Thinkpads Forum

Now I live in a rather dusty house, so every once in awhile I blow compressed air into my T42's exhaust vent to get rid of dust buildup that could potentially hamper it's cooling ability. Since I'm blowing air in, it forces the fan to spin the opposite direction as it usually spins - I've read somewhere that it could possibly damage the fan ball bearings? I've cleaned it several times already and the fan still seems to work as normal, even when the temps are high and needs to spin at a higher rate. I'm just wondering if anyone has experience with this kind of thing or can shed some light on this matter. I know it's probably just excessive worry, but any input is always appreciated.

I would do that only if the T42 is off and not while the fan is spinning. Otherwise, if it is only in moderation, I can't see any harm to it.

Even if you there is a tiny, very tiny actually, wear rate of the bearings ...It shouldn't be significant considering the overall lifespan of the fan during normal use. It goes through many revolutions in the course of a normal day, a few more spins in the other direction shouldn't introduce much wear at all.

Just be careful not to blow in so hard as to overspeed the fan or it could damage the "bearings". Use short bursts of air.

May be I am being too picky but somehow I do not like the idea of blowing air into the machine to clear up the dust. Some dust will be blown out but what about those that are deeper? Wouldn't they go into the machine?

I would take out the keyboard once in a while and give burst of air out of the vent.

daeojkim wrote:I would take out the keyboard once in a while and give burst of air out of the vent.

I totally agree, you want the dust OUT not further in. But a quick burst once in a while to loosen dust build up shouldn't be too bad.

The smart thing to do would be to use a brush on the vent as the fan is blowing exaust air out the unit so you won't force dustwads back into the Thinkpad, or use a vacuum on the vent.

Alright cool thanks for the tips guys.

Of course I do this when the machine is off (not that crazy to try while it's on )

Yeah obviously it's better blow the dust OUT than IN; although I haven't opened up the ThinkPad in awhile now, I think I remember that access to the exhaust vent from the inside is blocked by the heatsink? But anyways I'll remove the keyboard and check to see if there's any dust buildup elsewhere in the unit - time for a spring cleaning![/quote]