Do optical drives really need fans?

[Király]

I have a USB external CD/DVD writer. Its fan has a bad bearing and
sounds like a helicopter. Can I just take the fan out? Is it really
needed? Home stereo DVD players don't have fans and I have never heard
of one overheating.

I use the thing to watch a DVD now and then, and to burn the
occasional CD or DVD. It doesn't get hours upon hours of continuous
use. Most of the time it is switched off.

Thanks.

 

[Arno]

I have a USB external CD/DVD writer. Its fan has a bad bearing and
sounds like a helicopter. Can I just take the fan out? Is it really
needed? Home stereo DVD players don't have fans and I have never heard
of one overheating.

I use the thing to watch a DVD now and then, and to burn the
occasional CD or DVD. It doesn't get hours upon hours of continuous
use. Most of the time it is switched off.

Depending on the drive, it may not need the fan or it may die very
fast without it. As fans cost money, it is a good assumption
that it is there not just for show. If it has its own power-supply
in the case, removing the fan may even create a fire hazard.

Yj way to deal tith the bad bearing is to replace the fan, not to
just tremove it. An equivalent model (similar power rating and
airflow) should do fine.

Arno

 

[Király]

Thanks for the replies. I actually managed to quiet the fan down by
removing it, rotating it 90 degrees, and putting it back in. I'm not
sure why that helped but it did.

 

[jim evans]

I have a USB external CD/DVD writer. Its fan has a bad bearing and
sounds like a helicopter. Can I just take the fan out? Is it really
needed? Home stereo DVD players don't have fans and I have never heard
of one overheating.

I use the thing to watch a DVD now and then, and to burn the
occasional CD or DVD. It doesn't get hours upon hours of continuous
use. Most of the time it is switched off.

I don't know the answer to your question, but since you can remove the
fan why not replace it? Normally these fans are cheap. Also, I've
had good success with removing the covering (paper or foil disk) from
the bearing and using a toothpick to add a tiny dab of lubricant (oil)
to the bearing. This usually isn't a permanent fix but will extend
the life of the fan several months.

 

[Király]

I don't know the answer to your question, but since you can remove the
fan why not replace it? Normally these fans are cheap.

Time and hassle. The only electronic componenet retailers I know of
are way across town. By the time visit them and shop around for a
fan that fits, I'll have spent half of a Saturday on it. If the fan
could just be removed instead, I'd rather spend my Saturday taking my
kids to the park.

I really think this unit could survive without the fan. The most it
gets used is 10 minutes at a time, to burn the occasional DVD. The
last few DVDs I burned came out at room temperature so it seems that
this drive does not get very hot anyway with how I use it.

Anyway, the point is moot now, since I managed to quiet the fan down by
rotating it 90 degrees in the drive case. It's still a mystery to me
why this helped, but it somehow did.