Fan Maintenance

Psyclon13 · January 7, 2016

I decided to cheap out and bought two second-hand Noctuas (NF-A14 and NF-S12B). It seems that the previous owner did not take care of them at all, because they were filthy. I mean Miley Cyrus riding a giant pink dildo filthy. The can of compressed air I have was unable to overcome the layers of disgusting stuff, so I used about a dozen alcohol-based wipes to clean each individual blade and the entire body of the fan. However, they still feel "icky". What else can I do besides putting them in the dish washer? Can I remove the propellers and will that void the warranty?

On a different note, while I'm not impressed noise-wise (the A14 has a very distinctive "hum" at 70%), I'm blown away by the air flow (pun intended). The S12 pushes significantly more air at 40% than my stock NZXT 140 mm at 100% - color me amazed!

StevenSensei · January 8, 2016

Noctua fans are not meant to be taken apart. From the user manual related to cleaning (emphasis added)...

"Fans inside computer cases tend to accumulate dust over longer periods of usage. In order to maintain maximum performance, please clean your fans regularly using a duster, slightly moist tissue or canned air. Please be careful not to use too much force in order to prevent any damage to the fan. Please don’t use a vacuum cleaner as this may apply excessive force to the fan. In order to ensure flawless operation over many years of usage, the NF-A14’s premium grade SSO2 bearing is fully sealed to prevent the entering of fine dust particles. Please note that the fan is not designed to be taken apart by the user. Removing the impeller from the frame will break the sealing of the bearing and results in a loss of warranty."

James1989 · January 8, 2016

I would use q-tips with alcohol and see if that works also with the noise, it could have been that the owner had the computer on 24/7 or that dirt got into the bearings.

LogicalDrm · January 8, 2016

A14s are airflow fans. And since you bought them second hand means that they may well be older generation too. So yes, they hum. But running them side-by-side with competition still usually makes most difference. Besides that, inside case and mounted you might not even notice that kind of sound.