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HOW TO: DIY USB Helmet Fans - No more 9v or AAs


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Off Topic... I added a usb cord to the velleman super ear hearing amp and got lots of humming, white noise - when plugged into the Anker 10000 & Aukey 5000. When plugged into the Anker 20000 and/or standard 12v outlet, the humming goes away.

Darn it, that sucks. I wonder what this has to do with?

I just got my kit and will be assembling it. I think I have the 3000 Anker so I'm curious if it'll hum as well?

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Darn it, that sucks. I wonder what this has to do with?

I just got my kit and will be assembling it. I think I have the 3000 Anker so I'm curious if it'll hum as well

Keep in mind that's the hearing board by itself... Forget using both hearing and fans on the same 5v battery/circuit. Fan whining & whirling noise from hell. Ukswrath's method of 5v / 12v battery setup is the way to go.

Edited by cjdesign
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Keep in mind that's the hearing board by itself... And forget using both hearing and fans on the same 5v battery/circuit. Fan whining & whirling noise from hell.

You think? If that's the case, I wonder if there's a way to kill the noise from the fans.

 

Otherwise I think I'll just keep the fans on the Anker and the board on 3xAA

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You think? If that's the case, I wonder if there's a way to kill the noise from the fans.

 

Otherwise I think I'll just keep the fans on the Anker and the board on 3xAA

Think not. I know.  :engel:  I've tested this and it doesn't work together.

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Important: The minimum battery output for this fan configuration is 1.5a

These smaller power banks are 1a and will not power the fans.

Hmm. I'm not certain of that. Perhaps it depends on the particular fan / battery combination?

 

I have a similar setup to yours, but I went with two independently wired 5v fans, each pushed by a small 3000 mah LiIon USB battery pack, rated at 1 amp, and it works beautifully. Batteries were $7 each on Amazon.

 

20160327131027-3087beb3-la.jpg

 

I'm getting over 9 hours of battery life per fan.

Edited by kman
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Hmm. I'm not certain of that. Perhaps it depends on the particular fan / battery combination?

 

I have a similar setup to yours, but I went with two independently wired 5v fans, each pushed by a small 3000 mah LiIon USB battery pack, rated at 1 amp, and it works beautifully. Batteries were $7 each on Amazon.

 

20160327131027-3087beb3-la.jpg

 

I'm getting over 9 hours of battery life per fan.

Have followed the same route with my FOTK Bucket. The cylinder power banks fit snugly inside and they're lighter than the AA battery packs.

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Hmm. I'm not certain of that. Perhaps it depends on the particular fan / battery combination?

 

Great you found a solution that works for you. I'm not saying this is only solution and I never claimed that to be. :duim: I clearly, 100% tested 2 different 1a cells and they didn't power my fan configuration.

Edited by cjdesign
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Great you found a solution that works for you. I'm not saying this is only solution and I never claimed that to be. :duim: I clearly, 100% tested 2 different 1a cells and they didn't power my fan configuration.

 

Well, you DID make the claim (in big red text) that it absolutely won't work without 1.5 amps, so I wanted to clarify that that need is only applicable to your exact combination of parts, for others who are trying something along these lines, but with some different bits, since it's definitely not the case in every setup.  Two different batteries is not exhaustive testing, but it certainly does indicate something to keep an eye on.

 

All that said, I'm a big fan of mo' power, so well done, regardless! :duim:  Your install is super clean and nicely executed.  And good find on the battery pack, too, those look like quality parts.

Edited by kman
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Well, you DID make the claim (in big red text) that it absolutely won't work without 1.5 amps, so I wanted to clarify that that need is only applicable to your exact combination of parts, for others who are trying something along these lines, but with some different bits, since it's definitely not the case in every setup. 

 

We are talking apples and oranges my friend. MY configuration doesn't work with 1a!!! I cannot stress that enough.

Your configuration doesn't use any of the part listed in my thread. I can't guarantee any of this will work IF you don't use the parts mentioned. ;)

Edited by cjdesign
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We are talking apples and oranges my friend. MY configuration doesn't work with 1a!!! I cannot stress that enough.

