Axe-Fx II MK-I: Fan Size

[Toopy14]

Looking to upgrade to a quieter fan. Would anyone know the specs. of the existing fan or even the model number for a Noctua fan that would fit?

Thanks

 

[dpeterson]

IIRC 60mm? the mark1 had the smaller one.. xl and xl+ used the bigger one was 80mm?

 

[Ole]

60 or 80 * 15mm fans are used. The first units had 60mm. Easy to measure.
MK2, XL and XL+ all used 80 mm

 

[Toopy14]

60 or 80 * 15mm fans are used. The first units had 60mm. Easy to measure.
MK2, XL and XL+ all used 80 mm

I have an MK-I, so I presume it will be a 60 * 15 mm fan.

Any recommendations based on experience?

 

[dpeterson]

I put a Fractal brand in mine believe it or not lol, not sure of the model... get the most air flow you can get while being quiet.

 

[deathbyguitar]

I have a Mark I and bought a B-stock lid they had laying around with an 80mm fan on it. If you call up Fractal they may still have one lying around.

 

[lqdsnddist]

It’s a 60mm, but if your handy with a dremel and some JB Weld you can cut off the fan post from the lid and “glue” 4 bolts spaced for an 80mm fan to the lid, essentially giving you a new lid that fits the 80mm fan

Might be able to get a whole new lid too, but that would cost a bit more

 

[Ole]

Some MK1 are 60, some are 80mm so you have to measure to be sure.
For 60mm I would recommend this one. Revoltec airguard - 60x60x20mm
For 80mm this one SILENX IXTREMA PRO 80 X 15 MM - 11 DBA

I have an MK-I, so I presume it will be a 60 * 15 mm fan.

Any recommendations based on experience?

You can check visually wich fan you have. Look at the top lid and find the bolts that holds the fan. If they line up with the lid it is an 80mm, if the dont, it is a 60mm.

 

[dongzo]

My fan was also noisy, but Sussi from g66 sent me a SilenX fan free of charge for my Mark-I

 

[Toopy14]

I pulled my Axe-Fx from the rack and popped the lid. Looks like I have a 60 mm x 60 mm x 15 mm fan it.

The smallest depth fan Noctua makes is 25 mm, will it fit above the two heat sinks? Looks like it will but it's hard to tell.

https://noctua.at/en/products/fan/nf-a6x25-flx/specification

 

[AlbertA]

I put in one of these and used one of the resistors to lower the RPM, never had a problem (though never gigged outside with the sun hitting directly)

https://amzn.to/2yaSMDJ

 

[NightWalker]

same here,i dont like the noise of the XL + fan!!!

 

[Toopy14]

I put in one of these and used one of the resistors to lower the RPM, never had a problem (though never gigged outside with the sun hitting directly)

https://amzn.to/2yaSMDJ

That's the 25 mm one in the link I provided. So is it quieter than what was in there?

 

[AlbertA]

That's the 25 mm one in the link I provided. So is it quieter than what was in there?

Oh yeah, the one it had sounded like a vacuum cleaner turned on inside.

 

[Toopy14]

Oh yeah, the one it had sounded like a vacuum cleaner turned on inside.

Great. Just ordered one from Amazon and paid a few extra bucks to have it by tomorrow so I can put the Axe-Fx back in the rack.

Does it come with mounts and all it's own hardware?

 

[AlbertA]

Great. Just ordered one from Amazon and paid a few extra bucks to have it by tomorrow so I can put the Axe-Fx back in the rack.

Does it come with mounts and all it's own hardware?

You need to rig your own mounting system - the screws as you probably already saw - are part of the lid - there's an old thread on this.
I myself used rubber bands to hold the fan to the screws so that the vibrations would be isolated from the top plate. There's enough force to hold it in place but don't know what would happen if the Axe-Fx 2 was banged up

 

[Toopy14]

You need to rig your own mounting system - the screws as you probably already saw - are part of the lid - there's an old thread on this.

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/axefx-ii-and-noctua.85269/

 

[Toopy14]

The Noctua fan I ordered late yesterday, arrived this morning from Amazon. I just had a quick second to compare the noise level of the original fan and the Noctua, and even on the default setting, ie. the highest speed (3,000 RPM), the Noctua is much quieter than the stock fan. The difference is immediately obvious.

I haven't had a chance to try one of the adapter cables to lower the speed to 2,400 RPM or 1,600 RPM, but I'm guessing that on a lower speed, I won't even hear the fan when the Axe-Fx is back in my rack. I believe someone mentioned that Cliff said the minimum requirement for the air movement, was 14 CFM. So if 14 CFM is the minimum requirement, looks like 2,400 RPM is the minimum speed.

Here are the fan specs;

@ 3,000 RPM -> Airflow = 29.2 m³/h or 17.19 CFM @ 19.3 dB(A).
@ 2,400 RPM -> Airflow = 23.5 m³/h or 13.83 CFM @ 14.5 dB(A).
@ 1,600 RPM -> Airflow = 16.7 m³/h or 9.83 CFM @ 8.2 dB(A).



For those Axe-Fx II, MK-I owner's who are considering swapping out the fan, I highly recommend you do so.

 

[lqdsnddist]

I ran my MKI with the slower speed setting for years without a problem. I think the fan moved a bit more air than the stock one, so even though it was slower, and this quieter, i didn’t get any differences in heat gun readings, with the fast setting actually cooling more than stock. Since I was after reduced noise, not more cooling, I felt safe running slower

 

[Toopy14]

Came up with a simple, inexpensive solution, to secure the fan...snap rings. In the third picture, I'm picking up the lid by the fan with only 2 snap rings installed. Don't think it will be going anywhere.