Smelly Zalman Fan

hutts · Post by **hutts** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 4:02 am

A number of months ago I did some modifications to all the fans in my computer to provide adequate airflow with much less noise. This included replacing the old noisy cpu fan with a Zalman fan bracket fb123 and a Zalman 92 mm fan.

Shorlty afterwards, I became aware that my computer was producing a noxious smell. This was most obvious when first turning the computer on after it had not been running for a significant period of time. Moreover, the smell appeared to intensify during hotter weather. Apart from the smell everything seemed ok; the system was stable, voltages were normal and temperatures were fine and within acceptable ranges.

I became troubled by this smell thinking that my power supply was now not adequately cooled by the fan running at 5 volts at that it was starting to cook itself. One day when the computer had not been operated for a few days I began to disassemble the computer removing some components. I happened to sniff the Zalman 92 mm fan and found that it was very smelly and concluded that it was the cause of the smell. I 'sniffed' the power supply and found it smell typically like electronic components usually do.

I have noticed recently that the smell is starting to dissappear. I do not know whether this is due to the product aging or the fact that we are now experiencing cooler weather than before.

I was wondering if anyone else has had similar experiences?

ez2remember · Post by **ez2remember** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 9:17 am

I use to have 2 or 3 Zalman 92mm fans in the past and left my machine on for 24/7 without any smells. Before I had a Zalman CPNS6000 cooler which was not very good tempertures for my CPU and M/B was pretty high.

I don't think it is the Zalman fans, as the plastics are fairly rigid against heat. Probably something else was melting inside your computer maybe bits of rubber or plastic that has melted away or has stabilised due to the heat.

Hopefully this is the case and your smells are gone.

Post by **Rusty075** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 4:23 pm

Perhaps it was a bit of oil or grease on the coils inside the fan. The smell could have produced while the oil was being cooked off.

hutts · Post by **hutts** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 5:53 pm

I'm inclined to agree with Rusty's suggestion. All the components in my system are over 2 years old and the smell has only occurred since I introduced the Zalman fan.

It could be that something else was cooking, but when I inspect the system, it is definitely the Zalman fan that smells bad and everything else in the case seems to smell fine.

Hopefully I won't be troubled by the smell for much longer!

As for themperatures, typically the motherboard sensor reads around 35C. Video Card is around 40C, Power Supply around 45C and the Processor (Athlon 750) is around 50.

In my opinion these are fine?

loply · Post by **loply** » Sun Jan 05, 2003 10:43 am

Ask your supplier to replace the fan!

Greez · Post by **Greez** » Fri Jan 10, 2003 5:55 pm

I'm running two Zalman case fans, and neither of them smells. If I were you, I would try cleaning your fan with a cotton swab and some rubbing alcohol.

-Greez