Hydro Wave Bearing ?

[DrZone]

I know that Panaflo's use this type of bearing in their fans. How is this bearing compared to balling bearing in noise and lifespan ?

 

[Windogg]

Hydrowave is just the tradename for Panasonic/Matushita's sleeve bearing technology. Sleeve bearings are inherantly quieter than ball bearings so it is usually the choice for low noise fans. Traditionally sleeve bearing fans are know to be less reliable then ball bearing fans. Companies like Panasonic and Papst have tried to change that. Their fans are usually made with closer tolerances to bring the MTBF up to quality ball bearing fan levels (~70,000 hours) while still achieving low noise.

Windogg

 

[Insane3D]

IIRC, the "Hydra Wave" bearing technology differes from a traditional sleeve bearing fan in that the sleeve bearing on Panaflo fans runs in a oil bath where regular sleeve bearings are lubricated once at assembly and that wears away, causing them to fail faster than a BB fan. The Panaflo's life should meet or exceed most ordinary BB fans I would imagine..

 

[John]

I picked up (10) Panaflo 80's from BGMicro and they are really nice. The 2 pin lead can be cut to fit a standard 3 to 4 pin connector, or you can put it on a motherboard header. The hydrowave bearing really makes these little guys virtually silent.

 

[Jeff H]

FWIW I'm noticing that places such as PCMods and Newegg have 3 and 4 pin tails for the Panasonic Panaflo fans. It makes it just that much easier to use Panaflos in a system.

 

[DrZone]

Thanks for the response guys.

But unfortunately, panaflo's are a bit harder to find than other fans.

 

[BuckNaked]

DrZone,
if your looking for panaflo's, check out this thread here. The price has gone up a little since this was originally posted, but still a good deal on them.

Dave

 

[DrZone]

Thanks for the link.

I just ordered 4 enermax thermal control fans for $16. I guess I could always use more fans....