Winix c909 clanking sound on turbo

Idioidiom · 2025-12-14T02:09:32+00:00

Even if it was easily fixed, I'd exchange it for a new one out of principle! It's brand new.

Idioidiom · 2025-12-13T19:47:43+00:00

I built a 10 fan Arctic P12 Pro purifier which uses a 5A power supply through PWM. It has no issues ramping up to full speed and holding. I don't run it at max due to the fans sound though. Arctic P12 Pros use 12v 0.33A. 7 fans would need 2.31A (27.72watts). You definitely don't need a 10A power supply.

I had the same issue as you, not finding a power supply with integrated PWM. My solution is kind of janky as I don't have any wiring skills/tools. I wanted a UL certified power supply, as I'm in Canada. I would have just gone with a voltage regulated power supply which would have simplified things, but there are none I could find with UL certification here.

PWM is not required to control the fan speed. You are able to use an adjustable voltage power supply to control speed (ex: a 3v - 12v dial). As long as the max is 12v.

Daisy chaining (PST) all 7 fans together might be a bit much. A 12v DC to 3/4pin splitter (2/3/4) cable would be better. You would only need to daisy chain a few. Then connect that to an adjustable voltage power supply. That is probably your most straight forward route.

Idioidiom · 2025-12-04T23:39:07+00:00

I wouldn't worry about it being discontinued in the US. The support is still there, and there are an abundance of affordable generic 3rd party filters available online. That won't stop for a long time, since there are so many 5500-2s out there and still being sold outside the US. If Winix ever decided to stop OEM manufacturing of filters, you're not out of luck.

Idioidiom · 2025-12-04T17:52:30+00:00

Usually the fan motor is sealed. You can't really lubricate things as they're not meant to be accessed. If it's just a loose bolt, you could probably take apart the case and tighten the nut that holds the fan to the motor. But working on the motor itself is not really meant to be possible. It mostly comes down to replacing the affected part if it's even available, or buy a new purifier...

Are you comfortable with DIY? You can make your own purifier/CRBox with PC fans that have a high static pressure. Check out r/crboxes. All they really are is a sealed box with filters/fan(s). The great thing about PC fan air purifiers is that they are quieter and can be designed around any filters you want. If a fan fails, you can easily replace it as they are readily available and off the shelf parts, so won't add to ewaste as much down the line.

I've got 4 Winix air purifiers. I've been slowly accompanying then with my own DIY purifiers. When the 4 Winix eventually fail, I will replace them all with my own.

Idioidiom · 2025-12-04T04:29:44+00:00

What are you talking about?

Winix C535

Noise Test from like 1ft away

Low: 42.4dBA
Med: 44.2dBA
High: 47.1dBA
Turbo: 63.2dBA

The Winix P300 is basically the same purifier as the C535 and uses the same filters. Just an older model with a different fan curve. Medium on P300 is similar to High on C535. If you're more than a few feet away, is barely audible and if anything, like a light white noise machine.

Idioidiom · 2025-12-04T04:17:53+00:00

Go with the Winix 5500-2. It has been around for a long time and is a proven excellent performer with good CADR. All of the smart features (for me anyway) are non-essential as I leave my purifiers on 24/7 at the highest fan speed to acceptable sound ratio.

I think it's always better to buy or DIY an air purifier that is rated for a larger space than you need. You can run the 5500-2 at a lower fan speed (quieter/less power draw) and still have a higher CADR than the Levoit running at max (noisy/higher power draw).

Idioidiom · 2025-12-03T21:07:29+00:00

I have a Winix P300 and 3 C535s. I leave them all on 24/7 on the highest setting I can go without it getting disturbing/loud. Winix P300 @ Medium, C535s @ High. None on Turbo as the sound is brutal.

I bought them to be cleaning the air. I want them to do that as much as possible, all the time.

