Piper.180 Posted May 7, 2023 Share Posted May 7, 2023 Hi all, my setup has been running for about 2 months with no problems at. Tent has had negative pressure the whole time. I just come in to check up on things a my tent was ballooned out, meaning positive pressure. I have a passive intake, meaning only one ducting fan and it's for extraction, it's connected to a cheap fan speed controller and that's it. How the hell did this thing all of a sudden change direction? I disconnected the fan speed controller and had negative pressure straight away, reconnected the fan speed controller and still negative pressure. Is the speed controller or fan on the way out? I didn't even think this was possible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handysmoker Posted May 8, 2023 Share Posted May 8, 2023 I'm with @mikeydoughnut on this ... it can't happen. With my limited knowledge of leccy you would have to reverse the polarity on the motor, even then it may blow .... unless you can actually witness it you'll have to put it down to gremlins. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shumroom Posted May 8, 2023 Share Posted May 8, 2023 It sounds like the balancing ability of the controller had a glitch, where the intake fan was blowing in more air than the extractor is sucking out through the carbon filter, causing the change from negative to positive pressure in the tent. Whether or not it'll happen again I don't know, but it's worth keeping an eye on. what type of fans are you using? Atb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KC Posted May 8, 2023 Share Posted May 8, 2023 He's got a passive intake Shumroom (i can't at people) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shumroom Posted May 8, 2023 Share Posted May 8, 2023 Sorry I glossed over the passive intake bit In that case the extractor fan must have just about stopped or stopped completely?? Get yourself a new/better controller as soon as you can afford one.. I can highly recommend G.A.S equipment I'd still ask if the fan is an AC or EC tech? Atb 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodbloke Posted May 8, 2023 Share Posted May 8, 2023 I'm guessing the 'ballooning' out is just the natural tent shape under much reduced/no extraction. Aren't fan blades/propellers directional, they won't move the air properly by reversing their direction? What type of fan is it? Can you take the controller out of the loop to test the fan standalone? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper.180 Posted May 8, 2023 Author Share Posted May 8, 2023 1 hour ago, Shumroom said: It sounds like the balancing ability of the controller had a glitch, where the intake fan was blowing in more air than the extractor is sucking out through the carbon filter Its passive intake 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper.180 Posted May 8, 2023 Author Share Posted May 8, 2023 9 minutes ago, Goodbloke said: I'm guessing the 'ballooning' out is just the natural tent shape under much reduced/no extraction. Aren't fan blades/propellers directional, they won't move the air properly by reversing their direction? What type of fan is it? Can you take the controller out of the loop to test the fan standalone? No I mean ballooning as in puffed up like a balloon. The fan is an RVK 5" Unplugging the fan controller was the first thing I did and the tent vacuumed straight away. I then run the fan back through the speed controller and no problem and the tent maintained negative pressure. Only thing I can think of is somehow the fan was off (maybe slightly unplugged) and wind was blowing in through the wall vent, down the ducting and into the tent. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSZZ Posted May 8, 2023 Share Posted May 8, 2023 Top hit on google Most of these motors are capacitor start induction run motors. The direction of the current in the start winding determines the direction that the motor turns. Reversing the capacitor reverses the direction. Yes if the motor was having trouble keeping up to the rotating induction it could start going the opposite direction. Many people however fail to check if a dimmer switch is designed for motor control only, fluorescent lighting only or a modern led compatibile dimmer switch. You can't control the light and the motor with only one dimmer and hence can't use a dimmer at all if the wire isn't a 3 wire cable feeding the ceiling fan. These dimmers have semiconductors in them or other components that may mess with the motor and potentially change your direction of rotation. Granted, this dude is talking about a ceiling fan but I think the message is the same, as the cheaper fan controllers are literally just dimmer and not a proper variac controller. Could it be the fan controller is on the way out? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper.180 Posted May 8, 2023 Author Share Posted May 8, 2023 12 minutes ago, GSZZ said: Top hit on google Granted, this dude is talking about a ceiling fan but I think the message is the same, as the cheaper fan controllers are literally just dimmer and not a proper variac controller. Could it be the fan controller is on the way out? Oh crap I didn't think it was possible. The controller is about 7 years old and it only cost £6 so I can't complain lol. I will order a new cheap one for now and start researching I decent one to buy. Thanks dude. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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