On Sat, 27 Mar 2010 06:31:53 -0700, Charles Packer wrote
(in article ):
The cooling fans in my Adcom GFA5800 are noisier than
they were last year at similar ambient temeprature levels.
I learned from a search of related postings here that
there is a fan for each channel. Does anybody know if
it's practical to replace them? I bought this unit used
over 10 years ago and it's served me well. I queried
Adcom about this but they never replied.
--
Charles Packer
http://cpacker.org/whatnews
mailboxATcpacker.org
Electronic cooling fans are commodity items and are made and sold by a myriad
of manufacturers and distributors. The first thing you need to know is the
size and physical configuration of the fan (diameter, size of the housing,
mounting hole spacing, etc.) then you need to know the electrical
requirements (AC or DC, and voltage). Often, you can get a manufacturer's
name and model number off of the fan itself. This makes finding a replacement
very easy. If it's a standard fan, then other manufacturers will likely
cross-reference it. If the fans name and model number aren't on the fan, then
more investigation is required. Most fans for equipment designed for domestic
household applications run off of mains current (the power that comes out of
the wall in your house). That means for the USA, that would be 120 V, 60Hz.
But this isn't necessarily the case. Some run off of the DC power supply for
the amplifier or off of low-voltage AC from a separate winding on the
amplifier's power transformer. This is advantageous for the amp manufacturer
because it allows them to use the same fans for all markets, regardless of
that market's mains supply voltage. In other words, if the fans run on mains
power, the manufacturer, when configuring their amp for say, the European
market would not only have to wire the amplifier's power transformer for
220/240 volts 50 Hz, but use fans for that voltage level as well. By
designing-in fans that run off of either a lower AC voltage from a secondary
winding on the transformer, or a DC fan which was powered by the amp's power
supply, the same fans can be used for all models in all markets because these
voltages at these points in the circuit do not change from market to market.
This means that only one fan model needs to be stocked, and fitted, thus
reducing material cost and labor.
So it is important to find out what the fan's voltage is and whether its a DC
or an AC fan before looking for replacements on-line. Once you know what the
fans are, it should be a simple matter to order them and replace them
yourself. Most likely they run on house current, but you never know....