So you like being a stormtrooper on the Death Star, but you can’t see a thing in that helmet, and the whole thing gets a little too hot for you? Or maybe you just moved into the Jundland Wastes and all the other Tusken Raiders seem cool and collected when you’re sweating your ass off. Then this is the tutorial for you!
Putting a small battery-powered fan into a mask or helmet can make all the difference in the world and allow you to stay in costume for hours on end in air-conditioned comfort. It’s an extremely simple circuit, but I try and give you a few tips that can certainly make the difference between success and failure.
Here are links to some of the parts I use:
Super Slim 12V Mini Fan
There are also small centrifugal blowers that can work very well if you need to blow air up onto your lenses or if you don’t have an opening to pull air in through. I’ve never used these before, but would like to try them sometime. Maybe in my new Master Replicas UK CE helmet. Hmmmm.
20 comments
2 pings
Derek
July 5, 2008 at 12:20 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
how do you adhere the fan to the rubber strips, and then the strips to the side wall?
Tom
July 5, 2008 at 8:39 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Derek, the material I use was left over from an FX trooper kit and had adhesive on one side already. I stuck that side to the fan and used Zap-a-Gap cyanoacrylate (CA) adhesive (aka superglue) to adhere the rubber to the plastic wall of the helmet. Superglue-type adhesives work very well as long as the rubber material you’re using is solid. I prefer Zap-a-Gap because I’ve had the best results with it. Believe it or not, there is a difference between different CA adhesives.
If your rubber material doesn’t have adhesive, I’d try the Zap-a-Gap on that side as well. Just make sure you have enough contact area on the fan.
I’d also recommend scuffing up the plastic you want to adhere to with a little sandpaper before applying the glue. That holds true for hot glue as well.
Good luck!
Joyous
November 4, 2008 at 6:14 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Great tutorial, I’ve been looking for this kind of info. How strong is the airflow for these fans? If I mount one beneath a layer of sheer, gauzy material, would it have enough strength to blow material outward?
Tom
November 4, 2008 at 6:41 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
It might, Joyous but probably not very well. It would probably puff the fabric outward slightly. It’s main use in my application is to provide a cooling breeze in the helmet. The end result depends as much on the intake area as it does on the fan’s ability. Your best bet would be to try several fans until you find the one that works best for you. I know that’s not the most economical solution but when it comes to costuming each application is often unique.
stormtrooper costume
November 26, 2008 at 7:13 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Wow, thats a really clever idea. Can’t believe I never thought of it. I’m a fan of setting up cooling in any costumes with whatever is possible, which most often seems to be thin plastic ice packs. But this, this is clever. Thanks for the tutorial.
wulfgar
January 5, 2009 at 7:01 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I have a fan out of an old pc that has 3 wires, a black, red and blue. Would I be able to use it for a situation like this. I am guessing that the blue is a thermostat wire.
Thanks
Tom
January 5, 2009 at 8:24 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
wulfgar, the fan you have could work. It really depends on the voltage it requires. Look on the fan itself and see if it’s a 12V fan. If so, you should be able to power it with a 9V battery. You just need to test it. Strip a little insulation off each conductor and put the conductors on the contacts of the 9V battery to see what happens. Check the sound level and the airflow and see if it’s good enough for you. If so, I say go ahead and install it. Good luck!
Albert Mory Jr.
October 1, 2009 at 2:35 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Hi!
I have a question for you on installing the helmet fans. I wanted to ask you what would be a great spot or place to mount a fan inside a biker scout trooper helmet?
Thanks A Lot,
Albert!
Tom
October 15, 2009 at 9:49 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Hi Albert, sorry I didn’t see your post sooner. If you have a hole through the mic tip you could put a fan behind it. If not, you can cut holes in the “ears” and put mesh in there then put fans behind them. It really depends on where you need the air. I wear glasses so I usually need it to blow directly on my face. Check out squirrel fan blowers as an alternative as well. http://www.BikerScout.net could be a good resource for you too.
Tanner Roberts
January 17, 2010 at 1:20 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Hey man im installing one in my biker scout lid. Just one quick question.
How do you install the switch?
Tom
January 17, 2010 at 3:43 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
It depends on your switch. There are lots of different types. If it’s the type that will mount to a surface you’ll have to make a hole and decide where you can mount it where it won’t be seen.
Miranda
March 17, 2010 at 3:45 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Thanks for posting the video. I have one question: if I want to just keep my helmet from fogging up, should I position it so that the wind blows onto the inside of the mask or should the air blow onto my face?
