Changing Power Supply Fans?

[David14259]

I'm going to get one of those clear coveres for my power supply....what I'm wondering is if I can replace the fans in it with Blue LED fans?

I was thinking of putting a 4inch cold cathode in it...but I think for that small of space, 2 four LED fans would do about the same.

Thanks!

[mattg2k4]

It'll work just fine. Just make sure you get the polarity correct, positive to positive and negative to negative. If the wire colors aren't obvious then a voltmeter will tell you quick enough which wire is which.

[Byte 2.0]

Also, make sure you don't do anything to lower your air flow too much. And since you will be working in the power supply take extra caution to make sure you don't accidently have any lose wiring would hate to see you mess up your PS or anything else. But you should have a good light show.

[Cricket]

Another thing...be careful while you're working inside the power supply. Those big capacitors can hold a pretty hefty charge for a fairly long time...don't go poking around with a screwdriver.

It's recommended that you unplug the power supply and let it sit for at least 24 hours before you open it up to work on.

As for the wiring, black is always ground.

:) Cricket

[David14259]

24 Hours????? What am I supposed to do without my computer for 24 hours???? Thats crazy! lol. I'll be careful, thanks for the warning, cricket.

[mattg2k4]

Edited by moderator - advice given, even though sincere, is dangerous to human life.

[Spyda]

id get as low dB fans as you can, if you feel the current ones, it wont be shifting all that much air, and getting a couple of 28dB blue LED fans wont increase the performance any just because they are shifting more air

[David14259]

GLC, thats not nice :) I want to see what matt said!

Hey Matt, PM me what you said :)

[Propain]

Some things are better left unsaid/unread. If glc edited it out then it was probably too dangerous for the untrained individual. Maybe he even saved your life!! glc has given me advice on quite a few occasions ;) and has always made good calls.

cheers

[glc]

Let's just say that he recommended using a paper clip to discharge capacitors - I'm a trained and qualified technician and I wouldn't even think of doing that. We have a pretty strict policy on this board about messing with electricity.

David - this is my recommendation - if you want to modify a power supply to the extent that you are wishing, buy a new power supply, take it out of the box, and do the mods to it. There are decent units out there that don't cost an arm and a leg. This will also keep your original power supply intact in case your mods screw it up.

[Spyda]

i have seen a clear cased PSU WITH 2 blue LED fans, if i could only remember where..., it was most likely a UK site anyway, they are the only ones i bother to look on

[David14259]

Where abouts in Illinois are you glc? I'm south of Chicago.

If I took a wire attached to a ground and connected it to the capacitor, it'd discharge right? I'll have to take a look at it this weekend. Yes yes, I'll be careful. I've got some nonconductive tools I can use to attach the wire.... My father iss an electrical engineer, I'll get him to do it.

Buy a new powersupply and mod it? What a waste of money! If I blow up the first one, then I'll buy a new one.

[glc]

I'm west of Chicago.

Keep your cotton pickers out of that PSU unless you know what you are doing and have the right tools! :D

[David14259]

Alright glc, what you doing Saturday? I'll come over and you can do it for me :)

[Propain]

lol You have to post that you'll pay him. then he'll answer.:D

[David14259]

GLC, How bout I take you (and your wife if ur married) out to lunch :)

[mattg2k4]

I suppse that my recomendation could be a bit dangerous to someone who isn't experience working inside monitors and power supplies. By all means let your power supply rest for a day or more before working on it, but not every single power supply will discharge by then, so I always make sure to short the terminals no matter how long it has been off. Think of it as the second line of defense, rather than your first line of defense against dangerous electricity.

[electrotech]

More people are killed by the 120/240 volt household voltages than all other high voltages combined! The reason is simple, techs who work on 30,000+ volt TV's, or 100,000 volt transmission lines are highly trained and have great respect for the forces that they are dealing with, they spent the time, energy, and money to fully understand all facets of their given field, they know what each component does. Unfortunately I have read very few posts here or in other threads dealing with electricity that even remotely come close to being true, most are just perpetuated myths or misunderstandings. I won't go into to detail for the same reason glc exercises moderation on the subject, but I will say this, shorting a capacitor with a paper clip can result in that cap blowing apart like a grenade, and capacitors, like a CRT can regenerate voltage even after being discharged with the proper method and left sitting for days to weeks. Yes this maybe over cautious, but why spend your 18th birthday in a grave because a friend of a friend who couldn't pass sixth grade without Jethro's help told you so.