Uses for a small laptop fan?

[poiihy]

I have an iBook fan I salvaged from my Radeongated iBook. It is a laptop fan and it sucks in air from the top and blows it out the side. The air doesn't come straight out the side, it comes at an angle. It runs nicely at 3v, but at 5v (full speed) it is loud and whiney.
You all know that regular desktop fans are quite useful. You can use them as a desk fan, laptop fooler, pc fan, etc. But I can't think of anything this small fan is good for. Any ideas?

 

[Intell]

Cube video card fan.

 

[poiihy]

Cube video card fan.

That's a good idea... thought I don't have a cube.
My DA has a video card with a heatsink; it is passively cooled; this fan would fit perfectly there, but it doesn't need a fan.

I wonder if this fan could fit and function well enough in a MacBook Pro.

 

[Intell]

That fan cannot fit into any Intell based Macbook.

 

[brentmore]

I have an iBook fan I salvaged from my Radeongated iBook. It is a laptop fan and it sucks in air from the top and blows it out the side. The air doesn't come straight out the side, it comes at an angle. It runs nicely at 3v, but at 5v (full speed) it is loud and whiney.
You all know that regular desktop fans are quite useful. You can use them as a desk fan, laptop fooler, pc fan, etc. But I can't think of anything this small fan is good for. Any ideas?

If you cut out and affix a small piece of charcoal filter sheet that's the same size, you'll have a great solder fume extractor. That's what I made with some old PowerMac G5 fans, but yours could be for smaller projects.
http://www.brentmorelabs.com/2012/01/fume-extractor/

 

[poiihy]

That fan cannot fit into any Intell based Macbook.

By thickness? Of course the connectors are different and the mounting bracket won't fit without modification, but is it too thick to fit?

 

[Intell]

That and because of its shape.

 

[poiihy]

That and because of its shape.

It's smaller (in length and width) than the new fans so it would fit in the spot. It can be positioned so the air blows through the heatsink, even if the fan does not fully fit in the round shape. But because of the thickness, it probably won't fit with the lid closed. I'll test it sometime.

 

[poiihy]

If you cut out and affix a small piece of charcoal filter sheet that's the same size, you'll have a great solder fume extractor. That's what I made with some old PowerMac G5 fans, but yours could be for smaller projects.
http://www.brentmorelabs.com/2012/01/fume-extractor/

That's a good idea; I need a fume extractor.

It doesn't feel like there's much wind on top so I didn't think it would really work, but I tested it with a match and it worked quite well! It needs to be about 2-3 inches of it to suck in well.
If I put a filter on it, it may reduce the suction. Also the fan propellor is flush with the top so the filter would touch the propeller; it would need to be raised. Maybe it is better to put the filter on the output.

Wow, it looks like it's really nice to have PowerMac G5 fans.

 

[brentmore]

That's a good idea; I need a fume extractor.

It doesn't feel like there's much wind on top so I didn't think it would really work, but I tested it with a match and it worked quite well! It needs to be about 2-3 inches of it to suck in well.
If I put a filter on it, it may reduce the suction. Also the fan propellor is flush with the top so the filter would touch the propeller; it would need to be raised. Maybe it is better to put the filter on the output.

Wow, it looks like it's really nice to have PowerMac G5 fans.

Yep, the G5 fans are awesome and have many uses. Plus the housings are excellent for modding. I believe I put the filter on the output side also, but I don't remember if it was a matter of design or necessity.

 

[poiihy]

That and because of its shape.

It's smaller (in length and width) than the new fans so it would fit in the spot. It can be positioned so the air blows through the heatsink, even if the fan does not fully fit in the round shape. But because of the thickness, it probably won't fit with the lid closed. I'll test it sometime.

Ok I tested it.

It is too thick. It looks like it will fit with the cover on, but there would be no room for air to get in the top. It may fit if the keyboard were removed, though. My keyboard is defunct anyway... hmm

Other than that it would probably work. The fan can be mounted adjacent to the heatsink. It is smaller though so it would need to work harder to keep cool. A special mount would need to be designed to attach it in place.
Both fans are 5v so they will run properly. The iBook fan has 3 wires while the MBP fan has 4, so it looks like the speed sensor would not work.
The plug from the MBP fa would need to be cut off and spliced to the iBook fan wires. There would be plenty of space to fit this though.

If it was thin enough then it would work. It would probably work if the keyboard were removed.

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Yep, the G5 fans are awesome and have many uses. Plus the housings are excellent for modding. I believe I put the filter on the output side also, but I don't remember if it was a matter of design or necessity.

I think i'll try turning this into a fume extractor. Thanks for the suggestion! A USB fume extractor
Would activated carbon for aquariums work?

 

[brentmore]

I think i'll try turning this into a fume extractor. Thanks for the suggestion!
Would activated carbon for aquariums work?

Yep, just about any of the activated carbon or charcoal filters will work. I used regular scissors to cut to shape. Too easy.

 

[thewap]

Super bong?

 

[poiihy]

Yep, just about any of the activated carbon or charcoal filters will work. I used regular scissors to cut to shape. Too easy.

I made a stand and made a filter for the fan. I used a sponge and filled it with activated carbon, but it didn't work. I need something else.

It's hard to find a filter that fits on this fan. You don't want something that bulges inward, or it touches the propellor. Also you need to keep the soldering really close to the fan, about 2-4 inches. I don't know if this is really a good idea A desktop fan would be much better!

 

[brentmore]

I made a stand and made a filter for the fan. I used a sponge and filled it with activated carbon, but it didn't work. I need something else.

It's hard to find a filter that fits on this fan. You don't want something that bulges inward, or it touches the propellor. Also you need to keep the soldering really close to the fan, about 2-4 inches. I don't know if this is really a good idea A desktop fan would be much better!

Looks like you gave it a pretty nice shot. That sponge is a lot thicker than I would have used, so it's probably providing too much resistance to the already low powered airflow.

In my setup, I use charcoal sheets which are about 1/8" thick and big G5 fans, so there was lots of air movement. Good job with the quick build.

 

[poiihy]

Looks like you gave it a pretty nice shot. That sponge is a lot thicker than I would have used, so it's probably providing too much resistance to the already low powered airflow.

In my setup, I use charcoal sheets which are about 1/8" thick and big G5 fans, so there was lots of air movement. Good job with the quick build.

Actually no, the fan pushes plenty of air through. The problem is the carbon doesn't spread the entire sponge so the fumes go around it. I need charcoal sheets where the entire thing is infused with carbon.

I made this yesterday but didn't feel like posting it.