Another Circupool Fan Failure?

[sean.a.hyde]

I installed a new RJ-60+ this spring.
It has been running for about a month.
Last week I went out and switched on the timer manually to adjust the percentage (so I was actually out there when it turned on), and it made a loud grinding noise. My brain instantly linked it up and said "that's exactly what a dying computer case or power supply fan sounds like"! Sure enough, a light tap on the case quieted it.
Today, the same thing happened.
Now I'm concerned that the bearings in the fan are shot. Aside from being annoying and loud, if the fan dies, the unit could overheat.
I've contacted DiscountSaltPool to see if they can just send me a replacement fan rather than having to ship back the whole unit.

 

[sean.a.hyde]

Interesting. No response to my inquiry, but I received a shipping notification for a "Circuit Board Cooling Fan".
I'll post some details about the fan when I open it up. Maybe there is a better quality part that could be used if this happens again.

 

[cowboycasey]

I have always went with the basic SWG less things to go wrong ... If it is a fan problem and depending on the size and volts look at Noctua fans, they are GREAT fans and you can get IP67 so water and dust proof and have a 6 year warranty on most of them... They can get spensive, 45 bucks for a fan but well worth every penny...

Noctua: 40mm

40mm

smile.amazon.com

 

[sean.a.hyde]

I have always went with the basic SWG less things to go wrong ... If it is a fan problem and depending on the size and volts look at Noctua fans, they are GREAT fans and you can get IP67 so water and dust proof and have a 6 year warranty on most of them... They can get spensive, 45 bucks for a fan but well worth every penny...

Noctua: 40mm

40mm

smile.amazon.com

Very familiar with Noctua fans
I'll wait for the new one to come before I open it up, but then I can see what size/thickness it is.

 

[TimTucker]

following this...I installed an RJ-60+ in early April...I didn't ealize it had an internal cooling fan...

 

[Jimrahbe]

Sean,

Is your unit with the fan exposed to rain water or ???

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Brett S]

The fan is pretty well protected from rain. Here’s a picture of my RJ-30 unit that I took when I installed it. I needed to open it to switch it to 120V:



I wasn’t trying to take a picture of the fan, so it’s kind of hard to see, but the fan is in the middle of the plate in the middle. You can see the fan blades through the small circle in the middle of the picture.

 

[sean.a.hyde]

Sean,

Is your unit with the fan exposed to rain water or ???

Thanks,

Jim R.

I haven't opened it yet, but I doubt it. That board doesn't even look conformal coated, so rain in there would be very bad.
The noise reminds me of a ball bearing fan going bad like used to always happen eventually on computer power supply and case fans. A loud buzzing noise that goes away (usually) if you tap the unit.
When the new one arrives, I'll open my unit up and take some pictures. I can also look at sourcing a higher quality fan if this keeps happening.

 

[TimTucker]

I'll open my unit up and take some pictures. I can also look at sourcing a higher quality fan if this keeps happening.

Many thanks in advance for your efforts taking the pictures!

 

[sean.a.hyde]

Ok!
Got the fan today.
40x40x20mm 24V DC Brushless Fan

It says 'Pusen' on it, which appears to be a Chinese company -- couldn't really find a datasheet. Also couldn't find anything on the part number 'DF-4020' other than apparently Delta also uses that part number for one of their fans.

The fan is mounted to a sheet metal plate, and is really just there to mix the air. I did notice that some of the larger wires were pushing up against the fan, so I pushed those out of the way.

The fan (of course) didn't make the noise on the bench, but I put the new one in anyway. It is fairly low RPM. I'll keep my eye on it.

Other interesting observations:

The box is not sealed! There is no gasket. Instead, there is just a single labyrinth seal (looks like a gasket groove without the gasket material).
This is probably good since they have the customer open it up to change the voltage. It also means that although it shouldn't fill up with water, they do expect moisture to get in (which would happen eventually with a gasket seal too).
The board IS conformal coated, which is a good thing, though there are a lot of through hole parts and connectors that won't benefit. Eventually, corrosion may be a problem.

 

[TimTucker]

Thanks for a look inside the RJ-60+. Hopefully my muffin fan will stay nice and quiet.