Print PDF
Favorite
Email
Step 3Desolder the LED and Add the Fan
To add a fan, you must first remove the LED. Simply desolder it from the board. Be careful while soldering, or you may burn out the resistor and IC. Note that the LED in these tends to be very low power and not very bright. If you still want to use one of these as an outdoor solar light, it would be worthwhile to add a new, brighter LED to this board.
Next you need to add the fan. Before soldering it in, though, check the polarity to make sure it spins the right way. You'll probably want it to spin the same direction as you would if using it as a normal fan. If you want to save a little time, when you remove the motor from the fan, mark the negative lead so you don't have to check it later. I didn't find it to be a problem, but if you want to save 3.2 seconds, mark it first.
After you get the polarity correct, solder the fan in. Once again, be careful with your soldering. The leads are very close together, so you'll have to be very precise in order to keep it from shorting out. If you find that your leads stick pretty far out from the board, use a pair of nail clippers to trim it close.
At the moment, whenever the solar panel is not receiving enough light (and the battery is connected), the fan will turn on. To keep this from happening, I added a switch between the board and the fan. Also, the only way the fan will turn on is if the panel is covered (and the switch is closed, if it's added). I didn't mind having to cover the panel, but if you like, you may cut the negative (the black one) lead and solder a switch between the panel and the board. Whenever the switch is open, the IC will think that not enough light is hitting it and redirect power from the battery to the fan. Note that with either setup, the battery will not charge while the fan is on.
As mentioned before, the LED only takes a small amount of electricity. For this reason, a resistor is likely placed between the battery and the LED. For most fans, this resistor is unnecessary, so you may want to remove it and add a wire to make the connection. This will give the motor a bit more power.
Also, most fans take 3V via two 1.5V AA's. I found that my light only had one 1.5V AA, but I think that you could add an extra battery in series to the first one. It (in theory) would charge properly (it would take longer), and would give the fan its 3V. In the same place you buy your light you can probably find the rechargeable batteries for it. It would likely be easiest to remove the old battery clip and put in a new, 2 battery clip. I'm not positive this will work, as I was content with the way mine worked on its own.
Next you need to add the fan. Before soldering it in, though, check the polarity to make sure it spins the right way. You'll probably want it to spin the same direction as you would if using it as a normal fan. If you want to save a little time, when you remove the motor from the fan, mark the negative lead so you don't have to check it later. I didn't find it to be a problem, but if you want to save 3.2 seconds, mark it first.
After you get the polarity correct, solder the fan in. Once again, be careful with your soldering. The leads are very close together, so you'll have to be very precise in order to keep it from shorting out. If you find that your leads stick pretty far out from the board, use a pair of nail clippers to trim it close.
At the moment, whenever the solar panel is not receiving enough light (and the battery is connected), the fan will turn on. To keep this from happening, I added a switch between the board and the fan. Also, the only way the fan will turn on is if the panel is covered (and the switch is closed, if it's added). I didn't mind having to cover the panel, but if you like, you may cut the negative (the black one) lead and solder a switch between the panel and the board. Whenever the switch is open, the IC will think that not enough light is hitting it and redirect power from the battery to the fan. Note that with either setup, the battery will not charge while the fan is on.
As mentioned before, the LED only takes a small amount of electricity. For this reason, a resistor is likely placed between the battery and the LED. For most fans, this resistor is unnecessary, so you may want to remove it and add a wire to make the connection. This will give the motor a bit more power.
Also, most fans take 3V via two 1.5V AA's. I found that my light only had one 1.5V AA, but I think that you could add an extra battery in series to the first one. It (in theory) would charge properly (it would take longer), and would give the fan its 3V. In the same place you buy your light you can probably find the rechargeable batteries for it. It would likely be easiest to remove the old battery clip and put in a new, 2 battery clip. I'm not positive this will work, as I was content with the way mine worked on its own.
| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
2
comments
|
Add Comment
|
Jun 1, 2009. 4:33 AMwierdale24
says:
why didnt you use a computer fan?you can get cheap one for 2 dollars off ebay and they pull alot more air than that toy fan.
Reply
Oct 11, 2006. 9:03 PMangle of fire
says:
why did you use such a big solar panel?
Reply
 |
Add Comment
|
