Running a Mark without a fan?

[edward]

Hey all,

I've got a MarkIII head, and it gets played out fairly regularly, and was wondering if any of you have either added a switch for the cooling fan (to turn it on/off), or simply don't use it at all??

Mine is working well so far, but my dying fan (loud, ugh!) in my home PC got me wondering about the fan in my head cab ...if I don't use it all the time, it'll prob last longer, right? Maybe switch the fan off when on standby? Or maybe mod it such that it only goes on when the amp is *not* on standby? Anyone do such a thing, of am I overthinking this and should just leave the fan as it and simply replace it when it croaks? I'd appreciate your thoughts on this, especially from you Mark users.

Edward

 

[edward]

Hmmm, 54 hits, but no responses? Shall I take it then that no one's fan has ever given up the ghost?

Edward

 

[mikeymike]

Hmmm, 54 hits, but no responses? Shall I take it then that no one's fan has ever given up the ghost?

Edward

The fan in my 2:100 is quite noisy. I don't mean like whirring either.. It's like transferring over into the signal.. i hate it... perhaps this upcoming re-tube will make it go away...

 

[tunedown]

I live in the desert so I was stoked when i found out the Mark IV has a fan.

Here's a guess. I'm not a Mesa/Boogie know-it-all but...

I don't believe the fan has "settings" so I'm guessing it's not variable. That means it's just OFF or ON. I'm sure it's just tied in to a circuit with simple power and ground? If you know what you're doing, it stands to reason that you could move its ground and tie it in to the ON switch? so that the fan only runs if the amp is ON and not when it's in standby...

However, the head's got a fan for a reason to begin with. Maybe just replace it if you start logging too many hours? How hot does the head get in STANDBY? How hot does it get when it's ON and running?

I'm not interested in finding out what happens to a Mark series when it overheats cause the fan wasn't running...

Cheers.

 

[mikeymike]

I live in the desert so I was stoked when i found out the Mark IV has a fan.

Here's a guess. I'm not a Mesa/Boogie know-it-all but...

I don't believe the fan has "settings" so I'm guessing it's not variable. That means it's just OFF or ON. I'm sure it's just tied in to a circuit with simple power and ground? If you know what you're doing, it stands to reason that you could move its ground and tie it in to the ON switch? so that the fan only runs if the amp is ON and not when it's in standby...

However, the head's got a fan for a reason to begin with. Maybe just replace it if you start logging too many hours? How hot does the head get in STANDBY? How hot does it get when it's ON and running?

I'm not interested in finding out what happens to a Mark series when it overheats cause the fan wasn't running...

Cheers.

The fan is a simple affair it just connects to the board with a red and a black lead on my 2:100. I'm sure you could put a switch on it or link it to the standby switch. You could be slick and get a temperature sensor and wire it into the fan circuit haha. I've thought about that...

 

[jman7272]

I think the real question here is why are the Mark series amps the only ones that have fans? WHat makes them different that they need this?

I had a DC-3 running EL84s and you could cook beef on those tubes and the surrounding chassis metal. They ran MUCH hotter than my Mark IV has ever gotten - EVER! Why does this amp not have a fan?

Are they even necessary?

 

[MusicManJP6]

I'm pretty sure i've read about other members disconnecting their fans and having no problems. It alleviated some noise from their signal too in some cases. Disconnect it and see how you like it.

It may have a fan because it is the most powerful head available in a short head format, but I am just guessing...

 

[jman7272]

I'm pretty sure i've read about other members disconnecting their fans and having no problems. It alleviated some noise from their signal too in some cases. Disconnect it and see how you like it.

It may have a fan because it is the most powerful head available in a short head format, but I am just guessing...

Yea, but the fan is installed on the wide body and combo versions too.

 

[MetalMatt]

I think the real question here is why are the Mark series amps the only ones that have fans? WHat makes them different that they need this? .... Are they even necessary?

The first Road Kings didn't have fans. They were prone to overheating and they would randomly shut off. The newer ones come with fans, and got rid of this problem. Mesa recalled the old ones to have a fan upgrade and other little things done.

I don't know about the Marks, but I'm sure the fan is there for a reason. If you think it's too noisy why don't you buy a new/quieter fan (I'm sure fan technology has improved over the years).

The fan on my Road King doesn't bother me, because I'm playing. I don't have a problem picking it up recording either.