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The "Quiet Mesa Walkabout" project...
- Thread starter Vic
- Start date
The Noctua NF8 is 31cfm at 17dBA. Silenx makes one, the EFX-08-15, that is 32cfm and 15dBA:
Invalid Link Removed
http://www.silenx.com/quiet.fans.asp?sku=efx-08-15
I think I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on this one for my Eden WT300, which currently has a "jet engine" fan that specs at 35cfm and 37dBA. I'll carefully monitor it to make sure it's not getting too warm with the 3cfm less airflow. I think it will be fine. The air that blows out of the head is never even warm right now.
Some of the fans mentioned earlier in this thread or the Walkabout megathreads have been discontinued. As of now, The Noctua NF8 and Silenx EFX-08-15 are still in production and seem to be the closest match of cfm while offering significantly quieter operation.
Cheers,
Liam
Invalid Link Removed
http://www.silenx.com/quiet.fans.asp?sku=efx-08-15
I think I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on this one for my Eden WT300, which currently has a "jet engine" fan that specs at 35cfm and 37dBA. I'll carefully monitor it to make sure it's not getting too warm with the 3cfm less airflow. I think it will be fine. The air that blows out of the head is never even warm right now.
Some of the fans mentioned earlier in this thread or the Walkabout megathreads have been discontinued. As of now, The Noctua NF8 and Silenx EFX-08-15 are still in production and seem to be the closest match of cfm while offering significantly quieter operation.
Cheers,
Liam
Picked up a Noctua NF8 and ready to install into my walkabout. I was wondering, for those who performed the mod, did you solder the fan directly into the board or did you snap the existing wires and hook them with electrical tape? I'm pretty decent at soldering, I was just wondering if it made a difference which I do. I also noticed the fans red wire is hooked to a capacitor, then to the board. Did anyone completely remove the capacitor from the board or left it as is? I've read that the capacitor prevents the fan from obtaining full speed. Any thoughts? Thanks!
When I changed the fan, I peeled back the label on the existing fan and unsoldered the wires there (and then soldered them to the leads for the new fan and insulated the connections with electrical tape.
That gave me the possibility of making the amp look untouched if necessary.
Hi All,
I am new to Talkbass and I hope this is the right place to post my question.
I am a proud owner of a new blackface Walkabout Scout and am enjoying it a lot! However, as many of you here, I would also like to replace the stock fan with a quieter model. With that in mind I have already ordered SilenX 80x80x25mm - 15dBA - 32CFM Effizio Series Thermistor Fan (EFX-08-15T) - hope it will fit
.
My question concerns the thermistor; where should I precisely locate it in order for the fan to work properly. Also, from the SilenX web page it follows that the thermistor is gauged in a way to start the fan at 20 degrees C, but only at 65 degrees C it will work on its full speed. My concern is whether this is still safe temperature for WA to operate on (since the fan will start to blow at full only at 65 deg C, probably the mosfets would get even hotter in the meantime...).
In the end, the SilenX's fan specs state that it will operate only on 12V (not less) and I have read here on the forums that Mesa put some kind of resistor before the stock fan, consequently lowering the voltage the fan is getting. Have I understood this correctly and should I in that case remove that resistor (any instructions how to locate it and remove it would be greatly appreciated).
Thank you all in advance,
Ivan
I am new to Talkbass and I hope this is the right place to post my question.
I am a proud owner of a new blackface Walkabout Scout and am enjoying it a lot! However, as many of you here, I would also like to replace the stock fan with a quieter model. With that in mind I have already ordered SilenX 80x80x25mm - 15dBA - 32CFM Effizio Series Thermistor Fan (EFX-08-15T) - hope it will fit
.My question concerns the thermistor; where should I precisely locate it in order for the fan to work properly. Also, from the SilenX web page it follows that the thermistor is gauged in a way to start the fan at 20 degrees C, but only at 65 degrees C it will work on its full speed. My concern is whether this is still safe temperature for WA to operate on (since the fan will start to blow at full only at 65 deg C, probably the mosfets would get even hotter in the meantime...).
In the end, the SilenX's fan specs state that it will operate only on 12V (not less) and I have read here on the forums that Mesa put some kind of resistor before the stock fan, consequently lowering the voltage the fan is getting. Have I understood this correctly and should I in that case remove that resistor (any instructions how to locate it and remove it would be greatly appreciated).
