| Author |
Message |
Jon
Guest
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 Posted:
Tue Oct 05, 2004 5:17 pm Post subject:
Quiet SCA backplane anyone??? |
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The high pitched fan noise from my Cremax MB810 SCA enclosure originates
from the stupid design where the fan is pressed up against the front cover
which only has a few small diameter holes in it. The noise finally drove me
crazy. I searched, but could only find good stories about the Enlight
EN-8721, so have just bought one - BUT THE ENLIGHT FAN NOISE IS EVEN WORSE.
In the Enlight design, the fans suck air through small holes in the
backplane, so four 7000 RPM fans are required to get sufficient airflow.
Inspection reveals that using a greater number of larger diameter holes in
the backplane would have allowed less powerful fans to be used resulting in
less noise for the same air flow. So the Enlight EN-8721 is another crappy
design. Has anyone tried replacing the Enlight fans?.
I am not a "quiet PC" fanatic, but don't want to sit next to a vacuum
cleaner for hours on end. Has anyone modified one of these enclosures to
reduce the fan noise but still allow enough air? I am thinking of modifying
the Cremax enclosure since it has perforated holes completely surrounding
the rear section. One idea is to build an open ended steel box with about
1/4 inch clearance all around which can be slipped over the rear of the
enclosure using some form of seal for the edges. Attaching a slow 120mm fan
on the other end of the box would provide more air and at minimal noise.
Any other ideas, help or advice would be appreciated. |
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Folkert Rienstra
Guest
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| Posted:
Wed Oct 06, 2004 12:01 am Post subject:
Re: Quiet SCA backplane anyone??? |
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"Jon" <jwatmuff@bigpond.com> wrote in message news:8ax8d.15317$5O5.7384@news-server.bigpond.net.au
| Quote: | The high pitched fan noise from my Cremax MB810 SCA enclosure originates
from the stupid design where the fan is pressed up against the front cover
which only has a few small diameter holes in it. The noise finally drove me
crazy. I searched, but could only find good stories about the Enlight
EN-8721, so have just bought one - BUT THE ENLIGHT FAN NOISE IS EVEN WORSE.
In the Enlight design, the fans suck air through small holes in the
backplane, so four 7000 RPM fans are required to get sufficient airflow.
Inspection reveals that using a greater number of larger diameter holes in
the backplane would have allowed less powerful fans to be used resulting in
less noise for the same air flow. So the Enlight EN-8721 is another crappy
design. Has anyone tried replacing the Enlight fans?.
|
If 12 Volt fans, try running them on 7 Volts.
| Quote: |
I am not a "quiet PC" fanatic, but don't want to sit next to a vacuum
cleaner for hours on end. Has anyone modified one of these enclosures to
reduce the fan noise but still allow enough air? I am thinking of modifying
the Cremax enclosure since it has perforated holes completely surrounding
the rear section. One idea is to build an open ended steel box with about
1/4 inch clearance all around which can be slipped over the rear of the en-
closure using some form of seal for the edges. Attaching a slow 120mm fan
on the other end of the box would provide more air and at minimal noise.
Any other ideas, help or advice would be appreciated. |
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sbb78247
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Oct 09, 2004 1:09 am Post subject:
Re: Quiet SCA backplane anyone??? |
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Jon wrote:
| Quote: | The high pitched fan noise from my Cremax MB810 SCA enclosure
originates from the stupid design where the fan is pressed up against
the front cover which only has a few small diameter holes in it. The
noise finally drove me crazy. I searched, but could only find good
stories about the Enlight EN-8721, so have just bought one - BUT THE
ENLIGHT FAN NOISE IS EVEN WORSE. In the Enlight design, the fans suck
air through small holes in the backplane, so four 7000 RPM fans are
required to get sufficient airflow. Inspection reveals that using a
greater number of larger diameter holes in the backplane would have
allowed less powerful fans to be used resulting in less noise for the
same air flow. So the Enlight EN-8721 is another crappy design. Has
anyone tried replacing the Enlight fans?.
I am not a "quiet PC" fanatic, but don't want to sit next to a vacuum
cleaner for hours on end. Has anyone modified one of these enclosures
to reduce the fan noise but still allow enough air? I am thinking of
modifying the Cremax enclosure since it has perforated holes
completely surrounding the rear section. One idea is to build an open
ended steel box with about 1/4 inch clearance all around which can be
slipped over the rear of the enclosure using some form of seal for
the edges. Attaching a slow 120mm fan on the other end of the box
would provide more air and at minimal noise.
Any other ideas, help or advice would be appreciated.
|
How brave are you? How much modding are you willing to do? Why not cut out
the perforations and put a fan guard over the top? The perforations are not
exactly efficient in letting the air pass through so it builds static
pressure (hvac term) causing more fan noise. The lower the static pressure,
the lower the noise. Kind of like how some central air conditioners sound
really loud because the return and discharge air ducts are too small.