Your configuration doesn't use any of the part listed in my thread. I can't guarantee any of this will work IF you don't use the parts mentioned. ;)

 

Yes, agreed.  With your fans, I agree that it seems likely that it won't work with 1a.  With any other fan, however, who knows?  That's my point.

 

The only parts that matter are the fans and the battery.  Different brand of fan with different specs, and the higher power needs of the fans sold from your link may (or may not) apply, even if everything else (wiring, switches, etc) is exactly the same.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I did 2 troops this past May 4th. I was cooling my helmet with one 5v fan powered by a 9v battery. The first troop was 3.5 hours long and my battery only lasted 2.5 hours. I had no opportunity to return to the changing room to replace. Last hour was miserable. 2nd troop same thing after 2.5 hours battery died. This time I was able to go back to the changing area and replace the battery. But after all of that I new I needed a better solution. I found this awesome thread and ordered the Aukey 5000 power bank. Yes it's bigger then a tube of lipstick but it's still a nice compact size. I'm currently testing it right now with two 5v fans and it's been running for the past 5 hours! I am already super happy! I have Ukswrath's hovi mic speakers an iComm and I built and installed the super ear using the supplied 3 AA pack. I still have room to add this Aukey battery and the fans. Its an ATA helmet and I'm loving having all the electronics contained inside. After my time test I'm going to velcro the Aukey Power Bank inbetween the speaker amplifier and the iComm (bottom pic). Thanks Carl for completely making my cooling system run longer with this USB mod. Much much much appreciated. Sweating and not being able to see for an hour around tons of young children was completely miserable. 

 

99CCB2F4-67F6-4A50-9682-ACF72A522D22_zps

64F47032-1C6F-43F2-B1CB-DA6F4D420B61_zps

 

**UPDATE**

I ran the two 5V fans for 8 hours and decided that was plenty of time for my me.  They showed no signs of slowing down and could have continued.  I had an extra 5V fan and I had the extra space due to the small size of the Aukey power bank. So I installed it as well. So now I have 2 fans upfront, one in the back and a seemingly endless supply of power to run them all day.  But I would hope I would never be in my armor all day! This is the best helmet power mod!!!! My helmet is officially complete!

 

B4A3ADF7-11AC-4F2E-B027-52E4DDD84342_zps

Edited by Squimspickle
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I did 2 troops this past May 4th. I was cooling my helmet with one 5v fan powered by a 9v battery. The first troop was 3.5 hours long and my battery only lasted 2.5 hours. I had no opportunity to return to the changing room to replace. Last hour was miserable. 2nd troop same thing after 2.5 hours battery died. This time I was able to go back to the changing area and replace the battery. But after all of that I new I needed a better solution. I found this awesome thread and ordered the Aukey 5000 power bank. Yes it's bigger then a tube of lipstick but it's still a nice compact size. I'm currently testing it right now with two 5v fans and it's been running for the past 5 hours! I am already super happy! I have Ukswrath's hovi mic speakers an iComm and I built and installed the super ear using the supplied 3 AA pack. I still have room to add this Aukey battery and the fans. Its an ATA helmet and I'm loving having all the electronics contained inside. After my time test I'm going to velcro the Aukey Power Bank inbetween the speaker amplifier and the iComm (bottom pic). Thanks Carl for completely making my cooling system run longer with this USB mod. Much much much appreciated. Sweating and not being able to see for an hour around tons of young children was completely miserable. 

 

You're very welcome sir. :duim:

Edited by cjdesign
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I was looking for something else and i saw this post hope you guys dont mind me chiming in but i did a quick video on USB fan systems. I dont really make videos so the quality is not the best and everything but i go over a few different fan setups and as well as adding in other systems that run off the USB power banks. I also attached a diagram of how i do my fan kits. 

 

Hope this help 

 

post-18597-0-97428800-1462760560_thumb.jpg

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I was looking for something else and i saw this post hope you guys dont mind me chiming in but i did a quick video on USB fan systems. I dont really make videos so the quality is not the best and everything but i go over a few different fan setups and as well as adding in other systems that run off the USB power banks. I also attached a diagram of how i do my fan kits. 

