Replacing the fan in ReadyNAS Duo - possible?

[toddel68]

You have to pull the side panels. They slide out easly

To be precise you need to slide them to the side (backwards). Then you can access the other screws to release the back panel. The rest is self explanatory.
If you would remove the front door it would take you to remove another 13 screws

[kevinl1886]

Thanks. I will try

[Mechanix]

Hi kwantai,

i´m kind of confused now, because the fan you replaced with has a air flow volume of 27 m³/h. The original fan in the DUO has a CFM of 43,56m³/h, almost double.
The risk of overheating the drives is more possible with the replaced fan.

Any suggestions?

[sibe]

Just replaced the stock fan in my duo a couple of days ago with a Fractal Design Silent Series 60mm fan and everything is working great! Actually it´s better than great! The duo with two 500gb barracudas installed are running much cooler now, 35-36C as opposed to 40-41C with the stock fan with no modification to the automatic fan speed controls. And the best part is; it is almost quiet! It is almost as if the disks are noisier than the fan I have been really annoyed about the noise of the stock fan, especially as they market the duo as quiet! "Our designers went so far as to sleep with the Duo at night to make sure it was quiet so you can be sure it can fit in discretely anywhere in your home." yea right!

My advice to everyone out there, buy a new fan! But be careful, look for a fan that moves enough air to cool your drives!

________________________________________
http://komponenttoppen.blogspot.com

[netegalkaka]

Just replaced the stock fan in my duo a couple of days ago with a Fractal Design Silent Series ; it is almost quiet! It is almost as if the disks are noisier than the fan

Thanks for the tip, I'm going to replace mine also but I have searched for a FD-FAN-60 on the internet and it seems that it is not sold here in FRANCE....

[Yann]

Indeed, the Duos are not quiet...

To ReadyNAS modders...
But on my side, my concern is about the fact that one of my 2 ReadyNAS Duo has a fan with a rotating speed fluctuating constantly :
When idle, the sound generated is varying every 1-2 seconds, and this is quite difficult to handle. The other ReadyNAS makes a steady sound and it is easier to accept.
My ReadNAS units are stored in a quite fresh closet (still perfectly dry...). Gaining a -10°c approximatively, regarding temperature in the rooms I live in : no more than 25°c during Summer, and down to 15°c at winter time. Despite the 15°c ambiant, fans still rotate at 1550 RPM approximatively (at the lowest, Drives are in sleeping mode).
Digging into PDF specs (see link page 1 of this thread), I'm assuming the AGE06025 is rotating at 1500 RPM when 7V are provided and up to 5000 RPM when 13V. With the max RPM, we have 0.726m3/min and 33 dBA (!).
ReadyNAS Duos are not built to be quiet with such fan. No matter how low you go on minimal RPM here...

I'm planning to make a significant move by replacing the fans but as the replacement parts recommended in this thread are difficult to find in my country (France), I'll probably give a try to the following solution :
As I didn't open the case yet, I'm here supposing we have a standard 3 pins plug (ground/current/RPM). To be confirmed...
I want to replace the provided noisy 60x60x25mm fan as follow : I will use a 80x80x25mm fan with a 80>60mm adapter, all mounted externally.
So far, my choice (based on good experience with other models from Noctua I use in my Computer case (and they are easy to get in France)) goes for the Noctua NF-R8 :
See specs here : http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=9&lng=en
4-13 voltage range, 0.11 A max, 800-1800 RPM, from 0.43 to 0.88m3/min and... 7 to 17 dBA!! Seems interesting, isn't it?

So... I want to hear your feedback and please tell me if I 'm missing something before giving a try to this... Excepting the lose of Netgear warranty, of course!
Actually, my concern is how RAIDator will handle the voltage/RPM ratio as it will be quite different with the Noctua. But I'm relying on fact that Fan Calibration is meant precisely to adjust this ratio (my assumption). Then, another concern is RAIDator expectation regarding given RPM and air flow (i.e. lowering HDD temps), but the Noctua is a better air mover so effective efficiency should be better than software coded "expectations".

What do you think?

