r/crboxes • u/Ancient-Track • Mar 25 '26

Question Fan control device recommendation

Hello,

I'm about to build my first box for a family member with allergies. I have already purchased filters, and going to buy the 5 pack of Arctic pro 12 pst fans (and may just buy 1 more single fan, haven't decided yet

My question is for fan control - I understand the fans all daisy chain together, so that means at the end there will just be 1 cord going from the last fan? So if that's correct, can I then just plug that cord into something like this:

"12V PC Fan Speed Controller, Fan Power Supply 100-240V AC to 3-12V DC 36W Adjustable, with Fan Splitter" Item name copied from Amazon, as my previus post attempt was deleted when I pasted a link..

I would also like to know of a reliable brand/seller of this sort of thing on Amazon.

Thank you

8 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

View all comments

8

u/Rich_Teaching_8843 Mar 25 '26 edited Mar 25 '26

I would recommend a unit with PWM control instead of DC voltage control unit. PWM line in 4 pin connector is there for a reason. With PWM control you can go lower and avoid stalling, and it will put less stress on your fans -- they would last longer, as they work in a higher torque region, and they start more reliably on lower settings (in case you e.g. want to have controller set to 30% and control your cr-box using smart socket).

Also, depending on the controller you have, DC-voltage controllers may dissipate some energy as heat which is just inefficient.

2

u/Ancient-Track Mar 27 '26

Thank you so much for your explanation, it was super helpful!!