[TriLUG] Slightly OT: Are there Really Quiet Computer Case Fans?

al johnson alfjon at mindspring.com
Sun Jan 18 01:04:46 EST 2004


On Saturday 17 January 2004 09:48 pm, you wrote:
> Hi Folks,
>
> My job has me working within a six feet of a dual Xeon server.  It has
> at least five noisy fans, and sounds like a vacuum cleaner.
>
> I'm considering a ways to quiet this box, and one of them is to buy some
>    fans that claim to be quiet to replace the current ones.  I have no
> idea how much this would help - for all I know, it has them already.
>
> Does anyone know whether truly quiet fans exist, or is this just an
> advertising ploy?
>
> Another possibility is to buy some ethernet KVM tranceivers and move the
> machine elsewhere.  Besides the $$$ these cost, I'm short on alternative
> space.
>
> If you've had a good experience with quieter fans, or have come up with
> a better solution for this, please let me know.  Replacing the system
> isn't an option, but I've thought about putting it in a quieter box.
>
> I can't scrape up enough for one of these:
>
>     http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20040115/index.html
>
> But it sure would be sweet!
=====================================
OK, I can't guarantee that this will work with all computer case fans, but 
you might try this.  First you will need something called "BreakFree" which 
is a lubricant usually used to lubricate guns, but it can be found in most 
automotive supply stores.  Noisy computer fans have been a problem for many 
decades now.  You can fix them, of course, by just buying a new power supply, 
or you can lubricate them with break-free and they should run quiet as a 
mouse.  Most computer fans have a piece of paper covering the internal works, 
which you just puncture and then squirt the breakfree into the fan.  WD-40 
can be used but it doesn't last as long as break-free.  A friend of mine who 
has several server boxes keeps his computer fans running nice and quiet uses 
the method I've just described.  Incidentally, this trick is very old indeed. 
 In case you're interested, we used to lubricate Commodore 64 disk drives 
with break-free as well.  -----  Bon Appetit!    Al Johnson.




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