If I am out of warranty and have a S6 Cloudline in-line fan installed is there any reason not to remove the fan that is installed on the exhaust port of the glowforge?
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A lot of people have done so. The official GF policy is that you shouldn’t modify your machine and, they may decline to service machines that have been modified. So, be prepared to reinstall it if you ever need to send it in for out-of-warranty service (e.g., a tube replacement).
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Oh wow I didn’t think of that. That would be unfortunate if that is the case because I will definitely need a new tube at some point. Really hoping they release the do it yourself tube replacement before I need one. I read it’s an absolute pain to reinstall the fan if it’s been removed have you heard of that being the case?
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I have not seen any reports of repairs being refused for removing the fan. That’s just the official position and, a possibility to consider. I think they are especially concerned with anything that might have a structural impact, like cutting out the fan grating or other parts of the case.
I am pretty sure they will allow you to replace the tube yourself now, if you ask. I think it is the same price as sending it in (they would really prefer you do that and, there is no margin in it).
If you got your laser when you joined the forum, depending on usage, you probably have awhile to go before you need a new tube.
We do use the laser quite a bit so hopefully we won’t need a new tube anytime soon I’m hoping at least two years. I really am hoping I can do it myself because I get a lot of Fedex deliveries at my job and they come in damaged all the time and when they open the back of the truck door it’s just a HUGE pile of packages in a mountain.
Keep in mind you can just turn the fan off (by telling the machine that the air filter is connected) and leave it installed. It’ll still get dirty eventually - but like clean it once a year eventually - and it doesn’t tend to get gunky, just dusty.
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I haven’t used the glowforge fan since day one. I must use my laser a lot more than most because the fan and port need to be cleaned probably once a month because it gets dirty and gets really loud and doesn’t pull the smoke out very well. But it is super easy to clean I just use a straw cleaner brush and then vacuum out all the chunks and dust. I also use that for the fan under the printer head as well and don’t even need to take it off which awesome!
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A lot of the rate of accumulation depends on what material(s) you are lasering.
Ahhh good point we do strictly Baltic Birchwood at the moment
That whole maybe-refuse-to-repair thing is the reason I haven’t cut out the honeycomb grate behind the fan. And if I ever got up the nerve to do that, I’d probably go ahead and remove the fan too.
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