Can i use a 100ohm rheo instead of a pot?

[ScorpionV]

I have a 100ohm rheostat lying around from a previous project and i was just wondering if i could use that instead of a pot. Exactly what is the difference between a rheostat and a pot any how?

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[CF Mark]

As long as it has the 3 terminals, you should be able to.

Normaly a rheostat is just a normal pot that can handle more power.

 

[ScorpionV]

In the schematic here it shows the pots being connected to the ground. Is this really neccesary? When making a controller for the fan speed on my comp i always just used 2 arms of a rheostat. I heard that if you use the third one sometimes the pots get hot. Ive been looking over the schematic for about 10 minutes and i dont see why you need to ground the third arm of the pot. Keep in mind i do not know that much about electricity so there is a good chance that i am wrong. I just wanted to know if grounding the pots is neccessary.

 

[CF Tech]

Unless the pot has a failure, connecting the "spare" terminal to the center terminal or leaving it open is electrically identical.

 

[ScorpionV]

I guess my big question is in the schematic one end of the 10k pot is connected to the ground. Is this really neccesary? Wouldn't the pot still work if the ground was removed from it? The pot would still be regulating the 5v current.

*edit* why are pins 18-25 grounded on the parallel connector?