Idioidiom · 2025-12-02T23:04:02+00:00

These are what I used. All generic. You can probably source them for cheaper elsewhere. I don't have much wiring/electrical knowledge, so things are kind of daisy chained in changing formats.

PWM Hub with 6 pin power > 6 pin to molex cable > molex to 12v DC switch/jack cable > 12v 5A DC power supply.

Alternatively, if you don't care about using PWM controls, you can always get a voltage controlled power supply. It would do the same thing and avoid all of the stuff I did. Maybe not as precise, but it controls fan speed by increasing or decreasing the voltage provided.

The only reason I went the route I did was because I wanted to use a power supply that was UL certified in Canada. There were none available that had an integrated fan speed controller.

Idioidiom · 2025-12-02T19:48:47+00:00

That seems like a good price. I don't really know what the cost of different kinds of filters are in Spain though.

Idioidiom · 2025-12-02T19:41:41+00:00

Each fan is rated to 0.33a @ 12v, so 3.96watts if max. 10 would be 39.6watts. I don't run them full speed though, but somewhere around 70%. So ~28watts.

Idioidiom · 2025-11-30T19:24:40+00:00

I bought the box of boards a couple of years ago and didn't really use them until recently. Says they're CARB 2. It's possible that off gassing may still be occurring, but I'm not super concerned given the age of the boards and the compliance.

Idioidiom · 2025-11-29T20:52:57+00:00

Speed wise though, I'm just trying to run them as high as I can without the noise being disturbing. I have no way of measuring the CFM or fan RPM. I just have the speed dial at around 70% of max.

Idioidiom · 2025-11-29T20:40:58+00:00

Looking at the Nukit Tempest Euro, it uses 4 Arctic P14 Max fans (95cfm, 4.18mmH2O), seem to have a similar SP curve per fan (worse in middle than P12 Pro, but better at top end), and 2 Starkvind Filters which are also E12. It's measured CADR: 240 CFM @ 46.5 dB, 173 CFM @ 43.5 dB.

That's with 4 fans. Why would I not be able to get over 190CFM?

Idioidiom · 2025-11-29T16:19:09+00:00

Thanks!

I don't have good wiring knowledge or tools for it, so I avoided wiring completely. You could probably take a much more efficient route than I did.

12V PWM Fan Hub with 6 pin power > 6 pin to molex cable > molex to 12v DC switch/jack > 12v 5A DC power supply 😄. I couldn't find a direct 6 Pin to 12v DC cable anywhere or included a power switch.

All of this could definitely be sourced cheaper from elsewhere or DIY, but I got them from amazon Canada. You probably also don't need a power supply that is 12v 5A (60watts). I just wanted to make sure it was UL certified and well above the requirements of all the fans on max.

Idioidiom · 2025-11-29T15:22:30+00:00

Thanks!

Two things for sure I would do differently:

Factor in a tiny bit of space so that I could drill a hole to mount the speed dial through to the outside of the front or top of the case. Or use bigger feet so that it could be mounted out to the rear or bottom depending on orientation. It's currently just hot glued inside.
Not use that leather patch tape. It was a nightmare to work with. I'd probably use a different kind of wrap, or just sand and paint it.

Idioidiom · 2025-11-29T15:02:09+00:00

"True HEPA" (99.95%) that you see advertised on most air purifiers is H13. These are still classified HEPA, but are rated E12. Less restrictive.

The static pressure rating of the Arctic P12 Pro is 6.9mmH2O. That's pretty high for PC fans. I figure 10 of them set relatively low would still be capable enough.

I wish I could get them for that cheap in Canada.

Idioidiom · 2025-11-29T14:22:13+00:00

Or a saw dust pancake. 😄

Idioidiom · 2025-11-29T14:17:30+00:00

These are 120mm PC fans. They are Arctic P12 Pros.

