Fan noise on Mesa 2:Fifty

[7enderbender]

Hi there,

I was wondering if anyone has ever exchanged the fan on a Mesa 2:50 (or other for that matter) to quiet down the fan noise a bit. It's not drastic but I'm pretty sure there are fans from the computer industry these days that would run quieter than the stock fan in these amps.

Any recommendations on these? I could of course just go and buy a new fan from Mesa Boogie but I'm not sure if it would make a bi difference. There mus be something out there with the same specs that would work?

Thanks

Perhaps this?

http://www.quietpcusa.com/AcoustiFan-DustPROOF-Premium-Quality-Ultra-Quiet-Computer-Fan-120mm-AFDP-12025B-P66.aspx

 

[Bronco Pete]

Hi -

I changed the Fan a couple of Months ago. I replaced it with a Sunon 230 V 120mm fan. Works pretty good, seems to me it´s half as loud as before.
Any 230V Fan with the right Size will do ... Just look at the DB Level of the Fan.
It´s pretty easy to change, if you have some experience in soldering. Just two cables. It´s takes just 20 min or so.

The Fan you posted seems to be a 12V PC Fan. In this Case it will not work, you will need a 230V (110V) Version ....

Greetingss,

Pete

 

[AndyG]

I did the same thing with my mesa 50/50, it is really night and day but the old one was broken...

As Broken Pete says it is only two cables that needs to be solder

 

[7enderbender]

Here is what I ended up doing:

On the US model (110V) it's indeed a 12V fan. They're actually harder to find in stores with these specs than I had expected. There is obviously plenty online but I actually wanted to be able to have a close look at it. So I found one at Best Buy of all places that came with pretty good ratings.

I took out the installed Sunon 2W 12V fan and installed the new, quieter fan in it's space. Given that it is a computer equipment fan the first hurdle was to figure out the wire color coding on those. You want to only use the 12V power cables and cut off those that are for sophisticated temperature gauge connections on a computer board.

I also installed a basic Radioshack switch to the side of the fan to be able to turn it off in recording situations. Other than drilling the extra hole it was just a matter of resoldering the wires and screwing the new fan in.

As always, do not attempt any of this yourself unless you know how to discharge the amp as those currents can kill you even when not connected to the mains.

Here are some photos of the surgery:

 

[vick1000]

I am looking to do this too, and maybe use a pot to control speed on the factory fan. Just wondering if it has caused any problems with heat or other failures.

EDIT: OK, I'm going to put a 5w 47ohm ceramic inline and see how it goes. Should bring it down to around 7.5v and handle 2 amps dissipation easily.

 

[vick1000]

OK, Opened up mine, and there were already two 1w 100ohm resistors in parallel on the positive lead to the fan. Added in a 5w 50ohm in series with those, and it slowed it a bit. I still think I will replace the fan though, the undervolted character is a bit annoying still.

 

[vick1000]

OK, replaced the fan with this one....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181177926723?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

...and undervolted it with a 5w 50ohm resistor, and it's as quiet as a mouse, yet still moves good air. Should work just fine in ambient temps that I use it.

 

[pal]

On my fifty/fifty I simply just cut the fan cable an installed a plain switch.
On half-drive the tubes never cook so mine is completely silent, expect for some small trannie-hum.
Simple, cheap and easily reversible.