Thank you all in advance,
Ivan
Hey All,
I have just made this mod to my WalkAbout, and can report that the fan noise is a night and day improvement. I used the SilenX EFX-08-15 80X25mm fan, rated at 32 CFM and 15dBA:
http://www.silenx.com/quiet.fans.asp?sku=efx-08-15
This fan has 3 wires - the 3rd is a tacho wire, and though the wires look different than in the pic that Vic posted earlier in this thread, the layout is the same. the 2 outside wires are the ground (-) and tacho wires, and the positive is in the center. There are no longer diagrams on the SilenX site, but they do say in their FAQ that it is fine to disregard the tacho wire. I confirmed that I had the correct wire orientation using a 9 volt battery making sure that the fan was spinning correctly to push air out in the direction of the label. You can figure out which of the outside wires is the ground rather easily as the positive and ground wires continue from the 3 wire dongle into a second dongle which is a 4 wire with 2 open. You can see a picture of the setup on the fan detail page I posted above.
I have just made this mod to my WalkAbout, and can report that the fan noise is a night and day improvement. I used the SilenX EFX-08-15 80X25mm fan, rated at 32 CFM and 15dBA:
http://www.silenx.com/quiet.fans.asp?sku=efx-08-15
This fan has 3 wires - the 3rd is a tacho wire, and though the wires look different than in the pic that Vic posted earlier in this thread, the layout is the same. the 2 outside wires are the ground (-) and tacho wires, and the positive is in the center. There are no longer diagrams on the SilenX site, but they do say in their FAQ that it is fine to disregard the tacho wire. I confirmed that I had the correct wire orientation using a 9 volt battery making sure that the fan was spinning correctly to push air out in the direction of the label. You can figure out which of the outside wires is the ground rather easily as the positive and ground wires continue from the 3 wire dongle into a second dongle which is a 4 wire with 2 open. You can see a picture of the setup on the fan detail page I posted above.
Hi All,
I am new to Talkbass and I hope this is the right place to post my question.
I am a proud owner of a new blackface Walkabout Scout and am enjoying it a lot! However, as many of you here, I would also like to replace the stock fan with a quieter model. With that in mind I have already ordered SilenX 80x80x25mm - 15dBA - 32CFM Effizio Series Thermistor Fan (EFX-08-15T) - hope it will fit
My question concerns the thermistor; where should I precisely locate it in order for the fan to work properly. Also, from the SilenX web page it follows that the thermistor is gauged in a way to start the fan at 20 degrees C, but only at 65 degrees C it will work on its full speed. My concern is whether this is still safe temperature for WA to operate on (since the fan will start to blow at full only at 65 deg C, probably the mosfets would get even hotter in the meantime...).
In the end, the SilenX's fan specs state that it will operate only on 12V (not less) and I have read here on the forums that Mesa put some kind of resistor before the stock fan, consequently lowering the voltage the fan is getting. Have I understood this correctly and should I in that case remove that resistor (any instructions how to locate it and remove it would be greatly appreciated).
Thank you all in advance,
Ivan
Hey Ivan,
As noted in my previous post, I used the SilenX EFX-08-15 80X25mm fan, which does not have a thermistor. This fan operates fine on lower voltage (check the website - there is no caveat on this fan as there is on the thermistor versions). It is very quiet, so unless you want dead silence some of the time due to the thermistor not being triggered at all, I would say the thermistor version is not so necessary. Also - considering that:
the 32 CFM is close to the ~37 CFM of the stock Sunon KD1208 PTS1 H that it replaces
apparently Mesa "upgrades" the fan by (further) reducing the voltage and therefore CFM of the the stock fan to reduce the noise (search TB for discussion)
Have a good one,
Dave
Hi All,
I am new to Talkbass and I hope this is the right place to post my question.
I am a proud owner of a new blackface Walkabout Scout and am enjoying it a lot! However, as many of you here, I would also like to replace the stock fan with a quieter model. With that in mind I have already ordered SilenX 80x80x25mm - 15dBA - 32CFM Effizio Series Thermistor Fan (EFX-08-15T) - hope it will fit
My question concerns the thermistor; where should I precisely locate it in order for the fan to work properly. Also, from the SilenX web page it follows that the thermistor is gauged in a way to start the fan at 20 degrees C, but only at 65 degrees C it will work on its full speed. My concern is whether this is still safe temperature for WA to operate on (since the fan will start to blow at full only at 65 deg C, probably the mosfets would get even hotter in the meantime...).
In the end, the SilenX's fan specs state that it will operate only on 12V (not less) and I have read here on the forums that Mesa put some kind of resistor before the stock fan, consequently lowering the voltage the fan is getting. Have I understood this correctly and should I in that case remove that resistor (any instructions how to locate it and remove it would be greatly appreciated).
