[jmowbray]

Harvey is just stirring to dang fast. To the point where he's almost falling over. Is there any way to slow down the wiper motor? I do already have it on it's slowest setting. I was thinking of wiring a socket on a light dimmer switch. Would that work or am I screwed?

 

[J-Man]

Here's what you need.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10A-6V-12-2...533?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a90e6cb0d

 

[jmowbray]

J-Man how slow does this get him down to?

 

[J-Man]

As slow as you want without losing any torque. There are lots of these listed on ebay, you'll pay a little more from a dealer in the US, just make sure it's PWM. You can also try using a 5 or 6 volt power supply but you'll lose a lot of torque.

 

[jmowbray]

Not that it matter as I already purchased it and I'm hoping it get's here before Halloween.

 

[J-Man]

Hopefully so but economy shipping from China sometimes takes a month.

 

[DawnDead]

I use a converted ATX power supply to run my cauldron creep. I use the 3.3 volt wires to run a Monster Guts wiper motor, and it works perfectly. Nice and slow, but not too slow. I have also used the speed controllers with 12 volt power and they work nicely. If you need a bunch of torque that's the way to go, but I just can't see you needing that much torque for just stirring a cauldron.

 

[LittleBlueBMW]

i wonder if this is my problem, damn guy has so much torque on one side that it lifts him off the ground then twists and falls over

 

[Sinister Sid]

I use the same controller that J-Man posted a link for. I think it works great. You can adjust your speed to pretty much as slow as you desire.

LittleBlueBMW... Your problem might just be something simple like repositioning your stiring stick or repositioning you armature a little.

 

[Ghost Ninja]

Listen to the J-man. I had the same problem and fixed it the same way. My speed controller slows it down to ... off!

 

[ryanlamprecht]

J-Man, I use that same speed control switch for my rocking granny, and it works awesome, except one problem. The slower I make it, the louder the motor whines. Is there anyway to eliminate the extra whine produced when slowing the motor?

 

[Ghost Ninja]

Mine never whines. Your motor might be going out? Try lubing it with ... any suggestions?

 

[ryanlamprecht]

I was thinking the same thing, that the motor may be going out, so I tried two other motors, and I get the same results. The faster I run them, the quieter they are, but the slower I go on the speed, the louder the motor whines. In past years I'd seen others complain about the same thing when using a PWM DC Motor Speed Controller, so I just figured it was part of the deal. I was just hoping someone may have come up with a solution for it. I had not tried packing the gears with grease though, so I'll give that a try. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Abunai]

The PWM speed controller is the absolute best way to go.

But, to your original question: yes, you can use a dimmer switch on it, in line with the power cord.

With the dimmer, you will lose torque as you lower the voltage (and thus the speed) but if your cauldron creep doesn't need all of the torque the wiper motor is capable of, then this might be an option if the PWM controller doesn't get there in time.

 

[Castart]

For future knowledge, if you reduce the voltage you will slow it down. I have been using walwarts from Walmart or atx power supplies.

 

[bfjou812]

As noted in previous posts ,reducing voltage results in a loss of torque. Has anyone used a PWM controller that is closer to something like a regular speed controller for dc motors. They are more expensive but I would think that it would eliminate the problems of noise and loss of torque, etc.

 

[doto]

For my cauldron creep I use a 5VDC walwart with my wiper motor. A cauldron creep doesn't require much torque to stir.

 

[The_Caretaker]

The whine you are hearing is do to the switching speed (Hertz) of the PWM circuit if the speed is less then 300 hertz you will here a noticeable whine from the motor, the one that switch lower that 300 work fine for leds though

 

[ryanlamprecht]

Ah Ha! That's good to know, Caretaker. I'm a bit electronically challenged, so please excuse me if this is a dumb question. I promise it's not my first, and I'm pretty confident it won't be my last, but is there anything that can be done to eliminate the whine?

 

[The_Caretaker]

Remember the only stupid question is the one not asked. As for the whine not much you can do unless you want to modify the circuit to give you a faster speed. Also consider the other sounds when this prop is running it may drown out the whine.