Inflatable & Controller Question

[robigd]

I am finally giving in to my wifes' demand to include inflatables in the show next year. If you separate the light and fan in the inflatable, is there anything wrong with using regular channels to turn each component on/off individually? 

 

I see various posts about relays and am not sure if that applies to this situation.

 

Any help and past experience is appreciated. Thanks!

[Ebuechner]

I personally separate the light and fan. In fact I went so far as to replace the lights with RGB Dumb strings. Then put the fan on a timer so you're not wasting a channel on a controller. But if you need to I think you can plug the fan into the controller but you would have to configure that channel in hardware utility so it's a simple on/off channel.

[robigd]

I personally separate the light and fan. In fact I went so far as to replace the lights with RGB Dumb strings. Then put the fan on a timer so you're not wasting a channel on a controller. But if you need to I think you can plug the fan into the controller but you would have to configure that channel in hardware utility so it's a simple on/off channel.

 

Thank you for the reply! While I got ya, let me rope you into another question. Any specific guidelines you followed to separate the light and fan? Pretty electrical ignorant here, but have a few crappy inflatables to experiment with.

 

Thanks again!

[PaulXmas]

I did that a few years ago. I put the fan on a timer and light was controlled by one channel.

Easy peasy

[Ebuechner]

Well they're all built quite different. Most if not all have a zipper to open them up and get to the light string. If they're using a standard screw in light bulb like you would see on a night light you can follow that wire back to where it's hooked up to the power coming into the prop. It's at that point you would cut the wires going to the light (while its unplugged of course). Now here's the important part you need to cap off the wires that went to the light string. You separate the wires and tape them off or use that liquid tape to seal them off. Do not forget this step. From there you would hook up another cord to the lights where you cut them off do not use the screw on wire nuts that you find at a hardware store. Here's a case if you're not familiar with soldering you can use crimp on connectors from a hardware store that have heat shrink tubing built on to them. For your cord you can use an old 2 prong extension cord and cut off the female end. Bring the cord through the zipper or a tiny hole in the bottom of your inflatable.

Edited December 7, 2015 by Ebuechner

[robigd]

Well they're all built quite different. Most if not all have a zipper to open them up and get to the light string. If they're using a standard screw in light bulb like you would see on a night light you can follow that wire back to where it's hooked up to the power coming into the prop. It's at that point you would cut the wires going to the light (while its unplugged of course). Now here's the important part you need to cap off the wires that went to the light string. You separate the wires and tape them off or use that liquid tape to seal them off. Do not forget this step. From there you would hook up another cord to the lights where you cut them off do not use the screw on wire nuts that you find at a hardware store. Here's a case if you're not familiar with soldering you can use crimp on connectors from a hardware store that have heat shrink tubing built on to them. For your cord you can use an old 2 prong extension cord and cut off the female end. Bring the cord through the zipper or a tiny hole in the bottom of your inflatable.

 

Thank you so much!

[jamills706]

Some of mine have 12-volt lights and others 120-volt. Be sure to check before using the built in lights!

[EmmienLightFan]

I saw an inflatable in a shop with the fan and bulb connected in series (I think)

 

It said that the bulb replacement was 120v.

Maybe you have similarly wires ones.

[Ebuechner]

120 volts would be a parallel circuit not series.

[EmmienLightFan]

120 volts would be a parallel circuit not series.

Sorry, I forgot to mention that I am in the UK so mains power is 240 volt.

[Ebuechner]

I would think in the UK it would still be the same thing a parallel circuit between the light and the fan motor. The difference being that they would be rated for a higher voltage. A series circuit just won't work between those items. If you run a series circuit you're pretty much limited to linking identical items. (That's how our Christmas light strings are wired)