Roadster Fan Replacement before/after Video

[philster]

Hi Team,

I recently bought a Roadster and when I practice I sit in front of it at a distance of 1 meter and pluck around on the clean channel. This is perhpas not its intended use, and sometimes I do turn it up, but mostly I'm a closet string plucker.

In this use case, the stock fan is unbearably loud. I rectified that by installing a silent fan. The below video is not about how to do this, but about the difference it makes. Apologies for the poor video eding skills.

attached and also here:

When I sit in front of the amp now with the amp on standby in the dead of night, I cannot hear the fan (or anything else).

 

[antunififi]

Is it easy to take off the chasis from the cabinet? I'm thinking of doing the same

 

[tbonesullivan]

The fans that Mesa uses are usually sleeve bearing based, which are very reliable and long lasting, but also noisier than ball bearing types. They also get the ones that have high CFM and really don't consider how much noise they make. I've seen the fans in MkII and MkIII heads, and they are HUGE. Even when fully cleaned they get pretty loud.

Is the replacement fan rated for the same CFM as the original?

 

[philster]

I find most tube amps easy to work on, biggest challenge is good support for the chassis and handling the weight. And if combo remember that chassis tension screw behind the power tubes.

The fan I replaced was full of dust and ‘very’ noisy. That said at the time I had no frame of reference. My other Roadster combo (bought after I upgraded the fan) has the stock fan in much cleaner condition and whilst noisier than the noctua it’s nowhere near as loud as the one I replaced, and I’ll be keeping this one stock.

The noctua has same cfm and is very quiet. CFM is not that critical. Some air movement is all that’s required. No need for a hurricane.

 

[domct203]

Good job with the DIY fan change.

Just remember that there is about 450V stored in the power supply capacitors, even when the amp is unplugged and off. Be very careful when removing the chassis to not accidentally touch anything inside the chassis.