Living in WI and playing ball in the snow and slush of winter, even the best anti-fog lens/ solution will not last more than one game. Sometimes it doesn’t even make that. Now add in some cold spring rain, and a fan becomes a mandatory evil for the masks. The problem comes in that no commercially make fan is available for the V-Force profiler.

I wanted something small that would fit behind the visor. The smallest fans ( and cheapest! ) that I found were from an e-bay store called Robobugs R/C. They have both 12volt fans and 5 volt fans in the 25mm ( 1 inch!! ) size. I have used both of these fans for mask fans and they both work equally well. The 12 volt fans are super quiet when hooked to a 9volt battery – you can hardly hear them even with the mask on. The 5 volt fans also run off of the 9 volt battery just fine (I believe that they have internal regulators.) They are noisier than the 12 volt fans, but they push a LOT more air. I tend to use the 5 volt fans in winter and spring ( for max air movement ) and then switch to the 12 volt fans for summer/ fall play where they are not needed for de-fogging ( although they will do a good job of it ) but more for that nice cool breeze…….


Here is how I made my own fans for the mask….

1. Acquire the materials needed this project. I used 2 fans, but you could also use only 1 (or 3 if you’re so inclined.) You will also need a 9volt battery connector, a Single Pole Single Throw (SPST) switch. You can get both of these from radioshack. I was planning on using a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch so I could reverse the fans, but this proved not to work as these fans do not run backwards. You will also need a 9volt battery (duh!)

2. The fans are wired in parallel so they each receive the same voltage. Here is my cheesy made wiring diagram:



3. The fans need to mount so they don’t interfere with visor. I mounted my fans by drilling some small holes and using skinny screws. I got the screws from my local hobby shop. Look in the airplane section. They need to be just a little longer than the thickness of the fans, but you also don’t want those sticking eight inches into your line of sight! Here is how mine are mounted.



4. I zip-tied my switch to the battery and then stuck the battery behind the mask strap.



Another zip-tie keeps it all snug and secure.



I have not had any problem with either the fans/switch or battery moving around during games

Feel free to post your own mask fan mods!