On Mon, 23 Jan 2017 04:37:03 -0500, micky
wrote:

Can you damage a case fan by vacuuming the air vents from the outside?

(I have a Dell Optiplex 775 with the original fan. )

It seems more than safe to me, but I happened to read the manual for a
Noctua fan and it says not to use a vacuum cleaner or it may apply
"excessive force to the fan". I find that hard to believe. I've pushed
on the vanes of other 3, 4, and 5" fans and they don't bend at all with
the kind of force vacuum cleaners exert. In fact I think they would be
hard to break. Are Noctua fans more fragile than others?


Almost impossible with a vacuum cleaner, but possible with a
blower. A fan is a generator. If you spin it fast enough you can
generate enough electricity to damage something.
I use a leaf blower to clean my PC once a year, but I put
clips on all the fans first so they won't turn.
It has nothing to do with "bending the fan".
[]'s
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