Recycle an old power supply into a(nother) fume extractor

I knew I was in need of a fume extractor for my soldering work and was hoping to get a computer to scavenge the fans out from it. Finally that day came and someone kindly handed me an old CPU and among other things, I salvaged my long waited fan from the power supply. Ok I was ready to begin the construction of the fume extractor, I searched for a few instructables all of them involving some kind of mounting for the fan(s) so I started looking for a proper frame to mount mine. After looking for a while I looked at the power supply case and realized that everything I needed was there already (just in the wrong direction). Look ma' there's a power switch in there too!.

So here's how I got my fume extractor for about $0.00

This extractor doesn't use filters to keep it's cost and simplicity and will not take the fumes to the outside of the room (well you always could add a duct) but at least will keep the lead and flux fumes away from your face as you solder.
Here's an instructable about making an Activated Carbon Air Filter. Thanks Hatty I'll try it right now!
*EDIT: Wow! Activated Carbon is CHEAP! that makes it compatible with my extractor.

WARNING

The power supply can store enough voltage to give you a very unpleasant or potentially lethal shock, even if it's unplugged.
Be careful and only attempt this if you know what you're doing!

Step 1 Ingredients

For this instructable you'll need:

- Computer Power Supply
- 12v AC-DC Power Adapter
(I bet you already have a power adapter lying around if you need a fume extractor, that way the cost of the project will drop to $0.00). Of course you could take the power directly from the power supply but I don't want a case full of unuseful things and charged up capacitors.


Tools

Phillips Screwdriver
Soldering Iron
Solder

Comments

[daggerofblood1243]

kewl

[Daniel Deacon]

Who's Phillip and where can I buy his screw driver.

Just kidding

really though, will this also extract other fumes such as carbon monoxide and things like that. thanks

[skeetshooter11]

awsome and i like the way is looks i painted some cardboard and put in around the sides

[nbwriter]

Great instructable (especially since you mention its your first attempt).

In the UK, the cheapest air filters retail at £30 (and can be noisy). Consumers also doubt the effectiveness of these cheaper units. Your device solves all these problems, while cutting down on construction time. (I've seen some rather bulky diy "box-type" filters on the Net - that demand carpentry skills and would look odd in a domestic environment).

I'll be refining this design by spraying the casing white (or silver) and removing the redundant mains sockets. As other contributors have mentioned, these socket holes could be utilized as filter ports.

Although I'm no expert on airflow technology, I'm guessing the "bad" air drawn into the casing will pass through the filter ports, exiting as cleaner air. (I haven't been able to find any basic schematics of commerical air filters online as yet).
But, the secret to success probably lies in making the casing air-tight. (Easy to achieve with tape, or even silicon sealant).

I knew those old computer parts would come in handy!

Kind Regards NB

[dragontirex]

lol brilliant idea ,i after i made my lab power supply i said why not to make an fume extractor and i was pretty angry when i saw that the fumes are so toxic so i recommend that everybody makes one :)

[Cobalt59]

I made one similar to yours. I used aquarium carbon filter sponge and a 9v power supply. The fumes still go through (although they don't smell as bad). Does anybody know why?

[yrben]

I'm wondering what else this could be capable of. If I had the right filters and voltage to my fan, could it also control dust levels when i use a Dremel on urethane foam? Could i smoke inside and not set off my smoke alarm? I have a massive resource for these. I would love to just stack them up and suck the piss out of my workshop.

[Cobalt59]

Almost all solders I see are rosin core. Rosin is made from tree sap. It is also called 'colophony". It can cause all sorts of heath effects like asthma. I always use lead-free.

[mrfixit63]

BE VERRY, VERRY CAREFUL WHILE REMOVING CIRCUIT BOARD, I HAD TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL ONCE BECAUSE OF OPENING ONE OF THESE UP!!!

[conoral11]

Most solder is going Lead free due to the health benefits. You've got to remeber that the flux used is still toxic. So although there is no lead, lead free isn't without its risks. And for reference leaded also has flux!

The carbon filter will make sure the nasty stuff is caught and not repositioned into the room for later keep you and everyone else that little bit healthier.

Good tutorial.

