? About Adding Fan to Coaltrol Unit

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BeerMonley
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Post by BeerMonley » Sat. Dec. 03, 2011 6:36 am

i have a pocono with a duct top with 3 ports on it, one of the ports is connected to a longer run of duct work, I want to add a in-line fan to help move the air, my question is can I add a multi-tap outlet adapter to the fan output of the coal-trol so the in-line fan comes on when the fans on the stove come on?

 
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Post by Freddy » Sat. Dec. 03, 2011 6:58 am

I would think that you could, but I'd give Coal-trol a call & ask how many amps the wire will handle. Then add up the amps of the two fans together and make sure the total is less than the wire and circuit can handle.

 
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Post by coalnewbie » Sat. Dec. 03, 2011 7:47 am

Freddies solution seems the most straightforward. What I found is that at low fan speeds I did not want supplemental air (which was cold) blasting through my ducts. Also the variable nature of the coaltrol control did not operate the supplemental fan right. The duct fan I needed was WAY more than the 265CFM(x2) of output of the Poco. I also experimented with a simple on/off duct mounted temperature control and that did not work right for me either. Again full blast fans at lower temperatures was not good but I am sure can be made to work if you know what you are doing which I don't. In the end I put in a White Rodgers sail switch at the intake to the distribution fan. That works great for me and electricians here will be able to advise you. If your are interested and desperate I will stumble through the details for you.


 
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Post by WNY » Sat. Dec. 03, 2011 8:10 am

I think the MAx Output of Coaltrol is 3 or 4 amps? SO you would have to figure out your requirements and make sure you don't exceed. Otherwise, a temp switch or something in the duct work might also work.

 
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Post by BeerMonley » Tue. Dec. 06, 2011 9:50 pm

So the fan I want to add is .4 amps but I have no idea how much the coaltrol controller can handle

 
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Post by pvolcko » Thu. Dec. 08, 2011 2:21 pm

Besides the amps, you may find that the the convection fan speed control output gets "locked" at full speed when you start mixing different fans on the same output. On dual fan setups where the motors are matched it isn't generally an issue, but when you mix fans with different motors and ratings and types it can become an issue. Unfortunately, we can't know if it is an issue for and your mix of fans until you try it. Make sure the total current draw of the fans is below 4A (current ratings of the control outputs are listed at the back of the user manual).


 
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Post by BeerMonley » Fri. Dec. 09, 2011 6:36 am

did you mean the blower fans get locked? I want to connect this new fan to the blower fans not the convection fan (unless im calling them the wrong thing) the convection fan is the fan that blows on the coal, right?

 
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Post by WNY » Fri. Dec. 09, 2011 12:57 pm

THATS Combustion Fan (used for Combustion), the CONVECTION Fans move the heat around.

You would want the INLINE Duct fan connected to the CONVECTION fan output. However, I believe what Paul V is trying to say is if you have Different types of fans on the same outlet, they may run differently due to the motors themselves not being equal. The new one may run slower or faster then the other ones, when the Coaltroal varies the output based on Feed Rate.

As long as you don't overload the circuit, like he said, 4 AMPS max. if your blower is only .4 Amps. you should be okay.

 
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Post by pvolcko » Fri. Dec. 09, 2011 5:02 pm

Almost right. :)

With mismatched motors on the same outlet (through a Y-cord custom multi-outlet splitter box) the speed control circuit can get confusing signals sent back, resulting in the the circuit just giving up and running all the fans on that outlet at full speed. Once the control goes to zero speed (off) on the convection fan outlet then all the motors on the outlet will turn off, but when it tries to turn them on again, if the same odd back feed from the motors occurs, the fans will jump back to full speed even though the control is trying to run them at a slower speed.

So two rules:
1) Keep total current draw on the Convection outlet to 4A or less.
2) Use matched motors if possible. If they aren't matched you may still be okay, but you may well run into the full speed (when trying to run at slower speed) effect I described above. If this occurs you either live with it or you have to get the non-matched motor off the splitter.

 
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Post by BeerMonley » Fri. Dec. 09, 2011 10:50 pm

i completly understand now. the controll see one plug with x amount of draw and sees the other plug with xx amount of draw and goes crazy, got it, think ill just try it out and see what happens, if it locks up at full speed ill try a temp activated switch in the vent and go from there, thanks fo rthe help

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