 'correct and safe thing to do' I 'll most probably do what you say, .. so if this is the best and easiest option I ll have to do that to get to an intermediate step between 3 and 4 , cause that is basically what I need ..a few volts more that the step 3 and few volts less than the setting 4 gives.

But I am not sure if I understand correctly..

What exactly are the output taps ? If you see my 2nd pic where you see the green plate , are the 3 and 4 step taps the metal spikes that you can see on the transformer on the left part of the pic? Or should they be close to the 5 step switch at the back side of the plate ??

I will also run my RVK 150 extractor at setting 3 to keep noise down.Moreover I bought a CAN200 carbon filter to fit the airflow that the RVK150 would give at setting 3 (around half cmf) So I can only use the RVK150 at setting 3 max to get correct 'contact time' for the carbon to work efficiently.At step 4 it would blow air too quicly throught the filter , so it wouldnt eliminate odors as expected.

So I can only use my RVK125intake fan at max '3.5' setting , 4 is too much airflow to keep negative pressure..plus too noisy.

Edited December 8, 2007 by h4z3

[scraglor]

if you can locate the step 3 and step 4 output taps and join them together, you should get a voltage exactly halfway between the two. if you have a 150 for extraction, even if you have your intake on full whack you should keep negative pressure, the noise is mostly air movement anyway, so why not get a length of insulated ducting on either side of the intake and run it on setting 4, will quieten it dow a shit load

If it is a 'correct and safe thing to do' I most probabaly will do what you say, .. so if this is the best and easiest option I ll have to do that to get to an intermediate step between 3 and 4 , cause that is basically what I need ..a few volts more that the step 3 and less than the voltas the 4 gives.

But I am not sure if I understand correctly..

What exactly are the output taps ? If you see my 2nd pic where you see the green plate , are the 3 and 4 step taps the metal spikes that you can see on the transformer on the left part of the pic? Or should they be close to the 5 step switch at the back side of the plate ??

well that's the problem, i don't know which taps are which. also modifying bought equipment is never the safe and correct thing to do. you're changing the design parametres, and without having one here that i can modify and test myself, i can't assure you. although i would do it myself.

the taps are the bits sticking out of the inductor, there should be a live input and neutral input = two of the connections on the tranny. then you have a neutral out connection, and your 5 output voltage connections, total of 8 connections, although i notice there are a couple of unused taps, which you could test the voltages of, might happen to be the voltage you are after, you can then disconnect one of the other taps and connect this one to the pcb, otherwise you need to test each of the connections to neutral to find which outputs are which. test each terminal of the tranny individually, you should get two at 240 to neutral (240 input and output) then 4 voltages between 240v and 0, then the other two terminals should read 0v to neutral, (neutral in and out)

Edited December 8, 2007 by scraglor

[scraglor]

to add this will reduce the power rating of the tranny, although not by a huge amount, and the rvk 125 is quite low power in comparison anyway isn';t it? can't remember the wac-1 power rating?

[Guest The Sheriff]

Just watching with interest as wiring something similar now as i speak , although mine is slightly different the is an option quote " Output voltages can be reconfigured by switching the fastons on the Pcb" , maybe of some help to you all drooping h4z3's voltages .

[h4z3]

Thanx for the replys again

Well I checked and the wac1 is 75w max.

The rvk125 is around 30w at full power.

Edited December 8, 2007 by h4z3

[h4z3]

By the way Id like to correct my previous posts ..at steps 1 and 2 the fan 125A1 doesn't really stop but it is as slow as if you turned/spinned the fan with your hand ..

At 3 its again too slow, minimum airflow for me, results almost 100% silent , at 4 it is working close to full speed and the fan is noisy due to high airflow, at step 5 its full speed quite noise from the high airflow..(as if no controller).

Well I will wire my rvk 150extractor setup the growroom and see how things go, I hope I can run my RVK125 at speed 3 and my RVK 150 at speed 3 .

If intake doesnt really get me enough airlow/fresh air..I will try to go to speed 4 .. but I hope I will be able manage to get negative pressure in the room as the RVK150extractor will be still at speed 3, which is the max I can go with it due to having a 125mm CanCarbon Filter 200cmf.

Edited December 9, 2007 by h4z3