Removing Fan from 2:90

[aplanchard]

The fan is too loud to record with a microphone, so I want to unhook the fan. Looking under the hood, it appears that the fan is attached to the circuit board with two wire, and removal would simply entail touching each contact with a soldering iron to melt the solder. Has any one done this. Is that all there is to be concerned about?

 

[crane]

Removing the fan could cause the tubes to overheat. Remember it's a 2x 90w in a 2U rack.

 

[aplanchard]

I am concerned about heat. I wonder what is the maximum "safe" temperature. In any event, the amp is not much use to me in the studio without being able to at least turn the fan off. I wonder whether overheating (at whatever temp that occurs) simply reduces tube life or could damage the amp. Obviously, the latter is more of a concern

 

[crane]

Yeah it could damage the amp.
But if you don't really move your amp, unsolder the fan and use a big home cooling fan instead.

 

[msi]

You could put the poweramp in a different room from the speaker cab.

 

[aplanchard]

Agreed re placement in separate rooms but in many small studio environments in NYC this is not possible. The fan is an original issue from 1992 so perhaps there are quieter substitutes. That, with an on/off toggle switch, might be the best bet.

 

[Gearjammer]

A switch sounds like a good start. Also if your able to remove the top cover and let the tube heat escape I think that would work. Just don't spill anything in it while the lid is removed or drop the screwdriver in there!!! :shock:

 

[PlanarBeing]

I agree that the fans in rack-mounted units can be too noisy in certain situations. Developing a quiet cooling system is clearly not a priority for Mesa. I think the problem is that the fans run too fast, setting up resonance from excessive air turbulence and vibrations within the metal case.
All fans produce noise; more or less, depending on speed of rotation and blade design. A G5 Mac's fan noise, for example, is usually quiet, but can sound really loud when temps rise, or CPU works harder. It has nothing to do with 'bad fans,' worn-out bearings, etc.