Unexepected fan in SE30

[skips]

Hi there,

I have just got myself a great condition SE30 to rekindle the good old days when I was a kid and had one brought home from my Dad's work every weekend!

I have just recapped the logic board and replaced the battery etc, to try and keep top notch!

I'm currently waiting for a SCIS2SD board to arrive.. I know it's not completely "keep it 'original'" but i figured I'd up the storage and save the quantum that is in there before it dies! While I've got it open I thought I might look into replacing the fan with a quieter one. I've had a look at the forums to find out what might be a good one to replace the one I have, and have stumbled across the fact that I seem to have a squirrel cage fan.. (see attached pics). Now I thinking about replaceing the fan with a Noctua NF-A6X25 PWM (https://goo.gl/BHAZVm), but clearly, I am not going to be able to mount it 'as is' in my SE30.

Firstly, does anyone have any thoughts on these Noctua fans.. and secondly, does anyone have any idea where I might be able to get a 90 degree mount for this fan, I guess, ideally one that has come out of an SE30, I've hunted around ebay etc and not found anything that will fit the bill! - I really don't know why i seem to have one of these fans in as most people I've read have a standard 60mm fan in... Unless the analogue board has been replaced in mine at some point!?

Any advice would be fab, thank you!

Cheers

Skips

 

[TheWhiteFalcon]

I think the squirrel cage fans are actually better, if I'm not mistaken?

And yeah, it's possible someone swapped an SE's analog board in.

 

[skips]

Ahh interesting, I was under the impression that these had been phased out before the SE30... and that new, silent, fans were the thing to replace the SE30's fan with. You think I might be better off sticking with the squirrel fan then!?

 

[oldappleguy]

That strange.  Apple produced a kit to change the board from horizontal to vertical and a box fan on the se. I opened an se 30 and it has a

vertical board on the back of the crt.  The board is labeled  macintosh se video bd  820-027-c. I have a vertical board that I can send you. 

 

[skips]

Hey oldappleguy, I'm not sure I need to replace a whole board... from what I can tell I just need a 90 degree mount for the new "silent" fan, which I'm guessing is in the usual SE30s. I THINK it should fit in behind the crt video board. Unless I'm misunderstanding what you are saying?

 

[skips]

Actually, just did a google search, and I see what you mean about the vertical and horizontal video boards on the back of the CRT... I'd have to check the measurements again to see if a standard box fan will fit in my SE30 without the need to replace the video board as well!!

 

[uniserver]

that fan that is on there is the most quiet fan you can get.

anything after that was louder….

also those fans were expensive.  the later pie fans were its cheaper… but louder.

maybe less suseptable to dust build up… but the squirrel cage fan is my favorite… moves high volume of air.. at low quiet rpm's..

 

[skips]

Great, thanks for the advice... maybe I'll stick with it. I was under the impression that these were replaced for better, albeit louder fans, which I guess is why I've heard people replacing them with modern "silent" fans.. but if this one is doing the best job, and newer fans aren't that "silent" then maybe I'll stop fixing something that isn't broken ... a quiet SE30 would be wonderful, but I'd rather a working one

 

[uniserver]

yeah just make sure to use a tooth brush and some alcohol to clean the blades of the fan, while you have it opened up.

if you use air pressure to clean, do not use more then 15/20 psi or you will blast the fins off..

 

[unity]

that fan that is on there is the most quiet fan you can get.

anything after that was louder….

also those fans were expensive.  the later pie fans were its cheaper… but louder.

maybe less suseptable to dust build up… but the squirrel cage fan is my favorite… moves high volume of air.. at low quiet rpm's..

Actually I compared fans, the squirrel cage is indeed louder than the box. But the pitch is different. Because of noise complaints, Apple switched to the box style.

 

[skips]

Interesting....are the so called "silent" box fans significantly quieter, in your opinion, to go to the effort to replace?

 

[TheWhiteFalcon]

As a general rule, a louder fan moves more air. So the quieter the fan, the less air it's going to move. I'd pick more cooling over less noise, personally.

 

[unity]

Either fan works fine, no need to replace.

Note: Look to see if you have a label under the back FCC label, if so this machine may have been an SE that was upgraded to an SE/30. The upgrade includes a new face plate but not a new rear bucket, just a new label for it.

 

[skips]

Yup Unity, you are quite right, looking at the back there is definitely something under the FCC label. The one on top looks a 'newer' colour. So it looks like I've got an SE upgraded to a SE/30. Anything I ought to be looking out for with regards to issues/problems with this? - It seems to be working well at the moment (now I've recapped the mother board). I'm assuming the SCSI2SD card will be less thirsty than the Quantum HDD so shouldn't put any strain on the PSU. 

 

[uniserver]

the squirrel cage fan is a noisy vibrating b**** when its loaded with dust/debris and off balance… that is why you want to squirt it down with IPA and tooth brush the fins and then squirt it again and they are whisper quiet when clean.  the blades are curved so lots of filth can be packed in the fins and you not even know it.

and i Assure you….  as far as cost  the Squirrel cage fan is at least 2 or 3 times the cost of a pie fan...

as i have said in other posts, you usually only saw those fans in HIGH-END electronics of the era as its a great option for great high volume

low rpm ventilation….   They are so good that is why most anyone with Commercial /Residential forced air HVAC unit, has a blower unit that is a in fact a squirrel cage.

over all the squirrel cage blower design is superior to about anything else… even today… its only down fall is once the fins plug up… with crud/ dust … debris

adverse things can happen.   all Commercial and Residential Systems… there is a filter… so as long as you keep your filter serviced every 4 to 6 months. You have no risk of causing issues with your Blower Fins or A-Coil getting plugged up … witch is also a nasty thing to happen, especially in the dead of summer.  Unless someone shows me documentation with apple saying the move from Squirrel cage to pie fan was a noise thing, ill just go with cost.. as the pie fan is Much less expensive….

i dont hate pie fans…. i just think the larger diameter you can get away with the better… the larger, the more air they can move and the least noise they make.