Amnesia Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 After much deliberation regarding noise issues/hum on buying a STR stepping controller i decided to take the plunge and go for it, I'm so glad i did as i'm very happy to confirm that there is ABSOLUTELY NO HUMMING! Its currently wired up to my 125mm Prima Klima two speed Ruck fan and being used as an intake fan because i decided to upgrade and works perfectly, very quiet on speed 1 on the controller. I was originally going to build a variac but this stepping controller is ideal if you are like me and cannot be bothered to get all the parts to build a varic, all the controller needs is to be wired into the mains and and extension socket wired in which is very easy to do. You can wire the stepping controller directly into your fan but thanks to some advice in a previous thread of mine i found out that its best to just put an extension socket on and then you can just plug your fan into it, the beauty of this is that then you are able to move the controller elsewhere if need be. The first thread i made about buying a stepping controller is here if anyone would like a read of it.> STR Voltage stepping fan speed controller Any good?,with 5" Ruck fan The stepping controller i purchased is the 1.5A version which as a rough guide is good for any Ruck fans up to the 250L which uses 0.9A, You could also use up to two 150L (High Power) fans using 0.5A each with a two-gang extension, there is also a 3.5A controller for bigger fans. So you will need : 2 lengths of 2 core mains cable. (3 core can be used but not needed) Single or double extension socket. Mains Plug. First up here is a picture of the wiring diagram.> All complete and ready to go, the cable coming out of the controller on the LEFT goes to a mains plug and the cable on the RIGHT is wired to a single extension socket so that you can plug your fan in.> 1. First of all you need a length of 2 core mains cable long enough to reach your mains supply and putting your controller where it will stay, wire up a plug on one end of the cable (3amp fuse). 2. When you take out the two pozi drive screws at the top of the controller and pull off the top cover you will see a multi connector strip and inside will be the three rubber grommets you will need to put around the cables, take out the grommets and put a large one (cone shape end pointing into the box) around the other end of the cable you just wired a plug to and strip the outer sheath of this end about 2.5" back. 3. Now, push the cable through the LEFT hole in the box and put the BLUE wire into the screw marked "N", the BROWN wire goes into the slot marked "L" and then secure. 4. You now need to push the rubber grommet up the cable and then kind of squeeze half of it into the box, i used a screwdriver for this bit. Do it properly as this will make the cable watertight in the box. 5. With the other length of 2 core cable you need to wire one end into a single or double extension socket, push a large rubber grommet as before onto the other end of the cable and strip a little bit from the end. 6. Push the stripped end through the MIDDLE hole in the box and wire the BLUE wire into the slot marked "2" and the BROWN wire into the slot marked "U1" and screw tight. 7. As before push the rubber grommet into the hole, once done make sure the multi connector is sitting on the two pins to hold it in place, put the smaller grommet into the spare hole in the box, put the cover back on and replace the two screws. Job done! You know have a silent fan speed controller with 5 speed settings and you can move or plug another fan into it easily. If anyone needs any help in wiring up their Ruck fan then let me know, mines a Prima Klima so if yours is similar then i may be able to help you. Using a multimeter i've managed to get a reading of the Voltages on the 5 different speed settings and are as follows.> Speed#1 = 82v Speed#2 = 133v Speed#3 = 161v Speed#4 = 200v Speed#5 = 258v this seems a bit high, anyone know if that is normal? I've read somewhere that you should use the Prima Klima fan i've got on the second speed (on fan) when using a fan controller which i do but can anyone shed any light on this? Well i hope this guide is of some help to some of you thinking of getting a stepping controller. All the best, Happy Growing. 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonedcold Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Pinned 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobtheBuilder Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Wow! Top drawer thread! Just opened my STR controller up and panicked big time! Looks fecking scary in there I happen to have 3 core cable instead of two, can I use this or does it have to be two core? If I can use it, where do I wire the green/yellow cable to? Thanks for the thread dude! Life saver! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JemimaPuddleDuck Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 the green yellow cable is earth and is connected to any exposed metal parts (so that any electrical shorts cause the fuse to blow.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marauder Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Thank you so much Amnesia for this excellent guide! I do have a question though, that I hope that you experts could help me with. Everything works great except that the little external electronics thingie on the fan is making a weird noise. It kinda reminds me of the sound a hard-drive makes when it´s loading. Is that normal, or have I missed something? Excuse my English btw, it is not my native language. Regards/M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amnesia Posted March 9, 2013 Author Share Posted March 9, 2013 stonedcold, BobtheBuilder, JemimaPuddleDuck and Marauder. Glad to be of some help I'm not sure what the noise could be Marauder, what make is your fan? I've only used this using Ruck fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NattyFido2 Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 <snip> <snip> <snip> I notice you've wired the fan between the 'U1' and '2' terminals, and although this works because all the Neutrals are common, the fan should really be wired between the 'U1' and 'U2' terminals. The '1' and '2' terminals are a simple on/off switch, if the dial is set to '0', the switch is off otherwise it is on. <pedant mode = off> Natty 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
podencoid Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 I notice you've wired the fan between the 'U1' and '2' terminals, and although this works because all the Neutrals are common, the fan should really be wired between the 'U1' and 'U2' terminals. The '1' and '2' terminals are a simple on/off switch, if the dial is set to '0', the switch is off otherwise it is on. <pedant mode = off> Natty Like this? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NattyFido2 Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Yep! Natty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amnesia Posted March 11, 2013 Author Share Posted March 11, 2013 You got me all confused now, mine has been wired up for a couple of months and is working fine. I see podencoid has his neutral going to U1 and live to U2 from the fan, mine on the other hand is neutral to 2 and live to U1? What difference does this make? is mine wired safely? What difference will there be if i wire mine this way? Hope someone can clear this up for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amnesia Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 You got me all confused now, mine has been wired up for a couple of months and is working fine. I see podencoid has his neutral going to U1 and live to U2 from the fan, mine on the other hand is neutral to 2 and live to U1? What difference does this make? is mine wired safely? What difference will there be if i wire mine this way? Hope someone can clear this up for me. Can anyone advise? please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NattyFido2 Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 (edited) You got me all confused now, mine has been wired up for a couple of months and is working fine. I see podencoid has his neutral going to U1 and live to U2 from the fan, mine on the other hand is neutral to 2 and live to U1? What difference does this make? is mine wired safely? What difference will there be if i wire mine this way? Hope someone can clear this up for me. It is safe and it will work just fine, but that's not how it's supposed to be wired. U1 & U2 are the controlled output to the fan, 1 & 2 are switched output. The reason yours works is because U2 & 2 are both Neutral. I'm just a pedant when it comes to stuff like this. Natty Edited March 14, 2013 by NattyFido2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arknor Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 (edited) Does anyone know exactly what size torx screwdriver I need for the screws in one of these? EDIT: Nevermind! I found a driver in my old 250 helicopter kit that fits its a "T10x50" Edited March 21, 2013 by arknor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arknor Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 Is it correct to assume U1 is live U2 is Neutral ? Or does it not really matter? I see the OP has it one way and the other guy has it reversed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NattyFido2 Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 Doesn't really matter, but the convention is U1 is Live and U2 is Neutral. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now