[alexanderm]

Not everyone is going lead-free... it's still cheaper, and easier to work with... nonetheless, you make some good points. And, while some lead solders can be found with halogen-free flux, to my knowledge, there aren't, yet, any lead-free solders that don't contain some crazy nasty flux vapors (the flux is far more nasty in general).

[beehard44]

try adding filters of some sort

[whynot2007]

the sockets that you added back to cover the hole can also be used for testing any 12 v device once they are connected. a convinient way to check the stuff

[8bit]

What does this mean? 

[brgdragon]

For the voltage selector switch does it need to have a terminal for each wire? My voltage switch only had 2 terminals and my dilemma is that my fan has 3 wires and the 2 wires from the adapter. I'm new to soldering and everything, so I would like some help please. Thank very much.

[grampafish]

hook the fan to the adapter as shown in the pics

[Hydroelectric]

This is a good guideline!

[Hydroelectric]

Thanks for the picture Grampafish, it was absolutely wonderful to have this as a guideline.

[brgdragon]

Thank you very much, I couldn't see that in the pictures.

[grampafish]

your welcome

[ElectroHops]

Cool, this works, thanks! I only need to purchase the carbon filter so it will be better

[greenkirb]

couldn't you just reverse the wiring and make it a whole lot easier?

[BFeely]

NO!  It's a brushless, electronic controlled fan motor.  Reversing the polarity will either mean it won't work or fry the fan's electronics.

[punkatsub]

i know you must hear this from lots of people, but i am wondering where i could get some free, or cheap fans,i live in austrlia by the way, the cheapest fan i found was about 6 bucks for a 80mm fan, but that is in a place in melbourne, and i live in a rural area and it takes 4 hours to get there, i have taken all of fans out of my other computers and put the in to my louad beast.

[Aqlor]

You can get free fans.
1-Go out of your home.
2-Head to the nearest informatics store.
3-Think in good things so you have a smile on your face.
4-Go in, grow some balls and just ask if you can have some things they don't want and that they will throw out. Sometimes they will say it is all for recycling, just tell them you need some parts exactly for that, recycling.
5-Once they show you the big pile, choose the things that you think that might have fans. Some GPU, some computer cases, power supplies ect.
6-Say thank you and maybe even offer them a coffe.
7-You can go home now.
Thats it!

[punkatsub]

even then the nearest techy place is about an hours drive, so stfu

[Aqlor]

You're so mean.

[punkatsub]

you are saying that i am mean when you are telling me to grow a pair

[Aqlor]

:P you are right. no offense intended. I just said that because, the first time I did it, that was what I thought to myself and guess what it worked.

[punkatsub]

no prob

[dark sponge]

try http://www.allelectronics.com. they have a good selection of cheap fans but I don't know if the shipping will work for you. I've ordered from them twice before, it's probably my favorite online electronics shop.

[Cobalt59]

My dad has a computer business. I can't wait for him to take me to the old building where they used to operate. Apparently they have piles and piles of old electronics just waiting to be salvaged. :)!

[ampeyro]

and where does all the smoke go?

[octavian234]

your supposed to have a tube or something that goes outside i think

[andy70707]

This is a good tutorial, since I do alot of soldering and have an old PSU wondering what I can do with it. I also managed to fing some dust filters which fit the fan and filter out most of the solder.

[noobererer]

yeh dude....like 3 years ago me and my friend were putting together our first computer (after taking it apart) and we turned it on, the side was off and i was sitting like half a foot away from it... few seconds after being on the power supply sparked out of control and almost caught on fire, and to top it i was just about to put my hand right beside it too make sure something was secure :P

[Danny_Payne]

lol, i found out ablut the shock the hard way, it did feel quite nice tho, tingly armss :D

[Redgerr]

lol, ow

[memyselfand1]

OMG!!! We have that exact same power supply that I blew up in our Windows95. I was trying to find some uses for it! Thanks so much!

[zatek]

Um.. I have a power supply with the fan and everything. It's "kinda new" like 2 yrs old or something. It's at 230v and I don't seem to have a supply bigger than like... 6 volts? That is like 38 times to little voltage... What do I do? If I should go for a bought fan which power wattage and voltage should I go for? I'm reaaly concerned about breathing gas lead so please help me out.