Granted a 7000 rpm fan is noisy, but the back pressure is not helping.
If you do put in the 120 fan, give it plenty of room to breathe. Be sure
any cables, etc are out of the way and have your intake and exhaust matched.
It should help. While you are at it, why not slip in a UV light and a UV
fan? BAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (Sorry couldn't resist)
Shannon |
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Jon
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Oct 09, 2004 10:47 am Post subject:
Re: Quiet SCA backplane anyone??? |
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| Quote: | How brave are you? How much modding are you willing to do? Why not cut
out
the perforations and put a fan guard over the top? The perforations are
not exactly efficient in letting the air pass through so it builds static
pressure (hvac term) causing more fan noise. The lower the static
pressure, the lower the noise. Kind of like how some central air
conditioners sound really loud because the return and discharge air ducts
are too small. Granted a 7000 rpm fan is noisy, but the back pressure is
not helping.
If you do put in the 120 fan, give it plenty of room to breathe. Be sure
any cables, etc are out of the way and have your intake and exhaust
matched. It should help. While you are at it, why not slip in a UV light
and a UV fan? BAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (Sorry couldn't resist)
Shannon
Yeah, since I have lots of 40 mm fans I thought about fixing them around the |
sides at the rear Cremax enclosure, but then the enclosure wouldn't slip in
and out easily from the case. The "box" with 120mm fan idea is simpler
since to remove and install the enclosure just involves slipping the box off
the rear. In this design the cables would flex back under the seals so they
would not obstruct the air flow. Bravery about cutting out perforations is
more like stupidity considering future sale of the enclosure.
Since using the EN-8721 for a few days the five Seagate 10K U320 72Gb drives
barely get warm after several hours so I have now decided to buy a small fan
controller to tune fan RPM against drive temperature. The fan leads are
soldered into mini circuit boards so the mods will be a snap. I am going to
buy the RH-35 4 chan controller http://www.noiseisolator.com/rh-35.html
since it can fit under the floppy. It also has sexy blue backlit knobs
(NYUCK NYUCK NYUCK). But I can get inside my case in less than 5 seconds so
it is going to be put somewhere inside. |
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sbb78247
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Oct 09, 2004 7:29 pm Post subject:
Re: Quiet SCA backplane anyone??? |
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Jon wrote:
| Quote: | How brave are you? How much modding are you willing to do? Why not
cut out
the perforations and put a fan guard over the top? The perforations
are not exactly efficient in letting the air pass through so it
builds static pressure (hvac term) causing more fan noise. The
lower the static pressure, the lower the noise. Kind of like how
some central air conditioners sound really loud because the return
and discharge air ducts are too small. Granted a 7000 rpm fan is
noisy, but the back pressure is not helping.
If you do put in the 120 fan, give it plenty of room to breathe. Be
sure any cables, etc are out of the way and have your intake and
exhaust matched. It should help. While you are at it, why not slip
in a UV light and a UV fan? BAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (Sorry couldn't
resist) Shannon
Yeah, since I have lots of 40 mm fans I thought about fixing them
around the sides at the rear Cremax enclosure, but then the enclosure
wouldn't slip in and out easily from the case. The "box" with 120mm
fan idea is simpler since to remove and install the enclosure just
involves slipping the box off the rear. In this design the cables
would flex back under the seals so they would not obstruct the air
flow. Bravery about cutting out perforations is more like stupidity
considering future sale of the enclosure.
Since using the EN-8721 for a few days the five Seagate 10K U320 72Gb
drives barely get warm after several hours so I have now decided to
buy a small fan controller to tune fan RPM against drive temperature.
The fan leads are soldered into mini circuit boards so the mods will
be a snap. I am going to buy the RH-35 4 chan controller
http://www.noiseisolator.com/rh-35.html since it can fit under the
floppy. It also has sexy blue backlit knobs (NYUCK NYUCK NYUCK). But
I can get inside my case in less than 5 seconds so it is going to be
put somewhere inside.
|
Vantec makes a nice fan controller too with the blue lights. I like the mod
scene, so blue leds, uv lights, fans, paint, and cables start to make things
stand out. Besides, if you modded the cabinet the right way, you could sell
it to a lan party group for a premium?
Shannon |
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Folkert Rienstra
Guest
|
| Posted:
Sat Oct 09, 2004 11:36 pm Post subject:
Re: Quiet SCA backplane anyone??? |
|
|
"Jon" <jwatmuff@bigpond.com> wrote in message news:JPL9d.19154$5O5.12400@news-server.bigpond.net.au
| Quote: | How brave are you? How much modding are you willing to do? Why not cut
out
the perforations and put a fan guard over the top? The perforations are
not exactly efficient in letting the air pass through so it builds static
pressure (hvac term) causing more fan noise. The lower the static
pressure, the lower the noise. Kind of like how some central air
conditioners sound really loud because the return and discharge air ducts
are too small. Granted a 7000 rpm fan is noisy, but the back pressure is
not helping.
