Fan Death

[hyrule4927]

Did a little work on my desktop today, turned it back on and heard a weird ticking. Quickly determined that source of the sound was one of the blademaster fans on my Hyper 212 cooler. Thought a cord was touching it or something, but I took it off the cooler and ran it where it wasn't touching anything and the noise persisted. Guess I somehow screwed it up without even touching it? Any ways to fix it (yes I am cheap enough to try fixing a case fan) or should I just take this as a sign and spring for something classy, like a pair of gentle typhoons?

Look like my push/pull is just a push/nothing for now. 😛

 

[Binky]

If you knock off some dust from just one blade, it throws the whole thing out of balance. Balance is very important for a fan's life expectancy.

Key point - if you even touch the blades, clean them all.

 

[hyrule4927]

Yikes. This one barely had any dust on it. Seems to collect on the push fan much more quickly than the pull. Must have bumped it without noticing somehow.

 

[lsv]

Some fans that use Sleeve bearings can fail if mounted vertically may fail faster than if mounted horizontally. Sleeve bearings tend to collect dust and oil which can sit at the bottom of how it's placed. Hard to describe.

In any case, don't go with GTs unless you mind some noise, they aren't quiet as fans but are quiet for the amount of air they move. If you go with them run them at very low voltage.

Edit - a little dust on the fan blades won't do too much, but a lot, as posted above can cause them to get unbalanced. This affects fans mounted horizontally a bit more.

 

[hyrule4927]

Any specific fans you'd recommend? Noise isn't a major concern (within reason) if they'd cool better and last longer. I tend to run my fans at 100% since I fold 24/7, if that makes a difference.