Jamming PSU fan

[poninka]

I got this little board and couple drives And its basically a NAS. Im cheaping out cause the whole system is basically salvaged but the max theoretically TDP is probably around 80w if that and at idle probably 20w if not less I have a fan in there so there is oka airflow but the psu had this annoying little fan thats always on so I took a bit of plastic and Jammed it in the PSU fan. Will that cause any real problems? Yes it is janky but there more then enough airflow for psu at this low of a TDP. My question is will that current that goes to fan cause long term damage to the PSU besides the build in fan control? Also I do not need advice that tells me to buy a different PSU or that says its a fire risk (its not). Its impossible to find a reasonable priced psu for such a lowend system that I build for like 30$.

[Biohazard777]

46 minutes ago, poninka said:

Also I do not need advice that tells me to buy a different PSU or that says its a fire risk (its not).

So you need someone to confirm the conclusion you've already arrived at?

 

46 minutes ago, poninka said:

Its impossible to find a reasonable priced psu for such a lowend system that I build for like 30$.

Why would you replace the whole PSU?

Ah, anyways I'm kinda out of Fs to give on LTT forums, so yeah mate - jam that thing.

[Sir_Alex]

2 hours ago, poninka said:

I got this little board and couple drives And its basically a NAS. Im cheaping out cause the whole system is basically salvaged but the max theoretically TDP is probably around 80w if that and at idle probably 20w if not less I have a fan in there so there is oka airflow but the psu had this annoying little fan thats always on so I took a bit of plastic and Jammed it in the PSU fan. Will that cause any real problems? Yes it is janky but there more then enough airflow for psu at this low of a TDP. My question is will that current that goes to fan cause long term damage to the PSU besides the build in fan control? Also I do not need advice that tells me to buy a different PSU or that says its a fire risk (its not). Its impossible to find a reasonable priced psu for such a lowend system that I build for like 30$.

Go to electronic recycle center and pull out a used PSU.
Not sure where you live, but you can also ask building maintenance about their recycling downtown, if you're allowed to take a look there as well.
A lot of businesses recycle with their building.

[Blue4130]

2 hours ago, poninka said:

I got this little board and couple drives And its basically a NAS. Im cheaping out cause the whole system is basically salvaged but the max theoretically TDP is probably around 80w if that and at idle probably 20w if not less I have a fan in there so there is oka airflow but the psu had this annoying little fan thats always on so I took a bit of plastic and Jammed it in the PSU fan. Will that cause any real problems? Yes it is janky but there more then enough airflow for psu at this low of a TDP. My question is will that current that goes to fan cause long term damage to the PSU besides the build in fan control? Also I do not need advice that tells me to buy a different PSU or that says its a fire risk (its not). Its impossible to find a reasonable priced psu for such a lowend system that I build for like 30$.

At the very least, cut the damn fan wires, don't just jam shit in a PSU.

[Kisai]

2 hours ago, poninka said:

I got this little board and couple drives And its basically a NAS. Im cheaping out cause the whole system is basically salvaged but the max theoretically TDP is probably around 80w if that and at idle probably 20w if not less I have a fan in there so there is oka airflow but the psu had this annoying little fan thats always on so I took a bit of plastic and Jammed it in the PSU fan.

If something has a fan in it, then you're shortening the life of it when the fan stops working. Case in point, I disconnected the fan from my first CD-R unit I had because the noise it generated was excessive, even when the drive was not operating. Since I rarely used the drive after that point, it wasn't a huge loss. But when you jam the fan on things that are emitting heat (like PSU, CPU, GPU, RAM) then they will overheat. To use another example, I had a CATV tuner from the 1980's connected to a Tube TV for years, but because it generated so much heat, at one point the tuner wound up on the ground which warmed the surrounding area. Eventually because the heat didn't go anywhere, it melted the caps inside it and died.

 

That is what will happen when you defeat the cooling on a PSU. Either replace the fan, or remove it entirely so the fan doesn't obstruct the thermal path out.

 

2 hours ago, poninka said:

 

Will that cause any real problems? Yes it is janky but there more then enough airflow for psu at this low of a TDP. My question is will that current that goes to fan cause long term damage to the PSU besides the build in fan control? Also I do not need advice that tells me to buy a different PSU or that says its a fire risk (its not). Its impossible to find a reasonable priced psu for such a lowend system that I build for like 30$.

 

I'd suggest just finding a laptop power brick, 65-180w units should be easily scavenged from people throwing out laptops. And laptop power bricks rarely have fans in them, but they do sometimes make ticking noises from the switching.