AV Cupboard Cooling Project - Advice Please

[richardirv]

Hi all, I would like some advice from anyone who may of had similar issues or just has good knowledge of fans contained in boxes!

I have just completed a mini project to install some cooling into my av unit which was suffering from overheating.

My solution has fixed the problem but I am struggling with the noise levels generated while the fans are on.

I have purchased the AC Infinity T7 and S7 which are supposed to be silent fans and they did appear so when I tested them before installing but now they are installed I am experiencing what I describe as a tunnel effect.

When the TV is on during the day its not too bad you don't notice the fans coming on but as soon as it gets to evening time I start noticing the fans running. They spin up and down depending on the temp so they might only come on for 10 - 30 seconds but it gets really annoying for me. This is the lowest possible fan speed I am talking about too. There are 3 settings.

My first question is can I buy something that I can connect in between the fans and the controller which is all USB not PC PMW to lower the fan speed beyond what the controller is allowing?

My second question is, is there anything I can do with my setup bar moving the fans to try and stop the noise of the fans being so audible? I am thinking dampening or sound deflection!!

I really feel that AC Infinity have dropped a ball here not giving more customization the the fan speeds, for me the lowest fan setting is just too fast.

Have a look at my setup and I would really appreciate some advice.

Cheers

 

[Ste]

Nice

Have you thought about running them on max with resistors in series to drop to 5v? You'd need to check they don't stall but that's probably as slow as you can get.

 

[richardirv]

Thanks for the input, I have actually kind of solved my own problem last night, the controller has 2 usb ports which I had initially used 1 per pair of fans.

I knew you could daisy chain the fans but hadn't tried it. I realised last night that if you do daisy chain them they must share the voltage.

Once I hooked them up through 1 usb port both pairs dropped in RPM just enough to solve all my problems, they appear to run just fast enough to not stall.

To say I am pleased is an understatement as these fan sets ain't the cheapest.

Can't hear anything now on low and even medium and high fan speeds are far quieter than before. The tunnel effect has also now gone! I know they are not pushing as much air as they were but its still keeping my unit nice and cool and most importantly its now quiet!