If you do put in the 120 fan, give it plenty of room to breathe. Be sure
any cables, etc are out of the way and have your intake and exhaust
matched. It should help. While you are at it, why not slip in a UV light
and a UV fan? BAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (Sorry couldn't resist)
Shannon
Yeah, since I have lots of 40 mm fans I thought about fixing them around the
sides at the rear Cremax enclosure, but then the enclosure wouldn't slip in
and out easily from the case. The "box" with 120mm fan idea is simpler
since to remove and install the enclosure just involves slipping the box off
the rear. In this design the cables would flex back under the seals so they
would not obstruct the air flow. Bravery about cutting out perforations is
more like stupidity considering future sale of the enclosure.
Since using the EN-8721 for a few days the five Seagate 10K U320 72Gb drives
barely get warm after several hours so I have now decided to buy a small fan
controller to tune fan RPM against drive temperature.
The fan leads are soldered into mini circuit boards so the mods will be
a snap.
|
So why not try the 7 Volts first? It's for free and doesn't take-up space.
| Quote: | I am going to
buy the RH-35 4 chan controller http://www.noiseisolator.com/rh-35.html
since it can fit under the floppy. It also has sexy blue backlit knobs
(NYUCK NYUCK NYUCK). But I can get inside my case in less than 5 seconds so
it is going to be put somewhere inside. |
|
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| Back to top |
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sbb78247
Guest
|
| Posted:
Mon Oct 11, 2004 8:54 pm Post subject:
Re: Quiet SCA backplane anyone??? |
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Folkert Rienstra wrote:
<snip>
| Quote: |
So why not try the 7 Volts first? It's for free and doesn't take-up
space.
|
Some fans complain about starting with only 7v. Certain ThermalTake,
Vantec, and others are picky about the startup voltage even though they run
fine on the lower power. Also, if using a pile of 40mm fans, the fan bus
will allow you to adjust the speed of each fan helping to eliminate any
harmonics from them running at slightly different speeds. That can get damn
annoying.
Shannon |
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Curious George
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Oct 22, 2004 11:53 pm Post subject:
Re: Quiet SCA backplane anyone??? |
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On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 16:54:42 GMT, "sbb78247" <sbb78247@hotmail.com>
wrote:
| Quote: | Folkert Rienstra wrote:
snip
So why not try the 7 Volts first? It's for free and doesn't take-up
space.
Some fans complain about starting with only 7v. Certain ThermalTake,
Vantec, and others are picky about the startup voltage even though they run
fine on the lower power. Also, if using a pile of 40mm fans, the fan bus
will allow you to adjust the speed of each fan helping to eliminate any
harmonics from them running at slightly different speeds. That can get damn
annoying.
Shannon
|
Isn't running fans on 7V also supposed to be hard on some power
supplies? |
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sbb78247
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Oct 25, 2004 5:23 am Post subject:
Re: Quiet SCA backplane anyone??? |
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Curious George wrote:
| Quote: | On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 16:54:42 GMT, "sbb78247" <sbb78247@hotmail.com
wrote:
Folkert Rienstra wrote:
snip
So why not try the 7 Volts first? It's for free and doesn't take-up
space.
Some fans complain about starting with only 7v. Certain ThermalTake,
Vantec, and others are picky about the startup voltage even though
they run fine on the lower power. Also, if using a pile of 40mm
fans, the fan bus will allow you to adjust the speed of each fan
helping to eliminate any harmonics from them running at slightly
different speeds. That can get damn annoying.
Shannon
Isn't running fans on 7V also supposed to be hard on some power
supplies?
|
Probably not as hard as the cooling fan not starting in the first place!
That does tend to let out all of the magic smoke. And as you know once the
smoke is out, it's the devil to put back in!
Shannon |
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stts
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Oct 28, 2004 10:04 am Post subject:
Re: Quiet SCA backplane anyone??? |
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Fans, I know enough about fans. I live close to a surplus shop with
lots of cheap fans. I found out the best fans are the 1" thick 4-3/4"
square and 5-3/4 bolt circle. The ones that are 12v dc are good for
PC's and for low noise it must be no more that 0.20A rated current.
These move a huge amount of air to cool 5 close hard drives at once.
and since its a bigger fan it spins much slower hence the quiet you
seek. Lots of companies make fans in this family at any voltage and
current you want, so make sure it is no more that .20A or it will spin
faster and you will hate the noise. I have a dozen of them for my 3
PC's. A typical part number is GLOBE MOTORS D47-B10A-04W2-000 or NMB
model 4710NL-04W-B20.
Its Physics so any fan this size given 12v at 0.2A will run about the
same speed and low noise level. ENJOY. |
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