Thanks out to PCMods for providing this sample.
Lighted fans seem to be the current craze with the slew of reviews coming out. A complaint of my and others have been that many are not of the highest quality and available in sizes other than the standard 80mm. Typically, these fans are made of clear plastic with LEDs embedded in the rotor or along with casing. The PCMods light fan diverges from the status quo by modifying a top quality fan addressing many of the qualms I have, but also introducing some others.
The PCMods lighted fan is built around the exceptional Panaflo 120mm H1A made by Panasonic. Like all fans made by Panasonic (except for 40mm models), this fan features their Hydro-Wave Bearing, basically a sleeve bearing that uses a film of oil to reduce friction, thus allowing the fan to have a high cubic feet per minute (CFM) to decibel rating. This fan moves a healthy 103.8 CFM at 41.5 decibels, which could seem quite loud. But, the larger size of the fan produces a lower pitched sound, making it seem quieter than the whine of a smaller fan rated at the same sound levels.
Because the Panaflo is not made from a clear plastic, PCMods had to modify the fan to accept the LEDs. Fortunately or unfortunately, this review lends itself to more pictures than words, so this review will follow accordingly. To do this, they permanently bonded a plastic disk to the back of the fan rotor with three fiber optic like strands radiating from it. These strands then are inserted into holes that have been drilled into the fan blades at three different positions to create three rings of light when the fan is powered on. Looking at the front of the fan, one can clearly see the strands poking through the blades. Clearly, any modification of the fan blades or rotors disturbs the balance of the fan and will cause it to shake. Time can only tell what effects this modification has on the life of the fan. The effects of this modification will be discussed later.
The heart of this fan is the PCB mounted diagonally across the backside on two large spacers. Not only do the spacers add about 40mm to the depth of the fan, making it 78mm thick overall, the placement of the PCB limits the fan usefulness to just being an exhaust fan. But nevertheless, the PCB is well made with an actual power plug rather than soldering the wires directly on. The LEDs are also socketed, meaning that they can be easily replaced with different colors to create color swirls and other patterns. Both the fan and the PCB have their own male Molex connectors connected to the provided “Y” adaptor.
With the fan powered on, the LEDs do put on quite a show. Here the effects of the fiber optic placement come into play, creating three rings of distinct color. Because of the socketed LEDs, I was able to swap place two green LEDs along with the red LEDs PCMods provided. But, the provided LEDs where so strong that they completely drowned out the green. Because of the way the fan is made, it is not possible to make the three rings different colors.
Now, we already touched upon what modifying the fan would potentially do. First of all, throwing off the balance causes a decreased life span because of increased friction. Second, it causes the fan to shake and vibrate. This it does do, but not to the extent I though it would. However, if you place the fan on a hard surface, expect it to move. Be sure to purchase some rubber washers too. Third, the PCB might create more noise because it in the flow path of the fan. Fortunately, this was non existent.
Final Score and Last Comments
Highs
High Quality Fan
Well Made
Dramatic Lighting
Socketed LEDs
Lows
Design Limits Use
Like many products, this fan falls into a market niche. If you are into lighted fans and want the larger fans sizes, PCMods offers lighted fans of all sizes as well as a kit to do the modification yourself, this product would fit the bill quite nicely. Although the implementation introduces some problems of its own (vibration and mounting) the good qualities negate them. Not does the lighted fan use a top quality Panaflo fan, the workmanship is top notch, and the inclusion of socketed LEDs makes this product much more versatile.
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