Tom
March 17, 2010 at 4:43 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I suppose it depends on what works for you. I’ve always had the fans blowing on my face because I wear glasses. They usually fog up before the lenses do. I’ve heard of several people using tiny centrifugal blowers (basically little squirrel-cage fans) to blow air up onto their lenses but I haven’t tried that myself.
Rick
October 2, 2010 at 9:39 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Not sure if you’re still replying to this but I’ll give it a shot. I’ve followed your tutorial and will install a fan in my Vader helmet; however, is it natural that the 9V battery gets quite hot? The guy at RadioShack also told me to install one fan to bring air in and one to blow air out; is this what most people are doing? I bought a case to house the batteries and plan on installing the case in the back of the Vader helmet, I believe there’s plenty of room for it. Thanks for your time
Rick
Tom
October 3, 2010 at 7:27 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Hi Rick, No, the battery shouldn’t get hot. Do you know what the voltage and current ratings of your fan is? As to how you choose to route the air, there are as many methods as there are people in the 501st. I’ve rarely seen the same thing twice. That said, it really depends on what you need the fan to do. For me, I need it to help keep my glasses and helmet lenses from fogging up. For that reason, I went with blowers instead of fans in my new TIE pilot helmet. A new tip I recently discovered is a site at http://www.allelectronics.com . I just bought some new fans from them and found them to be WAY cheaper than anyone else. Best of luck with your Vader!
Rod
April 16, 2012 at 7:27 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Question about fan installation: This is similar to a previous question but ……I am using the Radio Shack cooling fans I think the one in my Trooper mask is 3×3 and the Vader is the smaller one due to lack of space. These are 12V fans. The previous owner had them hooked up with two 9V batteries. Had to install a new switch in one….Bla…Bla….Bla. Anyway, what am I doing wrong if when I turn on the fans, they work perfect but the batteries get super hot really fast and the drain out even if the switch is off??? I have tried running them tandum and in sequence and gotten the same results. I am not sure what to do. I am assuming that they are reving up with too many amps? Not sure. Please advise. I keep getting told that everyone uses 9V to run there fans and amplifiers. What am I doing wrong?. The fans say 12V. Do I need a 12V battery?? That seems a little bulky and heavy.
Tom
April 16, 2012 at 9:24 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Hi, Rod. There are a couple of things that could be causing the batteries to heat up. Either the positive and negative poles of the batteries are shorted together or the fans are drawing too much current. I kinda doubt it’s the latter, especially if the guy who installed them had no issues before.
If they get hot while the switch is off, there’s got to be a short somewhere. You might want to try a different switch. If you have a meter or a circuit tester, check continuity across the poles of the switch when it’s in each position. It could be that the switch itself is odd or that the poles you connected your wires to are always connected for some reason. Could be that there’s a solder bridge across them or even one or two small strands of wire touching. You want to make sure there’s no connection between the positive and negative battery wires. Try it with one fan and one battery on the switch and test.
If you’re wiring the fans in series, there could be issues if they’re wired incorrectly. If the fans are wired in series, then the batteries must be wired in series as well. I prefer one battery per fan, myself, so if one battery drains faster I don’t lose both fans.
You can’t wire two fans to one battery in any case. the current draw will drain the single battery very quickly and possibly cause some heat.
This may sound silly, but double check that you know which is the positive connector and which is negative. on 9V batteries I find myself questioning that from time to time and it isn’t always marked clearly on the battery. If you’re using someone else’s wiring harnesses, you might double check those too.
I’ve always used 9V batteries to run small 12V fans with no issues. They just run a little slower. I expect you’ll be able to sort it out. Let me know if you have any other questions after you’re done testing. I hope this helps.
Nicole
May 18, 2012 at 7:14 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Hi Tom – I just connected my fan per your instructions. The battery got super hot after only a minute running. I’m installing it in a foam and fur costume and can’t have that amount of heat. Any suggestions?
Nicole
May 18, 2012 at 7:31 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Sorry Tom…I just scrolled down and read your post about hot batteries. Please disregard my previous post. I’m starting to think I should’ve just sprung for the pricey pre-made mascot fan.
Thanks.
Tom
May 18, 2012 at 8:06 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Hi Nicole. No worries. In all the time I’ve been costuming, I’ve never had a battery heat up the way you describe unless something is wrong with either the fan or the connections. Don’t give up! It’s all a learning process. Almost every project involves trial and error, so there’s always some error to deal with.
Good luck and let me know if I can help you in any way.
Costume Bot Blog Archive Helmet Fans | Outdoor Ceiling Fans
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May 28, 2011 at 12:44 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
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