 

Hope this help 

 

Thanks for your input, BUT I would suggest you create your own thread and post your findings there.  Cheers!

Edited by cjdesign
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I just want to take a second and say thanks for making this thread. I've been following it for awhile now and I changed my whole fan setup because of you and couldn't be happier.

Great to hear! Keep on trooping!! :duim:

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  • 3 weeks later...

That's dangerous around children, you can't see when they'll attack you! HA!!

 

Thanks for the pics. As a new troop this gives me a great visual of what to expect when mounting the pieces. Also, thanks for the review. I was initially thinking about the USB batter as a power sources and every review I've read expresses the life span of the fans. 
 

Sweating and not being able to see for an hour around tons of young children was completely miserable. 

 

Looks like about $50 for everything listed in the OP. Not a bad deal to stay cool. 

Edited by El_Pablo
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It helps more than you know. 
This is exactly what I was looking for, and exactly what I was thinking. 

 

I was looking for something else and i saw this post hope you guys dont mind me chiming in but i did a quick video on USB fan systems. I dont really make videos so the quality is not the best and everything but i go over a few different fan setups and as well as adding in other systems that run off the USB power banks. I also attached a diagram of how i do my fan kits. 

 

Hope this help 

 

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This thread is great!  Thanks, cjdesign.  I followed your layout, and now I've got ac!  Or at least moving air.  Not only that, but using the power bank the fans lasted an entire baseball game.

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I was tired of having to change a battery mid troop, so I've decided to build my own 5v fan cooling system using a rechargeable usb power cell. I trooped for 4 hours with this setup and only used 1/4 of the battery.

Flash back to my second troop where I burned through (3) 9v batteries in 3 hours. This will save money big time!!

 

IMG_3027_zpsmowshobo.jpg

 

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Parts list:

 

Power Cell:

http://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerCore-Portable-Ultra-Compact-Fast-Charging-Technology/dp/B0194WDVHI

 

3x 5v Fans:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5Pcs-Black-Brushless-DC-Cooling-Blower-Fan-5015S-5V-0-1-0-3A-50x15mm-/261690004729?hash=item3cedf094f9:g:4i8AAOSwg3FUguCW

 

Switches:

 

2x Tall Switch (mounted through the bracket)

http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/judco-manufacturing-inc/40-2385-01/504PB-ND/161440

2x Tall Rubber Nut

http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/judco-manufacturing-inc/19-1088-00/513PB-ND/63952

 

1x Short Switch (back fan)

http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/judco-manufacturing-inc/40-3352-02/528PB-ND/611177

1x Short Rubber Nut:

http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/judco-manufacturing-inc/19-1082-00/532PB-ND/611181

 

Wire:

 

22 gauge wire with connectors (both male and female)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/20m-Pairs-Clearance-100Mm-Jst-Line-Jst-Connector-Plug-For-Rc-Battery-/381394139361

 

USB Connector:

Old cell phone charger

 

Bracket:

 

(.04) sheet metal black anodized aluminum.

http://www.ebay.com/...=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

Neoprene foam sheet ( Used as a backing to cover bracket and conceal most of the wires.)

http://www.ebay.com/...=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

Other items...

 

• Solder Gun / Solder

• Shrink tube (various sizes)

• Electrical Tape

• Wire stripper/crimper

I'm running the same with 2 40mm 5v fans and ran 6 hours.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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This thread is great!  Thanks, cjdesign.  I followed your layout, and now I've got ac!  Or at least moving air.  Not only that, but using the power bank the fans lasted an entire baseball game.

Thanks William! Moving air is great - isn't it? ;)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Could you explain a bit more how you made the splitter? I'll try to make three fans inside my snowie. Got the AKER in the mail now. Purdi.

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Could you explain a bit more how you made the splitter? I'll try to make three fans inside my snowie. Got the AKER in the mail now. Purdi.

three connectors soldered together at a single point. red to red and black to black. heat shrink tube to conceal the wires. hope that helps.

Edited by cjdesign
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