What type of PC fan can I use on a cupboard door to help with airflow in the cupboard

Stevie G · 03-12-2019, 17:15

Hi guys

The cupboard under our stairs has a couple of NAS drives plus a router in it and gets fairly warm. I want to get fit a couple of quiet PC 140mm fans to the door and power them by USB, one low down sucking in and the other high up blowing out. What type of fans are best? I can't work out whether PWM or not will make a difference, and also whether voltage matters.

I'm thinking that if I get a mini USB charger, two fans (something like these Noctua NF-P14s as they should be quiet and low spin - https://www.quietpc.com/nf-p14s-redux-900) and a couple of 3 pin to USB adapters that should do the job?

Any advice, suggestions, warnings.....?!

target · 04-12-2019, 06:30

I have some Nanoxia fans from Quiet PC, they won't spin much below mid 40% of power. So the 5V of USB is REALLY cutting it fine...

My fans are PWM but the fan ports they are in don't support PWM. PWM lets you control the fan speed without adjusting voltage. It avoids the cutting out at low speed issue by keeping a 12v supply and the fan motor adjusting speed rather than it just running slower because it has less power. But you won't be able to supply the full power anyway so I'm not sure this will help.

driver8 · 04-12-2019, 14:07

Cool idea ! Please post progress photos ...

Reverend Scapegoat · 04-12-2019, 14:49

Do you not have a The Box/Drawer?
If so, you'd be better cutting the connector off an old wall-wart 9v or 12v transformer, and splicing the fans to that.
Little bit of heat-shrink, you won't even need to solder anything, and you're sorted.

Shingster · 04-12-2019, 19:21

I would have thought all you need are the fans with the most airflow? If so you need to google that and check reviews. I’ve got some fans in my PC that at the tome were celebrated for their airflow and quietness, but i don’t recall what model they were off the top of my head, will check for you later.

Stevie G · 04-12-2019, 19:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reverend Scapegoat

Do you not have a The Box/Drawer?

What do you mean?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shingster

I would have thought all you need are the fans with the most airflow? If so you need to google that and check reviews. I’ve got some fans in my PC that at the tome were celebrated for their airflow and quietness, but i don’t recall what model they were off the top of my head, will check for you later.

Noise is important too though, I don't want it be be noisy. Sorry, my wife won't let me have it noisy....!

I've had some advice from QuietPC and they've said an PWM is no good for what I need; I need a fan that works with 5v and have given me a few links. They've said that it will run at the full speed (1500rpm, 140mm the ones I've gone for) and if I need to have it running on a variable speed there is a way to do it with with a bit of fiddling, they pointed me to their video guide for it;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqJ45QkMZQY

I've ordered two Noctua NF-A14 5V 1500RPM 140mm fans so I'll see how they sound at full speed and if we do find them too loud I'll have a go at the method they've suggested.

Quote:

Originally Posted by driver8

Cool idea ! Please post progress photos ...

Will do!

Shingster · 05-12-2019, 21:46

Yeah sorry Stevie I should have pointed out that my PC was built to run super quiet for when I watch a film, etc, so all my fans are PWM and I built this PC about four years ago now so probably the fans have been replaced by a newer model by now, so it would just be a recommendation to look at fans from the manufactuer and see if you can compare them to the Noctua's, etc.

Anyway the fans are Phanteks PH-F140HP 140mm. At the time they were impressing reviewers with their low noise and high airflow, so you might wanna do a little google search on some Phanteks and see how they are performing these days.

bumfrog · 06-12-2019, 12:54

can't go wrong with noctua fans imho, Im sure they will do the job

Stevie G · 08-12-2019, 20:38

OK, so the fans arrived yesterday. They work off USB (using the adapter that came with them). I've decided to not try to cut the holes in the door by hand and have ordered a cheapish 140mm hole saw bit, so that should be hear by the end of the week.

Two other things I need. Firstly, the door it's being fixed to is a fairly old door and I think it is hollow inside, so I'm thinking it might be worth having a fan bracket to fit on either side. Does anyone know where I can get some 140mm fan brackets? I've googled fan bracket, mounts, frames, but all the ones I can find are RGB LED ones, which I don't need. I don't really want to pay more for LED ones that I'm just going to use as a basic frame!

Also, where best to get some long bolts and nuts to fit the fan screw holes?