Legality of third party fans

[Sparky3D]

Originally Posted by Jon Stratis

That said, when inspecting the robot, I'm not going to be closely examining every fan that's attached to a speed controller. If it looks like one of the fans that's stacked up in my team's electrical closet, then I'm going to assume it's legal.

This is exactly my point. If an experienced LRI's method of enforcement is " it looks like one of the fans that's stacked up in my team's electrical closet", what is an average inspector's(aka me) method of enforcement supposed to be?

Originally Posted by Jon Stratis

Having built a few computers in my day, I know that not all fans are created equal. There are some out there that get much more airflow than others, despite being the same size. So the rule does have some practical applicability.

I completely understand, but my point is "Does it matter?". Even a high powered 120mm computer fan doesn't provide enough thrust to launch a boulder or deflect a frisbee. Are there safety concerns with using "some blue fan with LED's"? Is using a high powered fan an unfair advantage to some teams? I'm just trying to understand why we have the restriction to KOP fans in the first place.