Comments/opinions on a new rad/shroud build?

zachsss626 · Nov 27, 2003

I just finished my dual 2-342 HC radiator setup with 4 120mm Delta's running at 7 volts. The fans are remarkably quiet at this voltage, other than a deep noise that I can only guess is one of the motors. However, the lack of fan noise is largely negated by the "whoosh" (technical jargon

) of the air through the radiators, something I didn't quite plan on. I can deal with the noise, but the thing that worries me is that there doesn't seem to be a lot of airflow through the rads. Anybody using 2-342's successfully, what kind of airflow do you feel when you put your hand on the "free" side of the radiator? Other than that, I'm just looking for suggestions or comments.

thanks Smirabi, here are the pics:

As you can see... I'm not going for pretty here

Zach

vonkaar · Nov 27, 2003

I've heard that those 120mm Deltas don't take 7v very well. I the low hum could be a direct result of that; the motors aren't happy.

zachsss626 · Nov 27, 2003

The noise does seem to be a less pronounced version of what you get with undervolted fans. It still happens when they're at the full 12 however, though it's almost unnoticeable over the jet-worthy air noise. Also, I think it's coming from a specific one of the fans, because I don't notice it from the rest. First thing I did was to make sure there wasn't anything obstructing the path of the blades, which there wasn't. I'm not sure what it could be, other than perhaps a slightly unbalanced blade or misaligned motor housing.

vonkaar · Nov 27, 2003

Are you very opposed to buying different gear, or is this post meant to work with what you currently have?

zachsss626 · Nov 27, 2003

Depends what the different gear is... if you're referring to fans, it's fine by me, but other than that, I'd rather keep the (mostly elbow grease) investment I've made. If new fans are what you're suggesting, I have to say I bought the Deltas on hearing that they put out slightly more air than comparable Panaflos at a lower decibel rating if they were run at 7 volts. More accurately, I read that the Delta 120s (as sold at becooling) could put out about 83 cfm with a decibel rating in the mid 30s. Either of the two 120mm Panaflos were prime candidates too, but I chose the Deltas for a supposedly higher output-to-noise ratio.

Edit: Just took a look at the fans at cooltechnica.com... the one panaflo they have looks pretty nice, 86.5 cfm at 35.5 decibels.

Smirabi · Nov 27, 2003

if you are still looking for a host, email them to me and i will host before i go to bed (gotta go to bed early for black friday sales tomorrow) and i can have them hosted by tonight or tomorrow morning

vonkaar · Nov 27, 2003

That's where I was going...

Deltas are louder than a banshee. By running them at 7v, you are creating a different type of noise with the low electronic hum. If at 7v they are putting out the same noise and airflow of a 'quieter' fan at 12v, why worry with running at 7v? I'd try and find an equally powerful 120mm and keep it at 12v. Those Deltas are going to be loud no matter how you run them. Go grab a 24v Pabst 120mmx38mm fan from hell. You can find them cheap on Ebay. At 12v they'll still push more than a Delta would at 7v, but you'll basically NOT hear them.

zachsss626 · Nov 27, 2003

Hmm... Undervolting by 5 volts causes troubles, but cutting the voltage to a 24v in half doesn't hurt? Anyhow, in any case, fan (air) noise isn't my main problem. If they have any decent output, there's going to be air noise from the radiator anyway, which is why I was interested in the panaflos from cooltechnica. 35 decibels is low enough to effectively be nonexistent when mixed with the air noise that I'm going to have to live with, if I want a well-performing rad.

vonkaar · Nov 27, 2003

Oddly enough, no.

Maybe it's just German engineering... I don't know =p. I know more than a few people that run the Pabsts at half voltage and they run beautifully. I can go snap a couple pictures of the fans if you need references.

zachsss626 · Nov 27, 2003

I honestly have no idea what to look for... I searched ebay for Papst (and Pabst

), and also took a quick look at surplus center, neither of which turned up any results. The ebay search did come up with some papst fans, but the ones that even looked to be 120mm or so had no other measurements to go by. The main reason I'm liking the panaflos is that I know where to get them, and they're reasonably priced... no guessing games

vonkaar · Nov 27, 2003

You can also try Comair, Nidec, NMB, Toyo, ETRI... any of the 'high-quality' fan manufacturers. I've used 24v Comairs at 12v and they work just fine.

zachsss626 · Nov 28, 2003

Looks like you were right. I took the heatercores off of the shroud (they were held on by zipties) and turned on the fans at 7v and the low "undervolt whine" was very pronounced (strangely enough, it still did this to a degree at 12v), and the fans produced MUCH more wind noise than I remembered. Probably because I only noise tested with one at once

Anyway, I'm kinda nervous about jumping on fans I can't find out much about... unless you know of where I can get more info, I'll just go with the Panaflos.

kusojiji · Nov 28, 2003

How about running AC fans? This one at Radioshack is really quiet: http://www.radioshack.com/product.a..._name=CTLG_011_002_007_002&product_id=273-241

It moves about 65 cfm. It has a metal hub and blades and has a lot of momentum due to the weight. It will definitely cut you if you stick a finger in it. Good thing about it is that it won't take power from your 12 volt rail that could be better used for your hard drives!

zachsss626 · Nov 28, 2003

Well... it's $22, and as you said only pushes 65 cfm. I can just get the Panaflos for $12 a pop and only about 35 db... not sure if that's audible or not, but it looks like a good deal anyway.

Thanks for the suggestion though

Suma · Nov 28, 2003

Well, it looks kinda funny.
If you can paint it it'll look much nicer, and more pro.

Suma.

zachsss626 · Nov 28, 2003

In its real installation, the bottom half (the shoebox part) sits in the top of a rubbermaid-type container, so the looks of that part don't matter. In any case, looks are the last thing on my to-do list

zachsss626 · Nov 28, 2003

Vonkaar, I think I found the fans you mentioned

... 7.9" diameter, 2.8" thick, 377 cfm at 24v... here's where I found them- http://mpja.com/productview.asp?product=14636+FN

Korndog · Nov 28, 2003

zachsss626 said:
Vonkaar, I think I found the fans you mentioned ... 7.9" diameter, 2.8" thick, 377 cfm at 24v... here's where I found them- http://mpja.com/productview.asp?product=14636+FN

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
very nice find
me wants!

vonkaar · Nov 28, 2003

That's a very good deal. If I didn't have those coming out of my ears I'd probably pick a few up. You can see that the suggested operational voltage starts as low as 14... you'll have no problems running them at 12.

zachsss626 · Nov 28, 2003

I ordered 6 comair rotron 6-3/4" 235cfm 12v Majors. *Drumroll please*... $5 each

. Two run in series off the 12v rail (or even all in parallel on the 5v if 6 is too loud... doubt it though) should give the results I'm looking for. The hardest part will be figuring out how to squeeze them in the shroud I have made. As you can see in the pic, the 120's are squeezed in there pretty tightly. I'll probably have to cut the bottom out of the shroud and build a new bottom out of some cardboard.

Comments/opinions on a new rad/shroud build?

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