Fan Rheostat

[bsruther]

I had to pull my insert this week to replace the fan motor. I got it back in today and it's working better than ever. Almost too good in fact. It's 30 dgrees outside and the whole house is between 74 and 85. This is with the mudroom and attached garage doors open. When it gets down below 10 degrees, it's very comfortable in here, but anything above that and whew.
I've been thinking for some time about putting a rheostat in line on the fan, so that I can tone the heat down in here and not damage the fan motor and wiring. The thing I'm not sure of is which type of rheostat to get. Can I just use a dimmer switch or is there some other sort of potentiometer that I need to use?

 

[pgmr]

It depends on the type of motor your blower uses. If it is a shaded-pole or split capacitor you can use a variable fan speed controller like (broken link removed to http://www.hardwareandtools.com/invt/0949461)

 

[PeteD]

You should NOT use a dimmer - they are meant for lights only. You will have hum and may overload your dimmer. Get a fan control switch rated for enough amps to cover the draw of your fan.

You do need to have a fan that is OK for running at variable speeds - check the specs or with the mfg of your fan to be sure.

Pete

 

[bsruther]

Thanks guys, you've steered me in the right direction.

 

[Jfk4th]

(broken link removed to http://www.northlineexpress.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=5SA-4008).

20 bucks