Variable Speed Drive for 40W Fan

Get a lower CFM fan blade...?....or use a timer....

WRONG LOAD for the dimmer, read and understand the directions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj_pzeKiErk

Why are you running your air conditioner and pushing the cooled air outside? Do you smoke? If you do, what do you smoke?

He just said that he smokes fan motors

just that my roommate farts a lot.

The orientals make charcoal based fart filtering underwear....google it.

If your roommate won't wear them to stifle exhaust, you could reverse the concept and filter your intake air. (place them over your face, cut in some eyeholes)

You might be able to interface a methane detector to a timer which would run the fan for a fixed amount of time.

Methane detector response would be too slow. Too late to prevent asphyxiation that is. Even a characteristic sound detector would not be enough in case of muffling efforts. I would recommend a combination of those with a sensitive room pressure variation sensor to get a timely system response. Dropping oxygen masks just like on airliners is also an idea to the right direction. (LOL) S.M.

I actually think the masks dropping down from a box on the ceiling would be hilarious and a great way to emphasize to your room mate that he may need to adjust his diet...

Or, a strategically placed/timed butane fire starter.

GA simple solution.

I have a similar one as a desk fan [very old also] it has given very reliable operation, it uses sleeve bearings which need oiling occasionally. It will probably outlast the many cheap Chinese fans for years to come.

The speed control could not be simpler a small tapped inductor no solid state whiz bangs.

The obvious candidate would be a ceiling fan controler which uses the same principal very cheap and made in their millions, available from junk shops most any where.

Thnx chum I connected a 20W 220v fluorescent lamp inductor it works perfect just got the speed I needed. It even got rid of the noise it was making.

If you reduce the flow too much, you'll lose the original intent. Maybe you should consider a fresh air exchanger. They cost several hundred $, but might be cost effective for you.

Did you use a dimmer or a fan speed controller?

There are any number of phase chopping fan speed controllers available that will handle a 40 watt motor, and for a whole lot less than $110.

Have a look on Ebay for a controller for a large ceiling sweep fan. You can even get remote control ones for under $50.

Personally I figure if you cant afford toe run a a 40 watt fan you probably cant afford the correct speed controller either after the $18 you already wasted or afford a lot of other things either.

Just for giggles if I was to assume you had an outrageous cost per KWH in your area equivalent to say 35 cents a KWH that $18 you spent on the dimmer that burned up would have ran your fan for roughly(1800/35) x )1000/40) = 1286 hours. Now given the average and more realistic cost per KWH I would suspect that fan could have ran for at least 4 - 6 months non stop for $18.

Have you contacted Fantech dot com ?

They have a complete line of ventilation products and variable speed switches.

Have you contacted the manufacturer of the fan you installed ? To see what they recommend, that's the first place I'd start.

+1 on the picture with the hole, brilliant combination solution. No VFD is going to cost you less. If you can find an older wire wound dimmer, often called a potentiometer or rheostat, that would work. But you most likely got one that is based on a triac because that is the type sold predominantly now, which are no bueno for motors loads.

You want one of these, you do : http://www.pdl.co.nz/product-details.aspx?rcat=products&catid=788&id=1942

Problem is, these are for use in a 230V system, I am guessing that you need the equivalent for a 110V system.

You could try google to search, it seems improbable that something that is readily available here doesn't have a functional equivalent in the US.

Why didn't you just purchase a small air heat recovery unit?

Like these:-

https://www.airflow.com/heatrecovery

http://www.vent-axia.com/range/heat-recovery-and-mechanical-extract-systems