1U Fan unit modification help

[Waffles The Proto]

Hiya, 

 

so I have a server cabinet which is next to both my desk as well as my bed. Im unable to move it elsewhere due to shared living so I just keep it in here, It is quiet for the most part as it has noctua fans throughout including my Ubiquiti switches (which never turn on as Ubi removed manual fan control from their switches).

 

I have a 1U fan unit to aid in cooling but it's fairly loud, it has 2 120MM AC Fans in it. (240V as I'm from the UK) I would ideally like to swap it out with Noctua fans so I can keep this 1U fan unit running 24/7 and not turn it off during the night, I've opened it up and had a look and it takes an incoming kettle lead (AKA IEC lead) and splits it to ground, live and neutral. The live goes to the switch on the front and then to both fans as the neutral goes directly into both fans, with the ground going straight to the case itself.

 

Im not sure how I can quiet it down, I looked into putting an AC 240V to DC 12V PSU in there and then put 2 Noctua fans in but I don't feel comfortable with putting a PSU inside the chassis due to both the PSU having limited airflow and also I never really did any AC electrical stuff and something like that would make me extremely uncomfortable. 

 

I also looked into maybe some sort of voltage limiter or something with a dial on the front so I could lower the voltage of the fans to make it run at a lower speed, but I wouldn't know the first thing about that sort of stuff and might make me uncomfortable as well. Thought I'd ask here in case there are any other options that are less scary lmao.

[Poinkachu]

20 minutes ago, Waffles The Proto said:

Hiya, 

 

so I have a server cabinet which is next to both my desk as well as my bed. Im unable to move it elsewhere due to shared living so I just keep it in here, It is quiet for the most part as it has noctua fans throughout including my Ubiquiti switches (which never turn on as Ubi removed manual fan control from their switches).

 

I have a 1U fan unit to aid in cooling but it's fairly loud, it has 2 120MM AC Fans in it. (240V as I'm from the UK) I would ideally like to swap it out with Noctua fans so I can keep this 1U fan unit running 24/7 and not turn it off during the night, I've opened it up and had a look and it takes an incoming kettle lead (AKA IEC lead) and splits it to ground, live and neutral. The live goes to the switch on the front and then to both fans as the neutral goes directly into both fans, with the ground going straight to the case itself.

 

Im not sure how I can quiet it down, I looked into putting an AC 240V to DC 12V PSU in there and then put 2 Noctua fans in but I don't feel comfortable with putting a PSU inside the chassis due to both the PSU having limited airflow and also I never really did any AC electrical stuff and something like that would make me extremely uncomfortable. 

 

I also looked into maybe some sort of voltage limiter or something with a dial on the front so I could lower the voltage of the fans to make it run at a lower speed, but I wouldn't know the first thing about that sort of stuff and might make me uncomfortable as well. Thought I'd ask here in case there are any other options that are less scary lmao.

Simplest way is to change them into Noctuas and power the Noctua using a 12v 2A power brick.
Doubt the power brick will need that much airflow, since 2 x 12v fans won't use much power.

Even Noctua's 120mm PPC is only like... 0.3A each.

https://noctua.at/en/nf-f12-industrialppc-3000-pwm/specification

 

And yes, it might also make you DIY an AC electrical circuit less. (Depending on how jank lookin' or how sleek you want to make it )

[TatamiMatt]

3 minutes ago, Poinkachu said:

Simplest way is to change them into Noctuas and power the Noctua using a 12v 2A power brick.
Doubt the power brick will need that much airflow, since 2 x 12v fans won't use much power.

Even Noctua's 120mm PPC is only like... 0.3A each.

https://noctua.at/en/nf-f12-industrialppc-3000-pwm/specification

 

And yes, it will also make you DIY an AC connection less.

If you wanted to try something super minimal to quieten the whole unit, add some rubber dampers to all 4 corners on both sides of the fans and anywhere else there is a metal to metal connection, for example if bolted in place, add some rubber washers around bolts, it might not help a lot but it may quieten things down a bit if you dont want to get into the electrical side of things

[Poinkachu]

1 minute ago, TatamiMatt said:

If you wanted to try something super minimal to quieten the whole unit, add some rubber dampers to all 4 corners on both sides of the fans and anywhere else there is a metal to metal connection, for example if bolted in place, add some rubber washers around bolts, it might not help a lot but it may quieten things down a bit if you dont want to get into the electrical side of things

You prob quoted the wrong person.

But yep, Based on that kinda fan that I tried before, I doubt OP's problem is vibration based noise.

[TatamiMatt]

2 minutes ago, Poinkachu said:

You prob quoted the wrong person.

But yep, Based on that kinda fan that I tried before, I doubt OP's problem is vibration based noise.

I did indeed quote the wrong person!

 

Never used or even seen one of these before actually, just thought it looked like a vibration heavy piece

 

TLDR: Listen to Poinkachu, not me 

[Dutch_Master]

If you're not comfortable working mains voltage, it's probably best not to tamper with it.

 

That said, there are variable voltage regulators for mains voltage which you'd add in series (between the switch and the fans themselves) with little additional wiring, but some careful drilling of holes (for mounting and access to the pot-meter) is required.

 

[edit: you may consider putting a genuine electrician on the job, if you have the parts, so they can do the actual work professionally.]

