[tbaker2500]

$29.13; plus shipping I suppose?

Holy Cow man! I bet there's a good chance that the cooling fans on the ebay sight and the fans sold by tormach are assembled by the same little chinese kids.

Seriously though, this must be a case of paying a premium for a brand name. The fans themselves are generally the same.

Thanks for the information.

MetalShavings

I'm not saying the Tormach fan is any better than the ebay fan. But there can be a very large difference between cheap fans and expensive ones. BB vs sleeve bearing, and quality of ball bearing. Fan shape affects noise significantly.

My Series 1 tormach case fan died a noisy death, and I replaced it with a local electronic shop fan. Seems to be working.

Now my computer fan is making horrible noises. (not Tormach)

[philbur]

What do you think pays for all the support.

Phil

Seriously though, this must be a case of paying a premium for a brand name. The fans themselves are generally the same.

[MetalShavings]

What do you think pays for all the support.

Phil

Hi Phil:

Not "What" but Who. And that "Who" would be us. I'm just happy it's an easy fix.

MetalShavings

[philbur]

It's only us if us buy from Tormach and not the cheap ebay alternative. I wonder how many ebay buyers make use of the Tormach fan installation manual, of course I'm sure you wouldn't dream of doing such a thing.:nono:, others however don't necessary have your high standard of ethical behavior.

Phil

Hi Phil:

Not "What" but Who. And that "Who" would be us. I'm just happy it's an easy fix.

MetalShavings

[takewhatyoulike]

I installed the Tormach fan kit on my series I years ago after upgrading to the new VFD with braking resistor. No problems at all with the Tormach supplied fan. It seems that we only hear about when things fail and not when things work well for years. BTW if I had to replace the fan I would look for an older used USA made Rotron. Tech Corner - Life and MTBF

Don Clement

[TiagoSantos]

There are many degrees of quality in fans Tormach's fan isn't a bargain, but it really isn't outlandishly expensive. Like Phil says, Tormach has to make money somehow. Remember it's a pretty low volume business, so they need bigger margins to stay in business and pay a decent wage to GOOD employees. The slight (or sometimes not so slight..) mark up on their parts is, quite literally, the price you pay for dealing with a company that knows what they're doing, cares about their customers and comes up with cool new products!

That said, for a fan, I'd just walk over to the local electronics shop and get one today. But if I had to have something shipped, sometimes it's worth supporting the companies you like. Everything is politics, vote with your money.