[Official] Gentle Typhoon 2150 Group Buy Thread - Page 231

Don't remember. I took them out of the box for a photo shoot months ago. If I recall, the 9 fans were in the center of the box, with packing paper surrounding two sides.
Nine 120mm fans in a Medium Flat Rate Box.. erughgh...
And they have been in the SAME place on my shelf with 0 interuption in the last several months. They haven't been dropped or in a high-traffic area, -nothing-.

ANYWAY, after closer inspection and shaking of the REALLY defective fan, there seems to be a little brown broken piece of plastic in between the PCB and the fan sticker? LOL?
Can't take it out because it is too big. I took a video of the unbalanced fan, uploading now, I didn't include the brown plastic thing. I shook it to a point to where I think it got stuck somewhere?

Video is 46%.

This may fix the wobbly fans (not the broken one):

Wobbly fan fix (Click to show)

 

Could you take a picture of the brown plastic piece? Or is it out of sight (and reach) now?

 

You can actually fit 14 120mm fans in a medium flat rate box.

 

I recall someone from the group buy having a broken fan as well. One of the four "spokes?" were broken off, but he ended up getting the fan to work anyways I believe. Link

 

 

I'm not sure if this is related to the fans wobbling, but here is some info on ball bearing fans and shock.

 

 

I'll be shipping with Fedex ground. Anyone know if it's any different then USPS Large Flat Box (17 fans)?

Edited by nawon72 - 7/27/12 at 9:03pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaDTEsGPPpU

Sorry for the low quality, I don't have a video camera.
Brown plastic piece extraction uploading now. I can't even describe it, it's like some sort of plastic molding decay? One side is completely flat and the other is like a mountain (?). It was "stuck" because it was sticking to the exposed edge of the fan sticker.

edit: the video doesn't justify the fan unbalance. It's much worse IRL
edit2: the first fan in the video is the unbalanced one, the second one is a "good" one
Edited by Buska103 - 7/27/12 at 9:00pm

Bent shaft. That's sad. Try the fix mentioned above. You have little to lose now.

I should have bought one more extra fan I bought exactly how much I needed for my build.

video of the brown thing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0u8FkpwxqE

This has got to come from the factory. No warranty or anything?

Video quality is sufficient. And the first fan does indeed look like it's very unbalance (wobbly).

 

 

The thing sticking out in the middle is the shaft (that sounded wrong):

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

I have no idea whether or not the shaft can be bent back (assuming that's the issue), so I'll let someone else chime in on that. While your waiting for that bit of info, you can read the "Wobbly fan fix" spoiler in my last post. But I would wait for an answer on bending the shaft before following any of the two guides mentioned.

 

I have no idea what the brown plastic is from, but at least you could get it out

 

The fans from the group buy don't come with any warranty IIRC, but if it was caused by shipping then your package would have been insured, assuming you paid for it (applies to USPS only)

Even though the whole fan wobbles.. I think the shaft would be visually perfect. I would assume it is almost impossible to see any 2 degree bends on a small metal pole. If you can't see it, you can't fix it

I think I did get insurance with USPS, I'm kinda leaning towards manufacturer defect since it came with a random peice of brown plastic in it? But then again, I read that GTs are really sensitive to drops... but then again I need to remember that USPS doesn't cover extremely fragile items and plus it was shipped many months ago, I doubt the insurance covers that long of a waiting period

I'm screwed either way. I'm stuck with a broken fan, and I need a replacement. While I'm still here, should I just get a AP15 for $15 or a 140mm fan? This will be used for exhaust with low restriction.

Looked like a bit of someone's chocolate chip cookie.

 

It was in the wrong place to affect the fan, though.

If you have a straight edge (e.g. ruler), then you can put it against the shaft to see where it curves. But I'm not sure how to go about straightening it. So I recommend you try the "Wobbly fan fix", and if that doesn't work then you can open it up and try to bend the shaft. Just be careful with the "C-clip" as it will come flying off, and may get lost. And while the fan is apart, see if there's anything that looks bent or broken other than the shaft.

 

I don't think USPS dropping the package can cause the shaft of a fan to bend, but someone correct me if I'm wrong. If it was caused by USPS's handling, then your other fans that aren't unbalance should be making some abnormal noises since they were subjected to the same drop. Test them and try fixing the unbalance fans (as mentioned above), then report back here. If they are fixed, then I'm sure that info would help someone else.

 

Larger fans will create less noise when the airflow is the same. And since the restriction is low, you don't need to worry about finding a high static pressure fan. So I would go with a 140mm fan if you can find one you like, and for the right price.

 

Take a heatgun or a hairdryer and heat up the sticker a bit and you'll be able to peel it off no problem.

Underneath you will see the fan shaft and a circlip. Remove the circlip and you will be able to pull the fan blade assembly right out.

The actual fans blades are pressed onto a round metal portion that contains the magnet as well as the metal fan shaft.

Either the shaft is bent (unlikely since there is no damage to the fan housing) or the blade isn't pressed on properly to the shaft assembly. You can give it a few gentle taps from behind (with the fan blades facing down on a flat surface) with a small hammer so see if that seats it better.

One last thing is that the circlip might not be fully seated into the groove on the shaft but that shouldn't cause that much play since the shaft itself runs between two bearings (one on either side). Maybe one of the bearings is missing? Or one of the springs?

Only way to know for sure is take it apart.

Either way, its an easy fix. Just get another Gentle Typhoon of any speed (1850 or lower) and use it to donate for the fan blade assembly. Thats no different on any of the speeds, just the motor is different.

You can get replacement circlips that are better (thicker) than the original ones. McMaster Carr part number # 98541A111.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/118/3271/=ilrmom

I've taken apart dozens of them for painting and had zero issues. I use a circlip plyers to remove the original clips without damaging them but still replace them with the McMaster Carr ones since they are better/thicker.

Here are some disassembly pics to help you visualize what I am talking about...

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?236580-Painting-my-Scythe-Gentle-Typhoon-120mm-fans
Edited by shawnoen - 7/28/12 at 10:10am