[Poinkachu]

7 minutes ago, TatamiMatt said:

I did indeed quote the wrong person!

 

Never used or even seen one of these before actually, just thought it looked like a vibration heavy piece

 

TLDR: Listen to Poinkachu, not me 

Basically :

 

 

[Waffles The Proto]

1 hour ago, Poinkachu said:

Simplest way is to change them into Noctuas and power the Noctua using a 12v 2A power brick.
Doubt the power brick will need that much airflow, since 2 x 12v fans won't use much power.

Even Noctua's 120mm PPC is only like... 0.3A each.

https://noctua.at/en/nf-f12-industrialppc-3000-pwm/specification

 

And yes, it might also make you DIY an AC electrical circuit less. (Depending on how jank lookin' or how sleek you want to make it )

Ah I see, could you send some examples of the power brick as I wanna see the options out there, those big silver ones I'm not a fan of (no pun intended), and would rather something like this which I could just cut the port side off and split the wires,

 

[Waffles The Proto]

52 minutes ago, TatamiMatt said:

I did indeed quote the wrong person!

 

Never used or even seen one of these before actually, just thought it looked like a vibration heavy piece

 

TLDR: Listen to Poinkachu, not me 

The actual frame of the fan itself is made of metal and bolted to the 1U Chasis, but there isn't much vibration, just a rattle but the sound of the fan itself is so loud that the rattle is unnoticeable.

[Waffles The Proto]

53 minutes ago, Dutch_Master said:

If you're not comfortable working mains voltage, it's probably best not to tamper with it.

 

That said, there are variable voltage regulators for mains voltage which you'd add in series (between the switch and the fans themselves) with little additional wiring, but some careful drilling of holes (for mounting and access to the pot-meter) is required.

 

[edit: you may consider putting a genuine electrician on the job, if you have the parts, so they can do the actual work professionally.]

I don't mind doing basic mains stuff, but never an electrical panel or anything like that.

 

I'd probably verify my work in this thread to double-check everything before I plug It in though.

[Poinkachu]

32 minutes ago, Waffles The Proto said:

Ah I see, could you send some examples of the power brick as I wanna see the options out there, those big silver ones I'm not a fan of (no pun intended), and would rather something like this which I could just cut the port side off and split the wires,

Yea I'd use that kind if it's only small amperage.

Generally I use a power brick that have max amperage atleast double than what I need (example if my lighting uses 1A, I use 2A or more brick).

So that the circuitry inside the brick won't be hammered too much.

 

The jankiest method I can think of right now without dealing much with AC wiring if at all  :

1. Buy a power brick with detachable AC cord (Like the one in your Pic)

2. Pull out the IEC port on the rack, then put the brick's AC cord through the hole left behind. Plug it to the brick.

3. Duct tape / Double tape the brick inside the rack unit.

4. Cut the 12v end of the brick's cord, DIY a PWM or 3pin / whatever adapter to it

5. Connect the Noctua to the DIY'd adapter.

 

You'll lose the On-Off button functionality though.

 

If I prefer the brick to be outside, then I'll just put the 12v cord through the hole instead of the AC cord.

[Waffles The Proto]

5 minutes ago, Poinkachu said:

Yea I'd use that kind if it's only small amperage.

Generally I use a power brick that have max amperage atleast double than what I need (example if my lighting uses 1A, I use 2A or more brick).

So that the circuitry inside the brick won't be hammered too much.

 

The jankiest method I can think of right now without dealing much with AC circuitry if at all  :

1. Buy a power brick with detachable AC cord (Like the one in your Pic)

2. Pull out the IEC port on the rack, then put the brick's AC cord through the hole left behind. Plug it to the brick.

3. Duct tape / Double tape the brick inside the rack unit.

4. Cut the 12v end of the brick's cord, DIY a PWM or 3pin / whatever adapter to it

5. Connect the Noctua to the DIY'd adapter.

 

You'll lose the On-Off button functionality though.

I'd probably do that, but between the positive connector and the fans I'll put the On-Off switch in series as I don't mind doing low-voltage DC Stuff.

 

most PWM Fans do under an amp so I'll probably get a 3 or 4-amp PSU to play it safe, might even put an extra small Noctua fan in as well and just place it ontop of the PSU if there's room.

[Poinkachu]

Just now, Waffles The Proto said:

I'd probably do that, but between the positive connector and the fans I'll put the On-Off switch in series as I don't mind doing low-voltage DC Stuff.

 

most PWM Fans do under an amp so I'll probably get a 3 or 4-amp PSU to play it safe, might even put an extra small Noctua fan in as well and just place it ontop of the PSU if there's room.

Kinda pointless putting a fan where there's barely any hole for air to go in and out.

But then again, I never dealt with server racks before.

 

If it's me. I'd probably try incorporating a potentiometer too.

 

[OhioYJ]

AC Infinity has quite a few things along temperature controllers and such.

 

I know I didn't really like the way any of the "pre-built" rack coolers were setup. So I used 6 Noctua fans mounted in various spots on my rack to move air around and help cool components. They were a bit too loud at full speed, but use the included LNA adapters its quiet. 

 

I'm using a 12 volt power brick that actually came with a USB hub originally to power my fans.  I just cut the barrel plug off the end, and spliced on some fan plugs.