- Joined
- Sep 1, 2023
- Messages
- 68
I have a VFD with a pretty noisy fan.
I've assembled quiet PCs before, and one thing I have learned, is that a larger fan can turn slower, and move the same amount of air with less noise. Another trick is to use more fans, at lower speed.
It turns out that the fan in the VFD is 2.5" diameter, so there is a lot of room to achieve the same airflow with more and larger fans.
The idea would be to build an enclosure with an inner wall that create two compartments: a lower one for the VFD, and an upper one with 2 fans at the back that pushes air outside.
The upper compartment would pull it's air by a circular hole in the inner separating wall, a diameter matching the fan exit hole on top of the VFD.
The VFD would be mounted directly under the wall, and would have air pulled through it by the fans in the upper compartments, instead of it's inner fan, that would be removed.
The lower compartment would have holes in the bottom for the air to enter.
I will only know the noise efficiency of this design once I build it, but I believe if I start with 2 large silent fans and turn them slow enough, it can be pretty decent.
Should it still be noisy to my taste, there would be a few upgrades possible: I could add mass to the walls, add rock wool insulation, add a 3rd fan on the floor of the bottom to push air and turn the fans even slower.
The fans can also driven by a controller that uses a thermocouple, such controllers are dirt cheap.
Would appreciate any thoughts on the design, possible improvements, etc.
I've assembled quiet PCs before, and one thing I have learned, is that a larger fan can turn slower, and move the same amount of air with less noise. Another trick is to use more fans, at lower speed.
It turns out that the fan in the VFD is 2.5" diameter, so there is a lot of room to achieve the same airflow with more and larger fans.
The idea would be to build an enclosure with an inner wall that create two compartments: a lower one for the VFD, and an upper one with 2 fans at the back that pushes air outside.
The upper compartment would pull it's air by a circular hole in the inner separating wall, a diameter matching the fan exit hole on top of the VFD.
The VFD would be mounted directly under the wall, and would have air pulled through it by the fans in the upper compartments, instead of it's inner fan, that would be removed.
The lower compartment would have holes in the bottom for the air to enter.
I will only know the noise efficiency of this design once I build it, but I believe if I start with 2 large silent fans and turn them slow enough, it can be pretty decent.
Should it still be noisy to my taste, there would be a few upgrades possible: I could add mass to the walls, add rock wool insulation, add a 3rd fan on the floor of the bottom to push air and turn the fans even slower.
The fans can also driven by a controller that uses a thermocouple, such controllers are dirt cheap.
Would appreciate any thoughts on the design, possible improvements, etc.
