Safe temperature for 24 port SD-Switch

Hi everyone,

I swapped out the included fans on the 24 port SD-Switch as the ones it came with were extremely loud with a loud whine to them, so changed them for Noctua ones and now it’s virtually silent. Unfortunately I forgot to check and see what the average temps were before swapping them and would rather not have to go back and put the old ones in just to see. Just wondering what the safe or normal range should be for the SD-Switch so that I can ensure the new fans are working properly. It’s running around 101F right now, and the Balance 305 we have is showing 131F which has the stock fans in it. Thanks!

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I’m just about to get a unit. Which model of Noctua fan did you use?

Noctua NF-A4x20 PWM, Premium Quiet Fan, 4-Pin (40x20mm, Brown)

I never got any response regarding safe operating temperatures but I’ve been running it with three of these since posting and I’ve had no issues. The difference in sound is insane. It goes from jet engine to basically idle desktop PC.

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Thanks @liammonroe fans ordered, i’ll get them in asap… I’ll share the results, but i’m sure they’ll be as yours.

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Peplink, please use quiet fans in new produced switches and routers. I just ordered a 24-port Rugged to replace my roaring AC switch. Many small business companies do not install the devices in seperate noice cancelling rooms. Increase the price but not the sound :wink:
Theo

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Agree about the fans. I have a 24 port switch and not only are the fans loud but they continuously speed up and slow down about every 10 seconds. With regard to temperature: I measured 81F, 87F and 84F at the output of the three fans (one in the back and two on the side) in a room that is 70F. The device is reporting:

Fan Speed
6286 / 5719 / 5948 rpm

Temperature
49 ℃ / 120.2 ℉

Hope this helps and thanks for the information about the quiet replacement fans.

How many fans are in the SD-Switch 24?
Looks like just a single one from the data sheet.
I would also like to do this to my SDX

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My SD Switch 24-Port 850W has 3 fans. Looking at them more closely, they are made by ADDA, model number AD0412HB-D7BGP. Interestingly I can’t find any information about this model number on the ADDA website or anywhere else. It’s as if this model never existed. Technical information would be useful in looking for replacement fans that have similar performance but are quieter.

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good luck getting hold of one, i have been waiting for mine since Jan, getting hold of one is like getting of Unicorn sh**. :laughing:

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I contacted Peplink about the constant cyclic change in fan speeds but they said there are no faults and it seems to be operating fine. I note that the switch is in a wiring closet where the temperature is about 20C.

Next I took some thermal images with the cover off (attached). Not surprisingly, the highest temperatures are in the CPU (59C) and power transformers (51C). When I left the cover off and pointed a 52 CFM, 120mm fan (apologies for mixing metric and US units!) at these components the temperature dropped to 39C and the fan speed (and sound) dropped considerably, but I would still like it to be quieter.

In order to test the degree to which airflow controlled the temperature I tried using a 150 CFM fan instead. Temperature dropped a bit more 37C. But of course a 150 CFM fan is far louder than the original fans, so this doesn’t accomplish the noise reduction I was trying to achieve :-).

I looked into replacement fans that fit the switch. The 40mm x 40mm x 15mm fans that came with the 24 port switch produce airflow of 12 CFM each (datasheet attached for an almost identical fan to the ones installed in my switch). I was unable to find “quiet” fans from ADDA or any other manufacturer that produce even half of this amount of airflow.

Hence, I think the only solutions are:

  1. A better heat sink on the CPU.
  2. Larger fans and/or more fans, which in turn requires either a larger enclosure or a modification to the existing one.

I’ll report back if I am successful with either of these approaches.
20210420T131738

‎www.adda.com.tw:data:file:ad0412hb-d71gp(p)-d.pdf (1.1 MB)

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I switched out the Peplink supplied fans and put in the ones recommended by @liammonroe

I did this for both my SD-Switch-24 and my SDX (3x fans for each) and the difference is massive!
Now I have had to order some fans for the server which I had considered “the quiet unit” until now…

@Peplink, please consider using quieter fans!

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