Installing fans inside helmet?

[Grilledeggplant]

Would anyone happen to know how to install mini fans in helmets? Or forward me to a site/video on how to install them. Thanks!

 

[Drgnfyre4]

interested in this as well, as that is the step I am on. Would love a "dumbed down" tutorial as I keep finding people who know how to solder and do electronics like to "tech" it all up and I cant make heads or tails out of what they are saying...lol.

 

[Spitfire22V]

It's not that difficult. Feel free to check out my build thread for some ideas. Starting at post #67 and onwards, there should be some photos of my fan installation. Unfortunately, I don't have specific photos of the wiring/soldering process, but it's very simple.

Basically, I built a little plywood holder that I could glue in anywhere, yet still remove the fan if needed. Some people go even simpler and just hot-glue the fan in there. Get a battery or battery pack (no more than the rated voltage of your fan, i.e. I have a 12 Volt fan and used a single 9 Volt battery), and solder/set-up the wires to attach the fan to the battery. Then, simply cut one of the wires and solder in a slide-switch (available at Radio Shack or other electronics stores) to connect the now-cut wires, thus completing the circuit.

Just be sure to do a bit of pre-planning to know how long your wires need to be so you can place all the components where required.

 

[CoolC]

I used a 12V fan with a 9V battery, just like Spitfire. You don't have to go crazy with the wiring. I didn't use any solder, just some electrical tape. My kids' helmets did not last more than 6 hours when they had the fan turned on. If you can find smaller fan and use less power, you can add more LEDs, and a 9V will last longer.

Here is a simple wiring of the fan.

 

[Spitfire22V]

Yup, that's almost exactly how my fan wiring looks like. Only difference is I used a slide-switch instead of a button switch, but either works fine.

 

[Tombskull]

Thank you both, CoolC and Spitfire, for providing this information.

 

[Drgnfyre4]

Now thats my kind of wiring! thanks for that!

 

[crowcrow]

Hiya,

Worth noting that USB fans are 5v - and 3 AA batteries are about 4.5v so will run them fine.

I bought a laptop cooling pad from ebay for about £5 that included 3 fans (with some nice blue leds) then just made a very simple circuit with a switch. I wanted my fans to show, but would be easy to hide them away. The fans made it really nice and cool, unfortunately I broke the cabling/solder on mine pretty quickly.

Note that fans/motors use a lot of AMP hours, so 3 good AAs won't last ages, probably a good few hours, but not tens of hours (where as I ran 2 LED torches off 1 AA battery for over 24 hours).

Pics (mine is the white one): http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/32841-Daft-punk-Guy-helmet

and video:

 

[Grilledeggplant]

Thank you guys for the info!

 

[NovemberAdam]

Wish I would have known that the fan would work even if under powered! I have a 12v fan and used 8 AA batteries to power it. It was interesting trying to find a spot for that battery pack.

I actually didn't even install a swith, just attach the connector (looks like the conector for a 9v) to the battery pack when I want to turn it on.

Now that I know a 9V will work with a 12V fan I may have to add a couple more as one doesn't work all that well.

 

[trendkiller]

Anyone using any alternative power sources? Nicd or lithium packs?

 

[Dark Star]

While we're asking, this still doesn't answer what I was wondering. Where did you PUT the fans in your helmets? And did you have to cut slats in it to let the air out or what?

Thx in advance!

 

[Drgnfyre4]

Thanks for the information in this thread! I was able to easily install my fan and it makes a great difference in comfort.

 

[NovemberAdam]

While we're asking, this still doesn't answer what I was wondering. Where did you PUT the fans in your helmets? And did you have to cut slats in it to let the air out or what?

Thx in advance!

I put the fan over the visor facing down on it to prevent fogging. The battery pack was in the back of the helmet. I have a piece of foam at the top that I guttted from a motor bike helmet, so I just notched that a bit to make a seat for the fan. I have a couple of holes in the back of the helmet, and a couple in the sides of the "ear" pieces of the grenadier helmet. With that in mind, one fan is still not enough, so I may put a couple by those ear holes to either push air out, or possible blow it in, but I'm not sure I want air blowing dierctly into my ears.

 

[Mstruvmgc]

These are all fantastic ideas, you guys are all awesome! i am not quite at that stage of my helmet yet but this will help a lot when i get there TY

 

[Dark Star]

Thank you much!... Im just gonna have to check if theres ROOM in my helmet, snug fit and all that

 

[slawrence]

is that a button, what it's called?

 

[CoolC]

While we're asking, this still doesn't answer what I was wondering. Where did you PUT the fans in your helmets? And did you have to cut slats in it to let the air out or what?

Thx in advance!

My first helmet looks a little crude in the inside. Once wore, nobody can see inside anyway. Putting a fan in MK VI is easy. There is plenty of space on the chin. I cut a hole and glued the fan above it. On the front, I glued a plastic tubing to cover it up. A hole helps remove the stale air, making wearing the helmet more bearable.

For the Recon helmet, I drilled tiny holes on both sides of the cheeks. Outside of the helmet is black, so you can't really see the holds. I glued the fan on one of the holes. Again, this helps circulate the air inside the helmet.

is that a button, what it's called?

The button is called push on/off switch I found at Radio Shack.

 

[Brax Lel]

So can the let fresh air in and stale air out? can you post pics to show us the inside and outside?

 

[Lt Ambrose]

I know this thread's a bit old, but I'd rather revive someone else's work than start something new. I've been lurking this one for a couple of weeks to get a quick lesson in fan wiring for a mask/helmet I'm working on for Halloween. (Considering how long I've been a member of this site, it's about time I actually put something together.)

Anyway, I know most people use solder and some even use electrical tape, but how about some hot glue? Considering we're just talking about 5v fan here, would hot glue prove a good enough bond to keep wires together and allow the current to flow?