Loud Outer Orbit fan replacement?

[Masoch]

Hi folks,

I just got a new 24" Outer Orbit (1X 250 HQI, 4X T5HO) fixture, and I'm liking everything about it ... except the very, very noisy fan.

After doing some digging, it appears that it's using this fan -- at least, that's what a search for a replacement fan comes up with. So, it's a 80 mm 120 volt AC fan, and I can't really find much in the way that pushes a similar amount of air and is quieter.

But ... would anything bad happen if I removed the AC fan, capped its wires, and replaced it with a 12 volt DC fan? A Noctua 80mm fan will push more air with less noise.

TIA!

 

[herozero]

do me a favor and let me know if it works. i have the same lights and love them sans the wind storm from the fans. my tank noise is really low and i would love to hear about a solution.

 

[Toddrtrex]

Before getting a new fan, try flipping the fan around. I did that on my Sunpod and it helped (( mine wasn't all that loud to begin with ))

 

[herozero]

It looks like there is room in the housing to add a fan where the air is ejected, I wonder if anyone has modded this housing?

 

[Masoch]

I guess I'll be the guinea pig -- I'll report back once I've done some tinkering.

 

[Kengar]

The problem is not the fans, per se. The problem is how they are mounted into the housing. (I have the 5 foot Outer Orbit.) The fans are mounted directly to the housing, and the housing amplifies high frequency vibrations, which gives you a very annoying high pitched whine. With a little ingenuity, I knocked it right out. What I did -- I'll do up a sketch and scan/post it tomorrow -- is use rubber grommets to isolate the fan mounting bracket from the housing rails to which they are mounted. Basically, you open up the housing (as it sounds like you know how to do already) and unscrew the fans from the housing. Place a grommet against the rail at each of the four screw mounting points, place mounting bracket over the grommet, place another grommet on top of mounting bracket around the screw hole, place a washer on top of the upper grommet, and screw back down into place. (You may need to get longer screws than what are used to mount in the first place, and it is easiest to work one bracket at a time (each fan has two mounting brackets).)

Like I said, I'll post sketch tomorrow to clarify. Shoot me a PM for more info if you need.

 

[Tyrenlds]

I called Current USA about this last week. The guy I talked to actually modded his own fixture with this fan: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835191006

Said it runs totally silent. He also mentioned that matching the flow rate is not all that important, as long as there is some flow the T5 ballasts will be fine.

Good luck.

 

[Masoch]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14460157#post14460157 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tyrenlds
I called Current USA about this last week. The guy I talked to actually modded his own fixture with this fan: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835191006

Said it runs totally silent. He also mentioned that matching the flow rate is not all that important, as long as there is some flow the T5 ballasts will be fine.

Good luck.

Ooooooh -- that makes me feel better

FWIW, I've tried SilenX fans in my PC before, but, while quiet, they had an unfortunate tendency to sieze (I bought 2, RMAed them, the replacements seized, and then I gave up). I've found the Noctua fans to be more reliable.

Thanks for the post!

 

[Kengar]

Isn't that Silenx fan DC? I thought what is in the fixtures is AC.

 

[Masoch]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14461831#post14461831 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kengar
Isn't that Silenx fan DC? I thought what is in the fixtures is AC.

Yup, SilenX and Noctua fans are 12v DC (but can be run at lower voltages, such as what you'd get from an old cell phone charger). I'll have an extra power cable running out of my Outer Orbit, but the side with the switches and cables faces a wall, anyway, so the optics aren't a concern to me.

 

[Kengar]

How would the cell phone charger be connected to the fan?

Re extra cable coming out of the housing, maybe you could solder a lead that supplies power to the OEM fan to each terminal blade of the charger, then just mount the charger entirely inside the fixture.

 

[Kengar]

Okay, here's my mounting arrangement as referenced above.

enlarged diagram of grommet:

Grommet is a term used for many different items that often line the inside of a hole. The ones I used are sort of like little rubber washers or little rubber o-rings and are as shown in the sketch. They are better than o-rings for this application, however, because they are squishier, and that helps prevent vibration from being transferred into the housing. I got them at Lowes, in the specialty hardware drawer.

The configuration, as you can see, basically isolates the fan/mounting bracket from the fixture by suspending the bracket between the two grommets.

 

[Lowefx]

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but what was your best replacement for this issue? I am currently looking for replacement fans, other than factory (because of horrible reviews). I figured out that my Outer Orbit fans are AC, not DC. Any recommendations?