ahpook Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 (edited) as i've mentioned before, i'm tired of the whirring of cooling fans... and i'm wondering about disconnecting the cooling fan on my 150w trace elliot head...i only ever use it for home practise, so it's hardly what you could call loud. anyone tried this ? i realise it may be risky, which is why i'm asking before i try. Edited June 3, 2008 by ahpook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cooke Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 [quote name='ahpook' post='212010' date='Jun 3 2008, 07:13 PM']as i've mentioned before, i'm tired of the whirring of cooling fans... and i'm wondering about disconnecting the cooling fan on my 150w trace elliot head...i only ever use it for home practise, so it's hardly what you could call loud. anyone tried this ? i realise it may be risky, which is why i'm asking before i try.[/quote] not something I'd risk... too easy to forget and crank it up without reconnecting it... I use my little Peavey for home practice and keep the Laney for gigs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 (edited) [quote name='Paul Cooke' post='212084' date='Jun 3 2008, 08:59 PM']not something I'd risk... too easy to forget and crank it up without reconnecting it... I use my little Peavey for home practice and keep the Laney for gigs...[/quote] i don't use the trace elliot live, so i'm not too worried about forgetting to connect it again. Edited June 3, 2008 by ahpook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 The cooling fan is presumably there for a reason. Maybe in conjunction with a thermostat, rather than just disconnecting it. But what temperature would you want the fan to cut back in? Tricky. My Burman puts out a shitload of heat, and that doesn't have a cooling fan at all. Boy does the speaker lead get hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 [quote name='pete.young' post='212097' date='Jun 3 2008, 09:15 PM']The cooling fan is presumably there for a reason. Maybe in conjunction with a thermostat, rather than just disconnecting it. But what temperature would you want the fan to cut back in? Tricky. My Burman puts out a shitload of heat, and that doesn't have a cooling fan at all. Boy does the speaker lead get hot.[/quote] there seems to be a thermostat on top of the heatsink...not sure if that's for thermal cutout or to ramp up the fan speed if needs be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul, the Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Can't you buy a quieter fan? Folk often do for computers. (Disclaimer) I know nothing about this sort of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 [quote name='paul, the' post='212108' date='Jun 3 2008, 09:23 PM']Can't you buy a quieter fan? Folk often do for computers. (Disclaimer) I know nothing about this sort of thing.[/quote] hmmm...now that's prolly a more sensible suggestion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 I don't see a problem with disconnecting it as long as you put a very obvious sign on the back to warn you to reconnect it if you take it out of the house. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 (edited) well, i've just swapped the original fan for one i discovered in a box of pc bits, and it's turned out to be noisier !! so i'm going to run it without a fan for a bit and see what happens...hopefully not the china syndrome !! Edited June 3, 2008 by ahpook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Getting a special 'quiet' PC type fan would be the best idea. You'll need to match the airflow and motor voltages though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 well. that's 50 mins of noodling at bedroom volume and the heatsink feels no hotter than before. i'll remount the fan tho, but leave it disconnected... thanks for the thoughts folks, and the heads to bounce some ideas off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merton Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Is this a "BiPolar Bear" power amp or MOSFET? BiPolars, as they get hotter will run into thermal meltdown trying to sink more and more current. MOSFETs sink less current as they get hotter so will pose less of a risk of complete failure running without the fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzzer Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Don't know if this is of any use but, as you say you tried a "fan from a PC" I assume the fan is a 12volt one? If that's correct then you could try using a Panaflo fan. These are really quiet and commonly used to sort out noisy fans in PCs. You can get them here: [url="http://www.dorothybradbury.co.uk/"]http://www.dorothybradbury.co.uk/[/url] I've bought a few and the service is great. Another trick is to put a resistor in series with the fan to drop the voltage down to around 7 volts. HTH Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbass Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 I sometimes had issues cooling my SVT when it was racked (as the fans blow out the sides) Best bet for me was to get a 12" house fan and mount it so it blew across the amp. It kept the amp happy, and me cool too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubs Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 On the same sort of note…I’ve been trying to sort out my SV-CL head to replace the fan with a ‘silent’ one for a while now but it is quite unclear as to how I would get to the fan that’s positioned right at the front. Does anyone else own one and know how to get to the fan? Anyone with any advice? It’s not bothering me too much so I’m rather disinclined to pay a pro for their expensive time to do the job for me as the job is a very simple one…if only I could get to the bloody fan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted June 4, 2008 Author Share Posted June 4, 2008 (edited) [quote name='muzzer' post='212312' date='Jun 4 2008, 09:28 AM']Don't know if this is of any use but, as you say you tried a "fan from a PC" I assume the fan is a 12volt one? If that's correct then you could try using a Panaflo fan. These are really quiet and commonly used to sort out noisy fans in PCs. You can get them here: [url="http://www.dorothybradbury.co.uk/"]http://www.dorothybradbury.co.uk/[/url] I've bought a few and the service is great. Another trick is to put a resistor in series with the fan to drop the voltage down to around 7 volts. HTH Steve[/quote] yes - it's a 12V fan...i just stripped the power connector off and ran it into the screw terminals on the board in the amp/ i'll have a look at that site later... and i guess they are Bipolar transistors, but I'm going to see how they go. I can't see a major meltdown happening before i get a silent fan. Edited June 4, 2008 by ahpook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.gif.9ad672bb8b84505709f76b39c8c256ec.gif)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.