I’ve been noticing a pretty drastic performance decrease as of late. I’ve been pretty sure it’s due to the dreaded exhaust fan getting wood boogers stuck all over it. I’ve always tried reaching in with a Q-tip and cleaning as good as I could but it only does so much. Did a tear down tonight and removed the left side and fan for a deep cleaning. Holy cow! This thing has air flow for days now!!
For those wondering, there are only 3 torx head screws and 3 little clips holding the left side top panel on and removing it makes things SO much easier! Sorry, I forgot to take after pics but for those on the fence about digging in deep and doing it thoroughly, items worth the extra work.
I’ve actually taped over my clips holding this down and just put the screws back in to secure it. Makes it a bit easier to access when I need to, though, after removing my fan and opting for an in-line fan instead, I haven’t needed to open it up again.
Well Done.
With the addition of an external inline fan the noise reduction is game changing!
If you are out of warranty, removing the fan and the fan grill will eliminate that maintenance, and without the obstruction of the grill there is less turbulence and more airflow.
Like Raymond, I took steps to enable easier access in the future by slightly rounding the shoulder of the cleats that secure the plastic tabs on the top.
Which panel? If you mean the lid - you need to rock the plastic tabs to get them to release. If you mean the finger guard from the fan, unless something has changed you need to cut that out. If a third thing, specify and we’ll be able to help!
