Service Action to Prevent PSU Failures in ReadyNAS NV/NV+

If we don't care about the unit noise, is there a preferred solution between the fan reversal and the add on?

ggemelos wrote:
If we don't care about the unit noise, is there a preferred solution between the fan reversal and the add on?

We find the fan reversal solution to provide better cooling for the PSU. If you are adept at doing the fan reversal procedure, I would recommend that.

I checked and my serial number does not appear to be in the range. I did, however, recently replace my NV power supply with the fanless one.

A few questions...

Do I need to do anything?

Can the power supply temperature be checked via FrontView?

If the fan is reversed, won't it then be drawing dust directly in through the back, blowing it across the drives, and then depositing it on the back of the dust screen on the front grille?

I was going to open a support ticket but never received the registration confirmation e-mail (tried two e-mail addresses). Thanks.

SJMarty wrote:
I checked and my serial number does not appear to be in the range. I did, however, recently replace my NV power supply with the fanless one. A few questions... Do I need to do anything?

Yes, since you've replaced with a fanless PSU, you should either install the add-on or reverse the fan.

Can the power supply temperature be checked via FrontView?

Unfortunately we don't have a sensor there.

If the fan is reversed, won't it then be drawing dust directly in through the back, blowing it across the drives, and then depositing it on the back of the dust screen on the front grille?

It's possible the dust may collect on the dust screen in the front and you would have to regularly vaccuum it or use an air spray occasionally to clear it -- similar to what you would do to the outside of the mesh when the fan pulling the air into the system. What you can do to avoid this is to remove the dust screen. Just open the door, use a needle or a tweezer to get ahold of the mesh and pull out carefully. This actually helps in lowering the disk temperature more, allowing the fan to operate at lower RPM longer before needing to kick it up due to heat.

After installing via local update and rebooting, I received this message in a pop-up window when I accessed via FrontView...

This add-on (Enhance_NV_Thermal_Characteristics) does not apply to this system. [Thu Apr 19 21:25:53 EDT 2007]

I think SJMarty has a good point about the dust. I'm not concerned about it landing on the filter as much as it coating the various components of the power supply and drives.

Can we buy power supplies that fixed this problem? I don't mind having a spare, and really wished the NV+ had dual, redundant power supplies built in. :idea:

What is considered the preferred temp range for the NV+? Mine is ranging from 34-37C as viewed in FrontView. FrontView claims 0-60C is "normal", but I find that hard to believe.... 0 would be freezing, 60C would be...extremely hot. I just don't have a frame of reference for what the temp should be at, and when I should start to worry.

Btw, I tried to remove some of the dust screen... but that stuff seem to be glued to the door, and would be very hard to remove.

I'm concerned about the fan reversal procedure.... I've just never seen computer hardware that blow air into the system, all the PCs, servers and storage systems I work with all pull hot air out.

So you replaced a power supply that had a fan with a fanless power supply (probably to reduce noise levels), now that appears to have not been a very smart move.... and you either increase the RPM of the one fan left, or reverse the airflow because power supplies are failing.... Don't think I have ever heard anything quite like this before.

howardt wrote:
Can we buy power supplies that fixed this problem? I don't mind having a spare, and really wished the NV+ had dual, redundant power supplies built in. :idea:

There's no new power supply that fixes this problem. We see this in less than 1% of systems we ship, but we want to make sure you don't end up in that small group who would have to go through the trouble of downtime and RMA.

samundsen wrote:
What is considered the preferred temp range for the NV+? Mine is ranging from 34-37C as viewed in FrontView. FrontView claims 0-60C is "normal", but I find that hard to believe.... 0 would be freezing, 60C would be...extremely hot. I just don't have a frame of reference for what the temp should be at, and when I should start to worry.

The board temp will be different from the PSU temp as the board is located at the top whereas the PSU is at the bottom. You'll get email alerts when temps start getting close to warning levels.