Thank you all in advance,
Ivan
I used a plastic zip tie to affix the sensor to the heat sink at the front most position. There was already a hole there on my blackface model. It's also the highest point on the heat sink when the amp is vertically mounted in the Scout combo. The highest point means that's likely the hottest point aside from the actual output transistors.
Thank you all for your input.
After considering it a bit, I opted to go without the thermistor. Dave, you are right, there is no need for dead silence anyway. Also, thermistors are probably gauged for computer CPU temperatures and I do not want to experiment if these are also safe for MOSFETs in the Walkabout...
Now, I just need to wait to receive my new fan...
After considering it a bit, I opted to go without the thermistor. Dave, you are right, there is no need for dead silence anyway. Also, thermistors are probably gauged for computer CPU temperatures and I do not want to experiment if these are also safe for MOSFETs in the Walkabout...
Now, I just need to wait to receive my new fan...
Thanks to those who have already gone this path. My fan stopped working after my last rehearsal. I ordered from newegg.com item 35-226-035, Silenx EFX-08-15B R for the LED factor. Much quieter and arguably "cooler." Ba ha ha ha
The previous posts saved a lot of time.
Rock on..
The previous posts saved a lot of time.
Rock on..
Attachments
My install was not pretty. I used the Silenex. While testing with the 9-volt battery only one combination of wires worked. I could not get it to go the opposite way with any combination of the 3 wires. Oh, and when I tried one combination a faint but distinct puff of smoke came from the fan. Omg I thought but persevered nonetheless. The fan seemed to work though quite anemic compared to the stock fan. Another thing was two grommets came off while taking off the case. My attempts to epoxy them back on failed so I'm now 2 screws short.
The Silenex is so quiet that I have to put my ear up to the back of the amp to hear it. The stock one was loud enough to hear across the room over lively conversation. It's hard to believe it will do the job. I fear I somehow damaged it (when the smoke came out) and now its running at less than full capacity.
All-in-all I'm not feeling much love for Mesa tonight. A loud fan and 2 bad grommets. Looking forward to putting the WA through its paces tomorrow to regain that feeling.
The Silenex is so quiet that I have to put my ear up to the back of the amp to hear it. The stock one was loud enough to hear across the room over lively conversation. It's hard to believe it will do the job. I fear I somehow damaged it (when the smoke came out) and now its running at less than full capacity.
All-in-all I'm not feeling much love for Mesa tonight. A loud fan and 2 bad grommets. Looking forward to putting the WA through its paces tomorrow to regain that feeling.
Chef
In Memoriam
No love for Mesa
Because you jacke up a replacement fan swap?
I've never understood the need for this
You'll only hear it in your living room.
Because you jacke up a replacement fan swap?
I've never understood the need for this
You'll only hear it in your living room.
I disagree on both counts. The fan in my WA was by far the loudest of any amp I've every owned, which includes lead-sled dinosaurs from the 80's and 90's. Fellow musicians commented on it more than once at rehearsals. From what I've read here there are many others that felt the same way. Not saying that the WA isn't a great amp but Mesa is not perfect. I wouldn't have had half the trouble if the screws hadn't been over-tightened in the first place. I rounded one out and had to dremel a slot to get it out. All of them were too tight - thus the two grommets failing. My point was that this isn't necessarily an easy mod.
I did a fan swap and it was fairly painless, bummer you had trouble. I do agree, the fan volume is egregious - but easily remedied. I am half tempted to swap the one in my Prodigy, though it's still not as bad as the stock WA fan.
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I don't know brother, my un-modified WA certainly had a fan that was audible, and so I did the Silenx fan mod and it really quieted it down a lot. So, been there/done that.
BUT .... as far as total fan noise volume level; if the WA was loud(ish), my Ampeg SVT 6Pro has absolutely the most ridiculously loud fan I have personally ever heard. Its even audible at a gig (which is just silly). The 6Pro also has case screws that are so tightened down that I simply cannot open it on my own to try and try to fix the fan.
my WA was a breeze to open and do the fan replacement, and I am no tech.
just sayin'
Chef
In Memoriam
Well, it's a free country; you can certainly disagree.
The only "trouble" fan noise ever gave me was using it in the studio.
It was super easy to use a longer speaker cable to get the head away from a cab, if I used one. Generally, the DI sounded better and I didn't use a cab.
I never, ever had anyone complain at a rehearsal or a gig during my many years of ownership, of all three models.
ymmv, etc.
