I have a question about a fan I built using a dc motor.

[dopeness]

So, I pulled the motor from battery powered clippers that I didn't need anymore (not sure what V it is, i'm assuming 5V). Right now, it's hooked up to my desktop, but it's just too slow. It starts out fast, then just goes to a slow speed. What I want to do is plug it into the wall, using the wall charger that allows you to plug USBs into them.

I don't want to do anything bad to my house though as I am actually not very experienced with electronics (i'm more of a software developer).

So, is it safe to give this a go? Will I short anything? Will the outlet explode? etc.

Thank you much for reading.

 

[davenn]

I pulled the motor from battery powered clippers

what's that ??

(not sure what V it is, i'm assuming 5V).

well, surely it is stated on the battery or the device ??

Right now, it's hooked up to my desktop,

desktop what ??

but it's just too slow. It starts out fast, then just goes to a slow speed..

probably not getting enough voltage/current ...... Again, that should have been marked on that clipper thing

charger that allows you to plug USBs into them.

well that wont work if it needs more than 5V and more than 500mA



Dave

 

[(*steve*)]

If you've got it running from a USB port then it is likely it takes an initial high current which turns the motor rapidly but which also triggers the polyswitch protection which then limits the current to a lower value

 

[dopeness]

Lol, really Daven?

Battery powered clippers = Cut your hair with clippers that take batteries?

I don't have the original packaging.

Desktop = Desktop Computer????

Once again, don't have the original packaging

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Thanks for all the replys guys, the main question is, can I try plugging it into a wall outlet? Would it be safe to test?
Like I said, I literally have very minimal knowledge on electricity and all of that.

Thank you.

 

[davenn]

Lol, really Daven?

Battery powered clippers = Cut your hair with clippers that take batteries?

could have been grass or hedge clipper for all I knew ... you never stated

 

[tedstruk]

nah if you plug that into the wall it will fry.

 

[Audioguru]

You said that the motor in the clipper ran from batteries. Didn't you see the batteries and count them? If you did then you will know the voltage rating of the motor.

You asked of you can try plugging it into a 120VAC wall outlet. But batteries are low voltage and are DC, not AC. The voltage might be 40 times too high and cause the motor to be a bomb!

Since you know nothing about electricity then stay away from it.

 

[dopeness]

@daven Haha true, sorry, I didn't think about that.

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"Since you know nothing about electricity then stay away from it"

Great advice, wonder how many electrical engineers there would be if said advice was followed. Or in any field for that matter.

The batteries were not in the device, but it looked like it took 2 AA batteries.

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Anyways, thanks everyone for the tips/suggestions. I used a usb power adapter, plugged it in and it works fine, it does not slow down.

Nothing was fried, nothing blew up, etc. The output from the wall may be 120vac but does it get reduces as it is ran through the usb power adapter.

information on the adapter:

10W
input: 100v - 240v, 50-60ghz
output: 5.1v === 2.1a

Does everything check out?

Thanks again everyone.

 

[73's de Edd]

Does everything check out?

Yep . . . .everything except the gigahertz . . . . . .

And if using ONLY two cells they would be series running them at 1.2 + 1.2 VDC = 2.4 VDC if they were TYPICALLY using Ni MH or Ni CD cells.

 

[dopeness]

What is wrong with the gigahertz exactly?

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Thanks a lot, I'll probably be doing other mini electronics projects in the future and look forward to your guys's expertise. Fast replies and knowledgeable people, perfect, thanks electronicspoint and everyone who posted!

 

[73's de Edd]

10W
input: 100v - 240v, 50-60hz
output: 5.1v === 2.1a

 

[(*steve*)]

Gigahertz is about 1,000,000,000 times more than is reasonable for those specs.

I imagine the presence of the "g" was a typo somewhere.

 

[dopeness]

Ahhh silly me, yeah I meant hz.

 

[davenn]

Ahhh silly me, yeah I meant hz.

you actually meant Hz

 

[Audioguru]

@daven Haha true, sorry, I didn't think about that.

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"Since you know nothing about electricity then stay away from it"

Great advice, wonder how many electrical engineers there would be if said advice was followed. Or in any field for that matter.

Little kids are taught about the dangers of 120AC from their parents and at school. They are taught to never plug in something that should not be plugged in to the electricity. Electrical engineers are taught everything about electricity before they fiddle with it.

I am glad that you did not apply 120VAC to the 2.4VDC or 3VDC motor which would have caused a catastrophe.