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Fan Stop/Start Effect on Lifespan

M

masteryoda34

Golden Member
Anyone know if frequent stop/start cycles on a case fan will have an effect on lifespan??

Background: I recently got an Aquaero fan controller and am setting up my fan speed curves. I'm setting the fan speed based on temperature. The min voltage my fans will run on is about 5V. As the temperature goes up and down, the fans turn on (5V - 12V) and off (0V). I'm using mostly Scythe S-FLEX 120mm 1600 RPM (Fluid Dynamic Bearing) fans.

Thanks
 
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only opinion i have on the fan cycles is my guess would be its irrelavant.

the fan controller your refering to is considerably more expensive then dated hardware i had used, but my experience a long time ago was - a digitally modulated fan controller worked but created an abnormal hum from the fans, not because the fans were bad or anything but i think because of the frequencys it used to digitaly controle them... apposed to the analog Sunbeam Rheobus... from 12v to stop speeds, the fans didnt hum at all.... Does this more expensive modern digital controler cause any humming noise from your fans?
 
The controller actually adjusts speed by changing the analog voltage between 0V and 12V, not using digital PWM (pulse width modulation) as you were referring to. There is no abnormal humming noise.

Anyone else?
 
I know that the motor draws the most current when starting to spin the blades, so that is probably the time of most wear. How much more wear this causes compared to just running, I can't say for sure, but I imagine it is fairly close to negligible.
 
start/stop puts the most stress on the fans and starting / stoping them too often will wear them out faster than just running I would suggest not stoping them and just running them slower as this should increase their lifespan

i have one of those Sflex 1200 rpm case fans and it's still going after around 7-8 years running almost 24/7 although it's been kept faily dust free most of it's life.

Note: the reason for this is when the fan starts up the bearings have the least amount of lubrication and this puts more wear on them than just running.
 
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Arcanedeath said:
start/stop puts the most stress on the fans and starting / stoping them too often will wear them out faster than just running I would suggest not stoping them and just running them slower as this should increase their lifespan

i have one of those Sflex 1200 rpm case fans and it's still going after around 7-8 years running almost 24/7 although it's been kept faily dust free most of it's life.

Note: the reason for this is when the fan starts up the bearings have the least amount of lubrication and this puts more wear on them than just running.
Click to expand...

Great information. Thanks.
 
Arcanedeath said:
Note: the reason for this is when the fan starts up the bearings have the least amount of lubrication and this puts more wear on them than just running.
Click to expand...

(gonna play devils advocate)

what if its a mag levi fan? :biggrin:

Otherwise i agree with his statement.
 
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