Replacement fans for vector inverters

[freshair]

Every inverter I have, the fans were either very noisy or only made it through a day... then got noisy. I have found a few replacements on ebay... not sure how good they are, and I haven't been able to find the CFM of the stock fans. Any one replaced there fans? Found one they can recommend?

Thanks

[ghurd]

Find one that "looks" the same, with the same voltage, and about the same watt rating.

G-

[Airstream]

Ball bearing - double ball bearing are mandatory if you want it to last, sleeve bearings are not meant for continuous duty... There are some other high tech methods but usually you get what you pay for.

[freshair]

The pictured fan is the stock fan from one of my inverters. Its the only one that didn't make any noise. (Figures, I burnt that inverter up) I replaced one of the bad ones with it... but its noisy now too.

I found a few... that are BB, but the watts are higher... really don't want that. But I'll try some... just wondered if any one had replaced theres. They are very loud and noisy... out of the box.

[freshair]

Most of the fans I found have the CFM on them. I couldn't find that info on the stock fan. I would think the BB fans would be a lower wattage... but they might move more air.

[Opera House]

Buy a bigger inverter.   Every inverter I have has the fans removed or disconnected.  I put one inch spacers on the bottom plate and orient the inverter for the best natural air flow.  Each fan pulls about 100mA.  If you feel you need a little help with air flow, put two fans in series.

[ghurd]

BB fans tend to use more power and be louder.

We just replace a bad fan with one that "looks the same".  No fan related problems that I am aware of.

If this is on the cash register cart, and a 700W inverter, like Opera House said, there is no great need for the fan.  

Mount the inverter to get natural flow.  Might put 1" spacers under the "foot" area to get a bit of flow around the bottom / back.

Most of the internal parts that get hot are mounted to the inverter body as a heat sink.  Not always.

G-

[jimjjnn]

I agree with Airstream.

Sleeve bearings are always going bad in many appliances. Last motor in range hood in my kitchen failed after 2 months. I found a ball-bearing motor that has lasted over 3 years ,so far and is very quiet

I've replaced a lot of computer fans in the last 10 years that had sleeve bearings. Only replaced 2 with ball bearings in that same time frame. 1 had broken wire and other fan was loose due to someone had forgotten a circlip

[freshair]

Yup... its been a while. I doesn't get used to much for its original purpose... but I try to use it every day.

Its been rebuilt, and just about everything is DC now... and I use a 400w at the track (700w at home). The fan in the 400w is twice as loud as the 700w.. was that way from the start.

I'm sure I don't use the inverter to its full potential but I'd like to have some fan in it.. found one, about a third of the wattage... just have to modify it a little to counter sink the nuts.

[vtpeaknik]

Besides skipping the fan altogether, you can also run a fan on less than its original full power.  That way it can be very quiet, and still move some air (and probably last longer).  A bit of airflow is a lot better than none.  To reduce the power, I've used the following methods:

Small 115-120VAC fans: put a capacitor in series, about 1 uF, experiment to find the right size.  Must be a high-voltage (400V, better 600V) non-electrolytic capacitor.  (If the capacitor fails (shorts out due to a power spike) the fan will go to full power but nothing else bad will happen.)

Small 115-120VAC fans: replace with a 230VAC fan of same physical size.  It'll usually run on 115VAC, but slowly and quietly.  I've found some 230VAC fans at "All Electronics", but they run VERY slowly on 115VAC, perhaps too slow to bother.

Small DC fans: put a resistor in series.  E.g., for a 12VDC 0.1A fan, that's a 120 ohm load (12 / 0.1), put something of same order of magnitude in series, e.g. 50 ohms (1 watt - put the resistor in the airfow area, that'll keep it cool).

Small 12VDC fans: replace with a 24VDC fan of same physical size.  It'll usually run on 12VDC, but slowly and quietly.  I've found some 24VDC fans at "All Electronics" and they run usefully fast down to about 6VDC!

[vtpeaknik]

Forgot to mention one more method I've used: run a 115VAC fan on lower voltage, provided by a step-down transformer.  E.g., find a 230->115V transformer (e.g. made for US travelers in Europe) and feed 115VAC to its input - that'll give about 60 volts output.  I've also used a variable-voltage "Variac" type transformer, they're handy (if you can find one), but not very energy efficient.

[freshair]

Its not an "air movement noise", but a bearing/bushing noise. Of the 4, 700/1400w inverters I have, three went bad after a days use. Of the 2 "NEW" 400-500w and 3 used 400w... they are much worse. The 500 maxx (looks like a B&D model) is so loud I might as well have a gas generator running!

Some good ideas but its only a little 40mm X 40mm X 20mm 12volt fan, inside an inverter. Might try a switch, or the resistor.... or maybe both. Would have liked to find the "specs" on the stock fan so I had something to compare it to. I've found fans with 7 different RPM's and multible CFM's, amp, and watt ratings. The fans I have coming are at the high end in RPM, but about 1/3 the wattage.

Just figured somebody else had issues too... guess they have... just removed them LOL

[ghurd]

Vector and B&D are in bed together, maybe with Craftsman.

The 24V fans, rated the same in all other respects, should be a decent choice.

Or a 12V version with a 51 - 56 ohm 1W resistor.

Not sure if you are having bad luck or simply expect the fans to be quieter than they are.

