Dead cooling fan in my charger, should i still use it?

ClintBX

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Hi ESFMs,

I have a fast charger for my 48v 35AH pack. It's a 5A charger and the cooling fan had stopped working. It gets pretty toasty while charging.

How big of an issue is this? Should I still use this charger in this condition?

Clinton
 
Personally I wouldn't.

Even if the components don't overheat, constant PCB heating at high temperature deltas can make solder joints break real fast, among other things.
 
I guess that depends on the temperature inside the charger. you might be able to turn down the charge current via a potentiometer until you get yourself a new fan like this one:https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/40mm-Video-Chip-Cooling-Fan-Heatsink-CPU-Cooler-3Pin-40x40mm/183301536886?hash=item2aad9f7c76:g:fdMAAOSwWFFbBNxL
Not sure if this is the right size though, you'll have to open the charger and check it yourself.

But if you don't have a way of measuring the current, then you'll be stuck waiting for that fan.
 
With a just a bit of DIY'er spirit, that fan can likely be brought back to life with just a few minutes of time and a drop of oil.

Absolute worst case, you totally screw it up and you have to get a new fan.

In either case, you've spent no more than 10 bucks, and your fan is fixed........
 
Fans are very cheap.. a new charger is a lot less cheap.
 
Go to a local computer repair service, and ask them if they have any 110 V AC fans, or 48V DC server fans. I'm sure you can get a used one for $5.

Also, check the electronics recycler listings. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Cut a hole in the case and maybe use duct tape to seal the fan to the hole just enough to create "some" flow. A tiny amount of air-flow is much better than none. It may not die in a week, but...it will die, guaranteed.
 
Why not feel good about yourself by fixing it?
And not do the first world action, which is throw shit out for minor problems.
 
AHicks said:
With a just a bit of DIY'er spirit, that fan can likely be brought back to life with just a few minutes of time and a drop of oil.

Absolute worst case, you totally screw it up and you have to get a new fan.

In either case, you've spent no more than 10 bucks, and your fan is fixed........

Maybe, but I'd expect it to fail again soon afterwards. Easiest and cleanest option is a direct, like-for-like replacement. Next best is to modify the case and add your own fan. In the meantime, you should at the very least use an external fan to cool the case down.

These days one of the few things that I save from discarded electronics is the fan. It's kinda sad, but the sophisticated CPUs, GPUs, and other chips are essentially worthless while the electro-mechanical fans are actually worth a few bucks and generally worth setting aside for future repairs.
 
wturber said:
AHicks said:
With a just a bit of DIY'er spirit, that fan can likely be brought back to life with just a few minutes of time and a drop of oil.

Absolute worst case, you totally screw it up and you have to get a new fan.

In either case, you've spent no more than 10 bucks, and your fan is fixed........

Maybe, but I'd expect it to fail again soon afterwards. Easiest and cleanest option is a direct, like-for-like replacement. Next best is to modify the case and add your own fan. In the meantime, you should at the very least use an external fan to cool the case down.

These days one of the few things that I save from discarded electronics is the fan. It's kinda sad, but the sophisticated CPUs, GPUs, and other chips are essentially worthless while the electro-mechanical fans are actually worth a few bucks and generally worth setting aside for future repairs.

Actual experience, working in IT for 20 years previous to retiring, would indicate you might want to try it prior to doubting it will work! Normally, those fans would go for quite some time (months), prior to needing another drop of oil.....
 
For the short term-- if you have a hair dryer, see if it has a no heat setting. Place nozzle in line with the charger air intake.
 
aroundqube said:
For the short term-- if you have a hair dryer, see if it has a no heat setting. Place nozzle in line with the charger air intake.

Or a normal household fan? That's what I thought as soon as I saw the top post. Anything that moves cool air through the charger.

Muffin fans are super cheap, and I would only use an external blower to tide me over until my mail order arrived.
 
I think its good to take it apart and find out the proper fan to replace the old fan. All I'm saying is doing that will take time for it to arrive. You will be tempted to run the charger without a fan. I recommend you use a hacked-on fan until a good one can be installed.
 
AHicks said:
Actual experience, working in IT for 20 years previous to retiring, would indicate you might want to try it prior to doubting it will work! Normally, those fans would go for quite some time (months), prior to needing another drop of oil.....

Months is "soon" in my book for a component that is not intended to need regular maintenance.
 
I ended up getting a new fan and installing it.

When i last posted, I was a little paranoid and I needed to charge once more for about an hour to get through the day.

Anyway, the fan I ended up getting from my local electronics store was a 24v. My charger had a 12v. I had to make some modifications so that it would fit nice and snug like my old fan. They didn't have one that matched the dimensions of my old fan so I had to buy a slightly smaller one.

I discovered that my charger had 2 connections for the fan. When i tried the connection port it had previously been in, it didn't respond. So I decided to try the other one and it worked.

I had to get my dremmel and chop off the corners of the new fan's casing so I could fit it within the old fan's casing. Used some tape to minimize movement between the 2 casings and after reassembling the charger, it's as good as new.

The new fan packs a punch.
 
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