Looking for a small and completely silent fan

Feek · 26 Nov 2019 at 10:23

Hi folks,

I've got a Western Digital My Book external hard drive sitting on my desk behind the computer. It's on its side so the air vents are at each end rather than top and bottom.

As a result, it's running a little warmer than I'd like.

I'd like a small fan I can just mount to one end to blow air through it but it needs to be utterly silent.

I have a 13.8V PSU in the shack and it would be ideal if I could run it from that. I can add a dropper resistor to reduce the voltage if needed.

Any suggestions please?

Thanks.

Feek · 27 Nov 2019 at 08:00

I do have a spare USB socket round the back there, this might be a more straightforward option, thanks.

/edit - I've ordered the 80mm one.

Feek · 28 Nov 2019 at 16:32

Well it's not completely silent. I wonder if I can drop the voltage a bit and see what difference that makes. My concern is that it just won't start.

Feek · 28 Nov 2019 at 17:12

Seems an expensive resistor to me!
I've thrown a 10R in the power line and that's probably OK. It's almost silent and is doing enough cooling. If I increase it to 15R then it's right on the cusp and although the fan starts, I can hear it pulsing as it's on the verge of cutting out.