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Forum Discussion
ReadyNas 214 new system fan / fan control
The fan in my RN214 is too lound once it gets going, so I took a chance at replacing it with a Noctua NF-A9. It usually works fine, the resported RPM in the dashboard is typically a bit lower than t...
aks-2 wrote:
The fan in my RN214 is too lound once it gets going,
Fans are always to loud as noise is involved. The fan system is designed to move a certain mass of air over time, to cover all possible (supported) conditions (environment temperature, installed storage blocks, maximum storage activity, ...).
aks-2 wrote:
so I took a chance at replacing it with a Noctua NF-A9.
Of course, because of the "press" and the "internet" is full with positive reports of this brand and model. There exist at least two models, some are paired with additional modules.
It's easy to make fans creating lower noise. Typical methods are lower RPMs, lower air flow.
The design RPM of the original fan is rated with 3200 RPM at nominal voltage of 12 V DC.https://www.delta-fan.com/Download/Spec/AFB0912HH.pdf . This inherits nominal noise in the 38 dB(A), to max 42 dB(A) by the pure fan. About what is considered the noise level in a silent library.
https://noctua.at/en/nf-a9-pwm/specification 4 pin, PWM speed regulation, nominal 2000 min^-1 at 12 V DC, with the low noise adapter (PWM signal) the RPM is lowered to 1550 min^-1, minimum 20% PWM duty cycle leads to (+/-20%) 400 RPM. Tempted to state this version is not for voltage based speed regulation.
https://noctua.at/en/nf-a9-flx/specification 3 pin, 1650, 1250 (Low-Noise Adaptor) and 1050 (Ultra-Low-Noise Adaptor) rpm. This is probably a voltage regulated unit, but far away from the RPM the device monitor does expect.
aks-2 wrote:
It usually works fine, the resported RPM in the dashboard is typically a bit lower than the stock fan, but the noise level is substantially quieter. The HDD temps increased slightly, but still typically <45C.
The RPM of these fans is very low - in fact ways below of what the hardware monitor does expect - it can happen easily that the speed is slightly reduced, by normal wear, by dust accommodated.
aks-2 wrote:
Any thoughts, ...
Install a fan matching the intended specs of the OEM fan to avoid any kind if negative issues.
aks-2 wrote:
...options for finer control over the fan speed (minimum voltage setting)?
None available - at least none ever made it to the community..
Thanks for the comments. I did review the specs from several manufavturers - including the OEM Delta Electronics fan, Noctua and Artic. I am aware of potential risks and prepared to make a different compromise, hence I am measuring temperatures under different situations. But, I accept I don't have full control of the fan, so my approach may indeed fail.
I'm not using the LNA. The max air flow of the original Delta fan is 57.9 CFM / 98.4 cubic m/hr @ 3200 RPM.
Noctua (currently istalled), max air flow is 46.4 CFM / 78.9 cubic m/hr @ 2000 RPM, obviously lower.
Artic F9 (was considering), max airflow is 43 CFM / 73.1 cubic m/hr @ 1800 RPM.
However, I was hoping that running the RN214 in "cool" setting, would still create sufficient airflow to maintain temperatures at smilar level to the OEM fan at a given setting. What I have found is that temperatures across the drives and CPU did not increase substantially between OEM and Noctua fan - but the audiable noise in my environment is night and day. Yes, if I had control over the fan, perhaps the OEM fan could be more tolerable, but I don't, so I'm trying an alternative approach.
Friend Tony,
The point is not the "cool" setting or the airflow in charge for the effective cooling airstream. Much more likely, the fan speed goes for whatever reason slightly below the limit defined in the system hardware/firmware, and the ~2000 RPM are at the lower limit in any case.
Leaving this alone, the OEM fan with it's two wire (correct?) or three wire (voltage and tach sensor) feels to me different from the NF-A9 PWM (pulse width speed regulation) with four wires (voltage plus PWM signal plus tach signal) but on the nominal voltage always. This could mean the fan does run on the nominal 12 V DC -if- the full cooling is required, and the voltage is set to the max.
G762 reads like the chip supporting PWM fan speed regulation, too. Now back to the question if the OEM fan had two or three wires (and a similar connector). Even on three wires, there can be PWM fan speed regulation, combined with the tach signal for fan rotation speed feedback.
Just because the fan is rotating ... many more things could be wrong.
Regards
-Kurt.
Thanks schumaku, the Noctua NF-A9 supports both PWN and variable voltage (if no PWM), and indeed I observe the reported fan speed varying - and I can hear it vary in speed too.
The OEM fan is 3-wire - it also has the tacho output, so it operates in a similar way - I believe from the available data, and from my observations.
The fan stalling, and not restarting, was a detectable problem. Other than that, I assume temperatures are the main area to monitor, I'm discarding power consumption based on the specs. I have run it for a month, temps seem under control, speed of fan does vary, should I be looking out for other potential failings that could cause bigger issues? (note, I do have several backups, just in case I fry the unit, even though I very much doubt that I will.)
aks-2 wrote:
Thanks schumaku, the Noctua NF-A9 supports both PWN and variable voltage (if no PWM), and indeed I observe the reported fan speed varying - and I can hear it vary in speed too.
The OEM fan is 3-wire - it also has the tacho output, so it operates in a similar way - I believe from the available data, and from my observations.
Strange, can't find a plain NF-A9 model specs with three pins and PWM support, this includes the list of obsolete models, too. On your own, well, not my problem.
schumaku wrote:The point is not the "cool" setting or the airflow in charge for the effective cooling airstream. Much more likely, the fan speed goes for whatever reason slightly below the limit defined in the system hardware/firmware, and the ~2000 RPM are at the lower limit in any case.
The point is that the fan itself has a minimum speed, after which it stalls (stops running), which is what is being observed here. The OS sets the fan speed to below that speed, so it stops. Many fans require a sizable "kick" to get them going, which is why they come on full blast at power-on. So slowly ramping the speed back up either doesn't re-start it at all or takes a long time, during which the temperature rises quickly. This can result in fan "motorboating". Others have had similar issues with Nochua fans in a ReadyNAS, so that stall speed must be above that of the stock fan and below the point at which the OS is trying to set it. Netgear has never published the parameters for "cool", "balanced" and "quiet", but playing around with them, it appears that one of the things that change with that setting is the minimum speed. That supports why changing it in system.conf may have no effect -- the OS doesn't look at that and independently sets it. But permanently setting to "cool" may help -- it depends on what minimum speed it might set and the stall speed of the fan, both of which are unknowns.
StephenBI tried adding 900 as the min speed line to the conf file, rebooted, but at 'Quiet" setting, the fan RPM went well below 600 (dashboard view) and then stalled again. It appears that setting is not observed on the RN214.
SandsharkYes I read the Noctua starts at 5V (datasheet only says min RPM is 400), the OEM starts at <=4V (datasheet).
schumakuThe A9 PWM can be used in non-PWM mode: FAQ
Can I run 4-pin PWM fans on 3-pin fan headers?
PWM fans come with a 4-pin connector for fully automatic speed control via your motherboard’s 4-pin PWM fan headers. Please note that 4-pin fans can also be connected to your motherboard’s 3-pin fan headers, though. When connected to 3-pin fan headers, the fan will run at full speed (unless the motherboard supports voltage based speed control).
I confirm the fan speed does indeed vary.
I'm still messing with this, will report any further progress. For now, 'Cool' setting appears to be working without issue.
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