The sleeve bearing curse

[sleddog]

In the past 3 months I've had 4 friends and associates call me, near grief-stricken because their computer "won't turn on". In every case I've found that the power supply fan is stuck solid and the power supply itself has died. A replacement power supply was required (at ~ CAN$50).

I've been piling up these dead PSU's and this morning I took 'em apart. In every one was a cheap sleeve-bearing type fan. These computers had been purchased from 3 different retail suppliers.

The sleeve-bearing fan is cheap to produce. In my estimation it has (at best) a life expectency of 2 years. Frequently much less. Years ago I purchased a Celeron 300 with a sleeve-bearing CPU fan, which died in 3 weeks.

This cheapo sleeve-bearing fan business is designed (IMO) only to reduce cost for retailers, and create replacement-part-business for usually those same retailers.

For a few extra dollars you can have a quality ball-bearing fan which will last for years. I'm sitting here surrounded by 3 computers, all of which I built myself, and all of which have (sometimes multiple) ball bearing fans. Most of those fans are salvage from old -- high-quality -- 386 and 486 machines, and some of them are over 12 years old!

You can purchase today a high-quality ball-bearing fan for ~$CAN 10, and with due caution replace the sleeve-bearing junk. Doing so may take a 1/2 hour of your time, but it will save unexpected downtime, frustration and dollars in the future.

** I have to add, do NOT attempt to replace a power supply fan without doing your homework first. The power supply, even when unplugged, can retain daingerous high voltage levels.**

http://www.labradorstraits.net/image/sig.gif

[mjc]

Actually, sleddog, I think the majors use a sleeve bearing fan in the hopes that when you machine dies in 12 to 18 months you will have enough brand loyalty to come running back to them for another machine. And unfortunately, it seems to be true, because many people will come back and buy another one.

[geokite]

Hi, do you have any links for me to do my homework, so I can learn how to change my psu fan? Much appreciated, thanks!

Steve:confused:

[Budfred]

Steve,

Here is one link that may help:

http://www.pcguide.com/ref/power/sup/partsFan-c.html

I got this by searching the PCGuide data base, you might want to do that further if this link isn't enough.

Good luck,
Budfred

[rjam2]

I repaired, rewound & sold electic motors, power tools, etc. for a couple years back in the late 70's. The magnetic field design has changed since then. But the bearing considerations are mostly the same.

Sleeve bearings are fine for certain applications. Fans are sometimes not an ideal application. Too much vibration, and often too much leverage of the big fan blades on the tiny bearing. I think it's harder to get the proportions precisely measured in small or tiny fans. So there's a lot of potential for problems to develop, including dust.

I've had 3 personal computers running since about 1985. The oldest one had no problem with fans that I remember. I used it for around 10 yrs before I bought a new one. I still have the first one and it runs fine tho I don't use if often. (Commodore Amiga).

The 2nd one was a Dell pc purchased in 1995/6. That had good hardware, except for a couple of fans I had to replace after about 3-4 yrs. It still runs fine tho I don't use it often.

The last one was a Mincron, purchased in 2000. Some of the hardware was lousy, including the start button and the DVD drive. I've replaced 3 or 4 fans, some of them twice. I also got a bigger power supply unit, with variable fan speed that I thought would be quieter than the howling psu I replaced. Some days it's even noisier. But it seems to work and not be the cause of other problems I have.

If you can get pc fans with ball bearings for only $10 more than sleeve bearing fans, using those is probably a good idea if you use your computer a lot, for more than a year or two before getting a new one.

[Fred_Flintstone]

Hi rjam2..welcome to PCGuide..:D

While the info you write is probably just as valid today...;)

This thread is about 5 years old!..:rolleyes:

[rjam2]

Thanks for the greeting.

Yes, I noticed the thread was a bit old. But I've found some useful info on this site recently, which has been here a long time. So I thought I'd add a bit of detail for those who may benefit.