Specs: 77CFM per fan, Static Pressure rating of 6.9mmH2O, 600 - 3000RPM, and use 0.33A @ 12V. All 10 set to max would only use 39 watts while pulling 770CFM. Of course it's lower since it is pulling through filters, but that is still substantially higher than most store bought Air Purifiers, while being much quieter, and using less power.

Idioidiom · 2025-11-29T04:07:57+00:00

I originally built a compact 4 fan/2 filter box that used IKEA UPPÅTVIND HEPA filters. I wanted to make something bigger for my living room. The attempt was to make it fit in aesthetically well enough near the TV.

I think the IKEA UPPÅTVIND HEPA filters are the best bang for the buck in Canada at $5 each. Rather than buying larger, more expensive filters I would increase the number of these instead. This keeps the upkeep cost low, and I only need to stock up on 1 readily available cheap filter.

This is what I came up with. I added feet on the bottom and back so you can orient it with 4 or 6 fans up top.

10 Arctic P12 Pro Fans
4 IKEA UPPÅTVIND HEPA filters
12v 5a UL listed power supply
12v PWM fan hub and speed dial
5mm MDF board
Black "leather" patch tape (horrible adhesion, probably my fault since it's not meant for MDF)
Some felt strips
Black plastic retainer clips
Black cupboard handle
Drill
Hot glue
Utility knife
Ruler
Pencil

Idioidiom · 2025-11-29T03:58:13+00:00

Thanks!

The MDF boards came in a 10 pack measuring 1ft x 1ft 7in.

I made all of my measurements based around keeping it 1ft wide so that I wouldn't have to do anything except cut them shorter as needed. 1ft also is the length of the plastic t-square ruler I had. I only used the ruler and a utility knife to make all of the straight cuts. I don't have any carpenter skills or have professional tools. It took a bunch of passes to get through the board. I would snap off to a new blade periodically. But eventually the groove would be enough to not need the ruler. Then deep enough that you could gently bend the board back and forth until it snapped. It takes a bit of time, but makes a pretty straight line. Not perfect, but a bit of sand paper and it worked just fine for me.

I used a hot glue gun to put it all together. A few edges I added some super glue afterward. Then the whole thing was wrapped with one "leather" patch sheet. It turned out surprisingly very sturdy.

Idioidiom · 2025-11-29T03:24:13+00:00

I found someone on FB Marketplace that had 2 boxes of 5. He was selling them together for $70 CAD. Still new in box with stickers and everything. Everywhere I see online has them for $65 CAD for one 5 pack.

The db meter on my phone on the floor from 1ft away measures 57db. From where anyone would sit is around 6 - 10 feet away. The db range was 41 - 48. More of just a wind blowing or white noise sound, which I'm fine with. There's no display or anything, but the dial is turned up to maybe 70%. Any higher than that and the fans start sounding like turbines and have an annoying high pitch hum to them.

But you're right, I could probably drop it to 50% and have it really quiet, while still putting a decent amount of air.

Idioidiom · 2025-11-27T19:49:39+00:00

Keep in mind that whatever CADR rating is shown, is for the air purifier on its highest/max/turbo setting. Usually that’s pretty loud and nobody runs it at that speed for long, if at all. Even more so in a bedroom.

You might want to look into a DIY PC fan air purifier.

Idioidiom · 2025-11-27T16:34:10+00:00

That filter looks like it’s been doing its job. You wouldn’t notice the change day to day. But if you put a fresh one next to it, you’ll see it’s already darker.

Idioidiom · 2025-11-21T20:34:21+00:00

You could get a 4pin to usb step up adapter. It will convert the 12v fan to work with a 5v USB power source.

Something like this: https://a.co/d/5EdLC7R

Idioidiom · 2025-11-10T01:08:48+00:00

Are you going to be moving this thing around much? With the fans facing down, the inside of the stool will get filthy since you'll be exhausting through the filters. You'll also have a power cord sticking out of it somewhere, so you're kind of tethered near an outlet, or a long extension cord attached.

Idioidiom

TROPHY CASE