My laptop makes as much noise as my 800W Vector.  More noise than from my 1500W.

G-

[Ungrounded Lightning Rod]

Another possibility:  Get a "snap thermostat switch" for a suitable temperature, put it in series with the fan, and mount it inside the inverter near the major heat-producing components.  The fan will run full-power but only momentarily when it is really needed.

Such switches (along with very low-power 12-volt DC fans) can be found at recreational-vehicle supplies.  They're in a kit used to improve the efficiency of propane refrigerators in hot weather (avoiding overheating of the 'fridge compartment) by forcing ventilation of the heat-dump side of the ammonia/water cycle cooler, supplementing the too-small "stack" formed by the trailer's walls and vent.

You might switch to the low-power fan, too.  (It's intended for use when the vehicle is running on the house battery and doesn't pull much power.)  Supplement it with a duct to limit losses around the blade ends if you're forcing air through an enclosed box.  A piece of PVC pipe about like half a toilet-paper roll ought to do it.  B-)

[freshair]

Guess I'm having bad luck!!! Hard to picture I seven inverters that are all LOUD.. and no one else does. Its not air movment noise... The 700's were quiet for a day... then sqeeeeeeeeel like they are screaming for oil! I've gotten them to quiet down by, turning them on... letting it run for a bit... then turning the switch off and on 10 - 15 times. I'd rather just plug and play... and walk away from it.

We'll see how the new BB fans are.

Well, the suns out, its making power, and I have some soldering to do... Use it while I can.

[GlutealCleft]

If I were in your boat, I would look for as high of a CFM as I could get without making the thing unbearably loud.  The cooler you keep the capacitors in your inverter, the longer they'll last.   It's some cheap security.

[riahserf]

Hello board, been a while.. thought I'd share the results of the new fans. All GREAT ideas here... wound up with new fans, resistor, and a SPDT center off switch... all for less then $2 an inverter. So now I have a two speed fan, that I can turn off.

Funny thing is, the 700/1400watt "Marine" inverter won't run the fan at high speed. It just surges... guessing the inverter senses the fan load???


freshair


PS. sorry for the new account... been trying to get on for awhile... even tried emailing the admins.. but all I get is mailer demons returns.

[riahserf]

Couple more pics

[BrianSmith]

Some of these inverter units will turn the fan on and off as needed.  They will measure their internal temperature and turn on the fan only as needed (when too hot) to save power.  If you are going to try to slow down the fan by adding a resistor in series, I would suggest not using a resistor that will take the voltage to below about 60-70% of the rated voltage.  Some cheap fans don't want to start with < 50% of the supply voltage and the older and more crudded up they get, the more that comes into play.  Making the resistor too big will eventually make the fan stall and do a slow cook.  FYI.

[birdhouse]

just a thought from the last pic-  the casing has pretty small slots for the air to get through before it hits the fan/inverter.  i would cut all that out, and maybe add a screen to protect the fan from pulling debris in.  i'm guessing the minimal sized slots make it hard for the fan to pull it's full cfm, and would make it hard on the fan's motor/bearings. 

just a thought. 

[riahserf]

Some of these inverter units will turn the fan on and off as needed.  They will measure their internal temperature and turn on the fan only as needed (when too hot) to save power.

I don't know of any vectors that have that fetcher. I've been using these for a couple years and the fans never shut down... even in 30 degree weather... they just sat there and SQUEALED. Its just the one inverter... in high speed (no resistor), the fan never comes up to speed. Just whrrr, whrrr, whrrr, whrrr... never did that with its original fan.

Edit: It runs fine on low speed


 

If you are going to try to slow down the fan by adding a resistor in series, I would suggest not using a resistor that will take the voltage to below about 60-70% of the rated voltage.  Some cheap fans don't want to start with < 50% of the supply voltage and the older and more crudded up they get, the more that comes into play.  Making the resistor too big will eventually make the fan stall and do a slow cook.  FYI.

Been a year now... so far so good    I just combined the ideas given to me earlier. High speed for summer, low for spring/fall, and off in the winter. The originals fans went bad in a day... and were so LOUD they could drowned out a gas engine.... The new ones consume less power and no noise... I'm lovin this.  

[riahserf]

just a thought from the last pic-  the casing has pretty small slots for the air to get through before it hits the fan/inverter.  i would cut all that out, and maybe add a screen to protect the fan from pulling debris in.  i'm guessing the minimal sized slots make it hard for the fan to pull it's full cfm, and would make it hard on the fan's motor/bearings. 

just a thought. 

The slots are the same width as the lenght of the blades... but there is a little blockage now. The old fans motor supports fell in line with the three metal ones on the back plate... the new ones don't line up.

[zander1976]

Hey,

If its a sqeel like sound then how old are you. A lot of fans actually produce that sound like my d-link gaming router. As you get older your ability to hear high frequency drops. Once you reach 20-30 then you wouldn't hear it at all. So a lot of manufacturers don't even notice it since they are all well above the age were this is a problem.

Ben

[zander1976]

In other words you must have really good hearing..

[riahserf]

Not sure what my age has to do with it... but I remember 1976... a much simpler time.     

Don't think I've ever been accused of having good hearing LOL... Best way I can descibe the noise... Ever heard a 3hp B&S lawnmower running full bore?? These would drowned it out!!

So much better now. I have to be right against it to hear it now.