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Old January 23rd 17, 01:20 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware,microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
mike
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Posts: 75
Default Damage a case fan by vacuuming air vents from the outside?

On 1/23/2017 1:37 AM, 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?


I think the case fan is rarely the problem.
I buy all my computers at garage sales. I've never, ever
had a case fan that had a dirt problem.
I've had MANY CPU fans 100% blocked with cat hair.

If you think you've got dust, take it apart and blow it
out with compressed air, concentrating on the CPU fan.
You don't want it to spin. I stick a toothpick into it
while I'm blowing on it.

Yes, you can damage stuff if you use 200PSI.
Don't do that. Just barely enough is plenty.