Computer Fan - Bilges - Noisy!

[magnetman]

25 minutes ago, IanD said:

 

High-quality fans like Noctua are rated at 150000hrs MTBF, which is 17 years continuously -- but of course they cost more than cheap no-name ones. You get what you pay for... 😉

 

Thats interesting. I wonder if that is continuous running or cycling. Good name to remember. 

 

 

[jonathanA]

I tend to see what IT kit is being skipped. Lots of good quality fans of varying sizes and 5v or 12v in servers, routers and switches. 

[BWM]

3 hours ago, M_JG said:

 

If you mean 'you mean' then yes.

 

I was think about crafting some thing from the oasis stuff you use for planting but I am not sure about is flammability which could be an issue in that particular application.

Oasis will turn to dust fairly quickly. 

[IanD]

4 minutes ago, jonathanA said:

I tend to see what IT kit is being skipped. Lots of good quality fans of varying sizes and 5v or 12v in servers, routers and switches. 

Most fans in servers/routers/switches are noisy high-rpm high-airflow ones, not the best choice for quiet cooling on a boat...

 

OTOH they are free if they're saved from the skip... 😉

[Tony Brooks]

1 hour ago, Richard10002 said:

Thanks for all the quick responses. 

 

I think I've got some neoprene straps on board, so I'll give that a go and,if it doesn't work, I'll try a Nokua fan.

 

Just do not screw it down tight, just enough to hold the fan, neoprene and floor together.

[blackrose]

6 hours ago, Richard10002 said:

I've drilled a hole in the floor, (near the water pump), to fit a computer fan to create an airflow. 

 

Out of interest for what purpose? General cooling in the boat or are you trying to create airflow for a specific purpose such as cooling the back of a fridge for example?

 

Nothing to do with the water pump I assume?

 

I can't imagine a single computer fan would make much difference to the overall temperature inside a boat?

Edited September 6, 2023 by blackrose

[magnetman]

Dry bilges?

[Chris Lowe]

RS Components sell various sizes of anti vibration fan gaskets.

[Drayke]

Don't forget that some of these fans only like running on a stable 12v supply, were as on a boat you could have between 11.5~14.5v. Just saying.

[Richard10002]

10 hours ago, IanD said:

 

What kind of fan? (size, rpm, airflow, make/model...)

 

Some are much quieter than others while moving the same amount of air -- bigger diameter and slower will always be quieter for the same airflow. Noctua fans are good...

It's a Maplin fan, 85mm square. No idea of the other specs.

 

Tried the neoprene to no effect, so I'm going to buy a Noctua as you suggest.

4 hours ago, blackrose said:

 

Out of interest for what purpose? General cooling in the boat or are you trying to create airflow for a specific purpose such as cooling the back of a fridge for example?

 

Nothing to do with the water pump I assume?

 

I can't imagine a single computer fan would make much difference to the overall temperature inside a boat?

Nothing to do with the water pump  

 

I have a fan, (quiet, by chance), below the fridge in the middle of the boat which sucks air from the bilge to the back of the fridge. I thought it would help to have a fan at the front of the boat blowing the air into the bilge, thus forcing the cooler bilge air towards the fridge.

 

Maybe I dont need it?   

[Puffling]

Go for 120mm if you are getting a new one. Lower noise, moves more air.

 

Back when I could depend on mains electricity, I had six fans fitted to my desktop computer, not including the integral fan in the PSU. Two 120mm fans on the chunky Cooler Master CPU heatsink (one pulling, one pushing), a small one on the graphics card, another 120mm at the front pulling air into the case, a 120mm at the side also pulling air into the case, and a medium sized fan aimed at the motherboard generally circulating the air.

 

Despite what you might suspect, the computer ran quietly most of the time. After a long intensive session of doing something like video rendering it became slightly noisier, but that was because most fans (all except side and front) were controlled by sensors on the motherboard and idled 90% of the time, ramping up only when the CPU got above 50C. The whole setup replaced a water-cooling system which I did not like and although having just a couple of fans was actually more noisy than the later air cooling configuration.

[IanD]

8 hours ago, Richard10002 said:

It's a Maplin fan, 85mm square. No idea of the other specs.

 

Tried the neoprene to no effect, so I'm going to buy a Noctua as you suggest.

Nothing to do with the water pump  

 

I have a fan, (quiet, by chance), below the fridge in the middle of the boat which sucks air from the bilge to the back of the fridge. I thought it would help to have a fan at the front of the boat blowing the air into the bilge, thus forcing the cooler bilge air towards the fridge.

 

Maybe I dont need it?   

You don't need it, the fan under the fridge will pull cool air out of the bilge for the fridge so long as you have somewhere else that air can get *into* the bilge to replace it -- no need to blow air in.

[Tonka]

1 hour ago, IanD said:

You don't need it, the fan under the fridge will pull cool air out of the bilge for the fridge so long as you have somewhere else that air can get *into* the bilge to replace it -- no need to blow air in.

I did say that in post #4

[IanD]

29 minutes ago, Tonka said:

I did say that in post #4

You mean where you just sarcastically (and unhelpfully) said "Disconnect the fan" ? 😉

[Tonka]

41 minutes ago, IanD said:

You mean where you just sarcastically (and unhelpfully) said "Disconnect the fan" ? 😉

Well it's taken a lot of clever people to get to the same result

[IanD]

14 minutes ago, Tonka said:

Well it's taken a lot of clever people to get to the same result

But with actual reasons, not just unhelpful sarcasm... 😉

 

It's like answering a question "Does anyone know how to...[xxx]...?" with "Yes ;-)" and then after others have actually answered the question coming back and saying "Well I said it first".

 

If you want to both feel superior and put newbies off asking questions, carry on, fill your boots... 😞

Edited September 7, 2023 by IanD

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Tonka said:

I did say that in post #4

 

I guess you must have edited your post, because I simply read it as disconnect it (so that the noise stops).

 

That is no where near the same as saying 'actually you could just disconnect it because it strictly isn't required'.

[DHutch]

I don't know, but I do wonder if a low speed centrifugal fan might be better for creating a low flow rate against a reasonable resistance. 

 

Obviously it slightly depends on the ventilation afforded by your bilge already, and or if you are trying to vent the whole bilge, or just the bit at the back it tends to run back into!

 

But yeah, otherwise, try isolating it with a bit of that foam. 

1 hour ago, M_JG said:

'actually you could just disconnect it because it strictly isn't required'.

....because you already have one elsewhere.