[edit] Regarding voltage/RPM ratio and Air flow... Fan calibration makes me think RAIDator is driving Fan by RPM, obviously. So RAIDator will probably never reach the max RPM it expects, the Noctua Fan will rotate to its max speed (1800) most of the time (but moving more air than AGE06025). And even when RAIDator wants 1500, we are still close to Noctua max RPM (still quieter than AGE06025).

[NASNoob]

Keep in mind that replacing the fan will void your warranty.

dooku,
Can you please state why replacing a failed cooling fan in a ReadyNAS will void my warranty? Can you please point me to a Cooling Fan Hdw Compatibility List I can use for shopping?

My ReadyNAS has been installed/online for 6 weeks and the cooling fan can be heard all over the house!
Perhaps you can share a link to the "I need a replacement cooling fan!" area at NetGear? I can not find same.

I do not wish to kill my warranty. But, trying to sleep with the current howling "Crown" cooling fan is getting very old................

I have been a satisfied NetGear user for the past 10 years. This current ReadyNAS RD2150 may probably outlive me..............

Thank you very much.
Duncan

[Dooku]

the reason that replacing the cooling fan might void your warranty is because each fan is different and has different CFM, if you replace the fan with a quieter fan it might push less air through and cause the unit to overheat.
I am sorry but currently we do not have a list of third party compatible fans.

[NASNoob]

the reason that replacing the cooling fan might void your warranty is because each fan is different and has different CFM, if you replace the fan with a quieter fan it might push less air through and cause the unit to overheat.
I am sorry but currently we do not have a list of third party compatible fans.

dooku,
Thank you. I understand this position. I plan to use a fan that has an equal or greater CFM as a replacement. I have found 2. I will test both for "noise." No harm, no foul!

[Dooku]

It would be great if you could report your feedback back here on the forum for future knowledge.

[Fetsy]

I replaced the stock fan today with this fan:
http://silenx.com/ixtremaprofans.asp?sku=ixp-34-16

The silenX fans aren't exactly famous for pushing lots of air, but in exchange for a bit hotter disk I now have a quiet NAS. I have one 1TB Samsung disk that with the stock fan kept a stable 32°c. With the SilenX fan, on minimum 2000RPM, it keeps a stable 36°c .
This fan seems to handle the job well when there is only one disk inside the cabinet, but I am not sure whether it would provide enough air to cool two disks down.

Has anyone tried using a Papst fan?

[0x0]

Hey all.

New to this forum.

Currently my Netgear Readynas Duo is way to loud for the bedroom..especially when i need to sleep

Searching around and i have managed to find this little fan that has the following specs:

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/search/sear ... &R=0426370

Size 60x60x25mm
Operating Voltage 12Vdc
Power 1.2W
Airflow 25m³/h
Noise Level 19dB
Fan Speed 3000rpm

Have one in order and as soon as i fit it in, will update with regards noise level.

Thanks






Good news!

New fan has cut noise by half and can confirm the temputure of the hard disks are stable constant.
Still using Fan RPM overide and currently set on 1500 rpms. Can leave this switched on during the night and get some sleep.

Happy days!

[nda]

Duo with Papst + step by step => http://www.readynas.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=24941

[Pettax]

Thanks for all comments!

I've replaced the fan now, which was very easy by the way

I'm now using a 60mm fan from Fractal Design - http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=pro ... =4&prod=15



I believe the noise level is much lower now. Haven't had the fan in place for that long, but I do think it made a significant change.

I have also replaced my fan with the one used bu kwantai. I have two Seagate 500 GB HDs that runs steady at 38 degrees celsius (100 degrees farenheight). I must say that this is the best investment I've made since buying the NAS itself.

The noise is so much lower. I recommend it!

[Ennio]

Yeah, I can't for the life of me understand what NetGear was thinking, putting those noisy Crown fans in the Duo.

I removed the 60mm fan, and put a Nexus silent case fan of 80mm on the backside, so it s u c k s air out of the Duo now. Does it really well too, my RN Duo has never ran cooler AND quieter than this! OK, sure, backside looks weird since I stuck the fan to the backside with some rubber-kit, but it still beats the noise it was making before.

FYI, this is the fan I have on the backside now.