Noisy fan on Macintosh SE 5011

mloret · Jan 26, 2023

Hey guys. I powered up my Mac SE 5011 today and while it runs, the fan has gotten quite noisy. I looked online and I didn't see any fans that match what I have. Weird, right? It's not a propeller-blade style fan like you normally see. Anyway I'm wondering if someone knows how to tighten this thing. I see some screws and nuts but they don't look like they want to be tightened. Failing that, anyone has a fan they might part with?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Phipli · Jan 26, 2023

mloret said:
Hey guys. I powered up my Mac SE 5011 today and while it runs, the fan has gotten quite noisy. I looked online and I didn't see any fans that match what I have. Weird, right? It's not a propeller-blade style fan like you normally see. Anyway I'm wondering if someone knows how to tighten this thing. I see some screws and nuts but they don't look like they want to be tightened. Failing that, anyone has a fan they might part with?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

View attachment 51615

Absolutely awesome - that's a very early SE!

My advice is clean off the dirt and grime carefully (don't bend the blades), and put a small amount of sewing machine oil in the bearings.

Those fans are quite rare. They can be replaced with a conventional axial fan, but, what you have is a little bit of history.

bibilit · Jan 26, 2023

This is the "squirrel cage fan" setup, early units were all sold with that fan. efficient but noisy in the end. yes lube it and keep it... unusual.

Only had one of those at some point.

larsove · Jan 26, 2023

I have the same SE - they are quite noisy but as said earlier here: Clean them up, and lube the bearings. From what I know - replacing them with a conventional fan is not as easy as it looks: the neck board comes in the way. I'd keep it as is.

mloret · Jan 26, 2023

Thank you for the responses. How do I access the bearings? As with any retro computing device, I am a little concerned about taxing the assembly too heavily.

Nixontheknight · Jan 26, 2023

I'd actually suggest replacing it, early reports say those squirrel cage fans can interfere with the video

Big Ben · Jan 26, 2023

If you dig into service documentation you'll discover Apple actually replaced them, there was a kit for this purpose.
I had one and I'll propably replace it because some blades were broken, and sadly it doesn't work properly despite some repairs.

joshc · Jan 26, 2023

According to the Macintosh Bible book, Apple would replace that fan at cost if a customer complained about it. They were used on early SEs before Aople changed the fan on later models. This does make it a bit rare and some would say its better to not change it, if you want to keep the originality of that machine. If you want to get more use out of the machine, swap the analog board for one with a conventional fan but keep the AB with the squirrel cage fan as a spare, perhaps.

It was a big enough problem at the time that Mobius sold a fan upgrade for $50 called the SE Silencer. I've never seen one of those.

The Macintosh bible : thousands of basic and advanced tips, tricks, and shortcuts, logically orgainized and fully indexed : Aker, Sharon Zardetto : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Rev. ed. of: The Macintosh bible / Dale Coleman & Arthur Naiman. c1987

archive.org

Byrd · Jan 27, 2023

There are some 3D printed solutions for mounting a new generic fan in an SE

larsove · Jan 27, 2023

Is it this one you're talking about? https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4666475
I initially scrapped the idea of replacing the Squirrel Cage because of the neck board (horisontal instead of vertical). I thought the board would come in the way and cause problems fitting a regular fan.

reallyrandy · Sep 27, 2023

I have a squirrel cage fan in my SE/30. Maybe that's not the original Analog board? I have an SE parts machine too, I think I'll check and see if it has a bladed fan. If so, I may swap the boards.

Phipli · Sep 27, 2023

reallyrandy said:
I have a squirrel cage fan in my SE/30. Maybe that's not the original Analog board? I have an SE parts machine too, I think I'll check and see if it has a bladed fan. If so, I may swap the boards.

Yeah, I wouldn't expect a squirrel cage fan in an SE/30. Is there a gap in the metal chassis on the right hand side (looking from the front) to allow a card to stand vertically in the expansion slot?

reallyrandy · Sep 27, 2023

here's what it looks like

Phipli · Sep 27, 2023

reallyrandy said:
here's what it looks like

The metalwork of the main computer (the bid that holds the logic board in and everything else together) isn't an early SE version, so it is likely just the analogue board or just the fan from an early SE.

unity · Oct 2, 2023

Yup, SE upgraded to an SE/30 which includes a new face plate, rear label and logic board. Some very early kits had an SE/30 label to stick over the SE badge print. The serial on back, however, will still point to an SE. That is the quickest way to ID an upgrade.

Phipli · Oct 2, 2023

unity said:
Yup, SE upgraded to an SE/30 which includes a new face plate, rear label and logic board. Some very early kits had an SE/30 label to stick over the SE badge print. The serial on back, however, will still point to an SE. That is the quickest way to ID an upgrade.

If it was early enough to have the drum style fan, it wouldn't have the opening in the metal chassis for vertical expansion cards, so it's likely someone swapped the analogue boards over. Otherwise the SE/30 upgrade is /everything/ other than the tube, Analogue board and rear tub.

unity · Oct 2, 2023

Squirrel fan, not drum. Drum is anther style of fan and is actually closer in design to a box fan. The upgrade did not include the rear bucket and power supply (being separate from analog/sweep), but it may very well have had a new chassis for the very reason of upgrades. But the end user may not have bothered with that more complex of a swap, dealer may have. I would have to find the upgrade kit sheet which outlines the process.

unity · Oct 2, 2023

I cant find the official PDF or such, if it exists, but this overviews the SE/30 upgrade for the SE and says it does indeed include a new chassis. This would be for the later more official upgrade that would not have stickers to put over any "SE" markings.

Logic Board Upgrade - Apple Macintosh SE - Mac Specialist

Remove the analog board only Awarning This product contains high voltage and a high-vacuum picture tube. To prevent serious injury, review CRT safety in

www.macspecialist.org

Phipli · Oct 2, 2023

unity said:
Squirrel fan, not drum. Drum is anther style of fan and is actually closer in design to a box fan.

That's nice.

To be honest, I dislike the term squirrel cage fan because it is confusing wrt squirrel cage motors, and personally I use the term centrifugal fans, but, given the audience, I was politely adjusting my language to fit.

I'm not sure why everyone is so eager to tell people they're wrong about fans, but it is as boring as hell.

joshc · Oct 2, 2023

Maybe Steve was right about this, no fans is the way. Then no arguments can happen about what fan to use, because there isn't one.

I'll go back to my corner...

Noisy fan on Macintosh SE 5011

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