Need advice on safely slowing down window fan

I know this is not about lights, and I'm not a total newbie. Just registered a new name because I didn't like my old one. Here's my quest.
I'm looking for a way to slow down my Bionaire BW2300 window fan in order to make it quieter. It's already a pretty quiet fan (they don't come much quieter) and you can't really hear the motors run at all. It's the noise of the moving air that I want to get lower. This is for a small recording studio where I sit right near the fan, which is between two speakers. I cannot change the layout of the studio so I have to sit in front of this fan while recording and listening. One might say just turn the fan off, but I smoke, so the fan will be on. Try telling a smoking musician he can't smoke while tracking. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crackup.gif
So, I'm looking for a SAFE way to electrically mod the fan or put some kind of power soak between it and the AC outlet to make it spin at a slower RPM.
My question goes out to all the electrically able around here. Can this be done? Any ideas? I hope it's simple enough since it's just a fan. A complicated, feature rich one, but still just a fan.

It depends on what kind of motor it uses. If it's a "universal" motor I think the speed can be controlled by the voltage, like a DC motor. The bigger AC motors are "quasi-synchronized" to the AC frequency and can only be run at certain speeds.

Same controller that works on a ceiling fan will work for this. They don't come with plugs so you'll need to wire it up in an old work box from the hardware store with a plug next to it and a cord. That should be fairly easy to do safely if you have any home wiring experience at all. If not, ask for help from someone who does, you don't want to kill yourself or your friends. Also make sure you mark the unused plug on it so that nobody plugs an amp or something into the dimmed outlet, expensive hilarity will ensue /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Get one that has the 3 clicks for low/med/high these just use a big capacitor as a resister and lower the voltage without affecting the waveform and such. If you get one that is a full range dimmer type it will definitely make the motor buzz, the very expensive ones not much, but if you're sitting next to the thing in the recording studio it will start to drive you crazy

Alternatively you could use a variac of the proper size and amp rating, they would be continuously variable and they definitely look cool /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif and some would even give you the option of speeding it up past 100% a little bit. But they are heavy and expensive. You'll end up paying close to $100 for even a small one to do the fan. But they do have a regular cord and plug and so require no wiring by you.

I have build a couple of lamp dimmers over the years. Just a dimmer switch in an old work box from the hardware store and a regular outlet. The proper faceplate goes over the top. I used the cord from an extension cord as the plug and cord. Those plugs are not labeled as to neutral/hot and so it's hard to get them wired right, but it's very important that you figure it out or 10 years from now it's going to kill someone. You'll need the box, the 3 click dimmer, the outlet (don't use the backstabbed connections! You'll be using stranded wire inside if you use an extension cord and that will start a fire if you try to push it into the backstabed connection, use the screw terminals on the plug. Better yet if you have a soldering iron tin the ends of the wires prior to putting them under the screws.) and the extension cord.

good luck! and since I don't know what your skillset it yet /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif (after you hang around here a while we'll all know each other) i say again, thats line voltage and it's deadly and will happily burn your house down. This is a very easy project, but you still have to know how to safely use a wirenut, make a underwriters knot on the cord to keep it from getting yanked out, and which direction to put the wire under the screw so that it's safe. If any of that is a question, ask around for friends that can help you locally with some of the details.

PS shame on you for smoking in the studio, I'd hate to be the guy who has to clean out the mixing console faders every night /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif (I've actually done that job...)

PPS, you also realize that this is an experiment. It might not work or it might burn out the motor. I'm assuming it's a regular el-cheapo fan motor, but it might be something fancier in there... If it hums or sounds angry when you first plug the thing in and turn it down, turn it off in a hurry. After the first few minutes compare the heat produced by the motor to running without it, if it's much hotter, you might want to consider that it's a bad idea.

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LightYear said:
I know this is not about lights, and I'm not a total newbie. Just registered a new name because I didn't like my old one.

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Since you stated this publicly, I'm going to conduct this business publicly.

Multiple accounts aren't permitted. You can change your user name by editing your profile. The "LightYear" account has been deactivated. While I'm not going to reveal your original name, I do know which one it is. Any further attempts to maintain multiple accounts will result in even your original account being disabled. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banned2.gif

I second the variac autotransformer idea! They have a regular outlet on them. I use one on a cheap but huge and noisy Walgreens floor fan. The fan on low, is way to noisy and high speed. It is variable now, and very quiet. I checked for heat, and no problem with this fan.

