hammock fans

[T-BACK]

[the fan that brian (T-back) used.
a breeze makes a huge difference so i guess when you find your only choice for hammocking is sometimes in hotter times than you'd like, it may be worth it's weight in gold<g>.
if someone wanted to get technical about it, some questions to consider might be...
1) most efficient fan blade type
2) best motor size & battery type to get the best air flow for the weight.
3) light weight, adjustable attachment methods (small wire?).

cannibal...

I've been using a coleman tent fan for about 3 years now. It started out weighing a whopping 1.7 lbs but I have trimmed it down to 2.2 ozs.
It will run, in my experience, about 20 hours on a "d" cell battery. I have switched mine over to a "aa" battery but have never timed it to see how long it will last. I've used it for four nights before and it was still going strong. I hear you on the summer night heat! This little fan puts out a surprising amount of air and it's possible that you could hook it right on the zipper where the slide closes, though I'm not really familiar with the WB closure. I think that a hammock with a fan is the ultimate outdoor summer bed as you are not laying on a mattress to insulate and prevent the cooling of your back. I usually run the fan until it's cool enough that I'm not lying in a pool of sweat. I try to take some type of bath at night just before I turn in. If i'm not near water, I will wipe myself down with alcohol which has the dual effect of killing skin bugs and cooling me off. That plus the fan makes all the difference in sleeping in the heat after a long day of hiking. If you would like pictures (of the fan not me bathing ) let me know.
How's the planning going for your hike?

[Cannibal]

I had a computer tech come to the office today to work on one of our servers and asked him about the cpu fans. When he asked why I'd want to hook it to a battery, I told him. I explained to him that weight was a very important issue and he said to use the fan from a laptop; very small, very light, and pushes a surprising amount of air. He said a 9V would have no problems running it. He is going to bring me one tomorrow (free ) and I'll hook-up a battery and see how it works.

T-Back, the coleman tent fan is what first got me thinking about this idea. I was near the point of doing exactly what you did, disassembly. I still may, but I'm going to give this laptop fan a try. If it gets to that point, I'll be sure to PM you for pointers!

The planning has forced a decision; by a quirk of timing, if I work thru Jan I get a few grand put into my 401, plus a fairly hefty year-end bonus. It amounts to a pretty substantial sum. I don't think I stand a chance of finishing the ECT starting any later than Jan. At this point, I'm planning a Springer start sometime in late Feb. or early March with the masses. If I stop at Katahdin or not, I guess I'll decide when I'm there.

You're leaving in Dec? Is that right? Obviously, I'll be happy to lend any support while your in south and central Florida. Let me know if you need a ride to a burger king.

[slowhike]

thanks for chiming in T-back. i was hoping you would see this thread.
cannibal, let us know how much air that little fan puts out.

[peanuts]

t-back, we need pics!!!!!

[headchange4u]

t-back, we need pics!!!!!

http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery...r&imageuser=25
http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery...r&imageuser=25

[Redtail]

I had a computer tech come to the office today to work on one of our servers and asked him about the cpu fans. When he asked why I'd want to hook it to a battery, I told him. I explained to him that weight was a very important issue and he said to use the fan from a laptop; very small, very light, and pushes a surprising amount of air. He said a 9V would have no problems running it. He is going to bring me one tomorrow (free ) and I'll hook-up a battery and see how it works.

I've run a CPU fan on a 9 volt before so I can confirm that works (wasn't used for camping though, part of a "spaceship" :-). The fan part is pretty light but T-back's modified fan looks a lot more efficient.

[angrysparrow]

I've run a CPU fan on a 9 volt before so I can confirm that works (wasn't used for camping though, part of a "spaceship" :-). The fan part is pretty light but T-back's modified fan looks a lot more efficient.

For the record, the fan that I linked above isn't a CPU fan, or a case fan, or a laptop fan. It's a soft-bladed USB-powered fan that could be modified easily. It should draw less power than a salvaged CPU fan, and be safer as well.

[Redtail]

For the record, the fan that I linked above isn't a CPU fan, or a case fan, or a laptop fan. It's a soft-bladed USB-powered fan that could be modified easily. It should draw less power than a salvaged CPU fan, and be safer as well.

Now that I think about it I think it was a case fan, not a CPU fan.

For USB fans, here's a link for conversion to battery. Looks complicated (converting to 5 volts)
http://www.hackaday.com/2005/01/20/h...a-usb-battery/

[angrysparrow]

Now that I think about it I think it was a case fan, not a CPU fan.

For USB fans, here's a link for conversion to battery. Looks complicated (converting to 5 volts)
http://www.hackaday.com/2005/01/20/h...a-usb-battery/

That's the same link as at the top of this thread... And, it's not that complicated, just one diode and one resistor.

[Cannibal]

For the record, the fan that I linked above isn't a CPU fan, or a case fan, or a laptop fan. It's a soft-bladed USB-powered fan that could be modified easily. It should draw less power than a salvaged CPU fan, and be safer as well.

I looked at those when you first posted them. I'm worried about duribility with them. I've had bad luck with those soft-blade fans just not holding up for any length of time. Let alone taking the abuse they will surely experience while riding in my pack.

The laptop fan (still isn't here) has a plastic "box" around it like a traditional box-fan that will help protect the blades while in the pack. There is a little risk involved since the blades are hard plastic and there is no protective barrier to get between your fingers and the blades. However, I don't believe the motor is strong enough to leave much more than a mark on your finger.

I agree that T-Back's set-up is probably MUCH more efficent, but you never know until you try something.