Dave (from the UK) wrote:

> Hi,
> less than 2 years ago the small (80 x 80 x 15 mm) fan on my Ultra 80's
> DC-DC converter started playing up - making a lot of noise. I was never
> able to find a *decent* replacement of the right size. 15 mm is very
> thin, so the choice was severely restricted, despite me using catalogues
> from lots of professional electronic suppliers. A 20 mm fan will not
> fit, so I replaced it with a poor quality Sunon (not Sun) fan which I
> bought from RS in the UK.
>
> Sun don't sell a replacement fan as far as I can see, and I don't wish
> to buy a new DC-DC converter just to replace a fan.
>
> The fan has a hard time where it is. It is in the hot air stream, which
> is not good for fans. The only one I could find had sleeve bearings,
> which like the heat less than ball bearing fans. A ball bearing fan
> would have half a chance in that position.
>
> As you can guess, the fan has started to die again, less than 2 years
> after replacing it.
>
> Does anyone know of a source of these. Ideally I'd like
>
> Decent quality, ball bearings
> 1) 12 V
> 2) 80 x 80 x 15 mm
> 3) Available to the UK.
>
> The Ultra 80 is a well made machine, but the idiot who designed the bit
> around the DC-DC converter wants shooting. The fan is very poorly
> located being in the hot air stream, and being such an odd size it was
> hard to find a replacement. I have not started looking for one today,
> but judging by my experiences 2 years ago, finding one is not going to
> be easy.
>
> Anyone else had problems with that fan?

Not that fan in particular, but I have found that small sleeve fans
typically need replacement or servicing every two years or so. IME
disassembling, cleaning, and relubricating is no less effective than
replacement - you still get to do it again in two years.

Sunny