I used the same variac transformer on a Dewalt grinder to do marble polishing. A commercial polisher with a speed control cost would have cost me $200-300. The stock dewalt grinder (that does not have speed control) is about $60. I said forget the gold plated $200 polisher, and hopped up my Dewalt with a variac. I like the $60 tool much better for one, because I already had it.

Check thrift stores, hock shops, and ebay for autotransformer. Heres and ebay sample for you to see what they look like.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4665&item=3869008668&rd=1

X-10 modules plug right in and they have a hand held remote,
They have modules for dimming both heavy and light loads.

A variac sounds good to me.

It seems that ceiling fan speed controllers do work similar to light dimmers, but they start the motor at full power. I can't find any details though.

If a regular light dimmer was used and the control wasn't turned far enough to get the motor spinning, I can envision a disaster happening. I suppose the same thing could occur if the variac was set too low.

Thanks, everyone. Two things.
I thought this post got deleted since my new other name got banned (I now know that multiple accounts are a no-no). So now, I just posted the same question under this name, and will contact an admin to delete the newer posting if it is considered a double-post. Two unintentional mistakes in less than one weekend... sheesh.
Also, I forgot to mention that the fan is electronically controlled, not just a simple analog switch. That might affect the proper function of the controls if I use something like a variac between the fan and wall outlet(funny the variac was mentioned... people used them in them 70's to get more overdrive from guitar amps).
I could be barking up the wrong tree, but I might have to look for a way to step down the output to the motors AFTER the electronic controls.
Thanks for the response so far!

Just squirt some glue into the fan's bearings. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Sounds simple for a modder. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Just take the electronic control apart and reverse engineer it. That is, draw a schematic and put it here. I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions from CPF members. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Ever tried a "router speed control?" I don't know if that's just a variac by a different name, but these are essentially boxes with a cord on one end, an outlet on the other, and a 0-100 dial on the box. Wood routers aren't exactly known for their low-current operation, so I imagine this device would be happy up to, oh, a 15A inductive load. I can't recall how much these devices sell for.

How about buying a 12v DC fan and putting it in the same box either replacing the original or alongside of it. You can then wire a 12v power supply to it with a variable resistor of proper size and dial what speed you desire.

James S and Carnal: The Variac is a possibility. I've heard about them as a kid. Back then they sounded a little dangerous from what I read, but I would have to think the design safety is better nowadays. I think I'll get a new fan with analog controls so it should work properly this way.
Also, James... fortunately, I'm a bit anal rententive about not leting smoke get in my electronics, hence the exhaust fan within inches of the ashtray. I'm the same way with one of my cars. I smoke in it, but you'd never know a smoker owns it. You've worked in a studio?
Empath: Even after the public /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/whoopin.gif you gave me, I couldn't help commenting on your avatar. Zeppelin 4?

Lasernerd: As long as I'm getting an analog fan, I might like an X10 system even better as I can also use it for other cool things.

Turbodog: LOL... also a way to catch a buzz when I reverse the fan for intake.

Eluminator: Great point about giving the motors enough juice to go and keep going. You never know what's going to happen with some things, so I'll have to self impose a restriction that I never leave the room with the fan on. BTW, I started around looking for schematics but seems to be an exercise in futility. Besides, the more I think about it, modding the fan could get complicated unless it's as simple as soldering a different resistor for output to the motors.

Idleprocess: Sounds like a Variac type thing. If so, it may be available as a common item for less money. I live in the middle of a total shopping mecca, and don't recall ever seeing the Variac name anywhere. 15 Amps should come in handy if I go to the other extreme and start using my studio for wind tunnel testing. Always wanted to know the drag coefficient of my near field monitors.

Lynx Arc: Interesting mod! I could even run it from the car in the sunroof (not recommended for those with long hair).

Just realized last night, that before I do any of this, I have to run a proper ground from my outlets or using ground fault interrupts wont work. This has to be done anyway so I can start using my UPS that's been sitting around getting dusty.