USB fans and ambient temperature

[Andrein]

Hi,

Just ordered 2 of these 120mm usb fans that many recommend on this forum. Wondering how efficient this will be if the ambient temperature in the room is about +25-27c? Have a bigger blower in the room but it is quite noisy and hope to reduce noise but keep my devices cool.

I live in UK and dont have air conditioner.

Andrei.

 

[snakeeyes]

Hi,

Just ordered 2 of these 120mm usb fans that many recommend on this forum. Wondering how efficient this will be if the ambient temperature in the room is about +25-27c? Have a bigger blower in the room but it is quite noisy and hope to reduce noise but keep my devices cool.

I live in UK and dont have air conditioner.

Andrei.

I’ve never used these fans in Seattle but we do get a couple weeks of hot weather. They are cheap. Do they run silent?

 

[Andrein]

The model i ordered is rated as 19db. 104cfm. Should be much better in terms of noise than what i have now. My concern, will 2 fans be enough if ambient temperature goes say to 27c?

 

[PENG]

The model i ordered is rated as 19db. 104cfm. Should be much better in terms of noise than what i have now. My concern, will 2 fans be enough if ambient temperature goes say to 27c?

If you are using them to cool your AVR, as long as you have more than 3.5-4 inches of clearance from the top of the chassis, it should be good. The two fans should be very quiet you set the speed to low, or to medium speed if only one fan is used.

 

[snakeeyes]

I have plenty of space in one cabinet but still shopping for another room so may need fans there.

 

[Andrein]

All my equipment is in a separate small room which even with open window might have up to 27-28c inside. No other air conditioning though if the next summer will be like this one, i might need to invest into that))) In UK))) This year summer we havent had a drop of rain for 1.5month, and around 30c all the time.

 

[snakeeyes]

All my equipment is in a separate small room which even with open window might have up to 27-28c inside. No other air conditioning though if the next summer will be like this one, i might need to invest into that))) In UK))) This year summer we havent had a drop of rain for 1.5month, and around 30c all the time.

30c aka 86F is wonderful weather if it is clean air and a little breeze off the water. Unfortunately in Seattle summer we tend to go from 65 to 75 to a few weeks of 95 then back to 75 then 65.

 

[Drunkpenguin]

95? Thats a nice day in New Mexico!

 

[snakeeyes]

95? Thats a nice day in New Mexico!

Ya most people in Seattle have no air conditioning though. We live at 60 degrees and rain for many months of the year so a sudden bump to 95 is fun but can become hot after a few days. Also we have had smoke from Canada forest fires for several weeks this year so air quality is poor. Medicated eye drops help with that.

 

[KEW]

The model i ordered is rated as 19db. 104cfm. Should be much better in terms of noise than what i have now. My concern, will 2 fans be enough if ambient temperature goes say to 27c?

Tremendous amount of data including details of the heat sinks and heat sources to do a calculation like that. From a practical standpoint I think you are best off simply buying one of the infrared thermometer laser pointer guns which he can get from Harbor Freight for something like $18 and probably $25 from Lowe's or Home Depot.
Find out where the hottest spots are at the top of your unit and place the fans over the vent holes in the case that are closest to those areas. Monitor what the temperature goes to when you start using the fans. I'm not sure what is really a good number versus a bad number but I would generally look for at least a 10 degree drop from using the fans over not as an objective.

 

[snakeeyes]

Tremendous amount of data including details of the heat sinks and heat sources to do a calculation like that. From a practical standpoint I think you are best off simply buying one of the infrared thermometer laser pointer guns which he can get from Harbor Freight for something like $18 and probably $25 from Lowe's or Home Depot.
Find out where the hottest spots are at the top of your unit and place the fans over the vent holes in the case that are closest to those areas. Monitor what the temperature goes to when you start using the fans. I'm not sure what is really a good number versus a bad number but I would generally look for at least a 10 degree drop from using the fans over not as an objective.

I think you can point those at the bbq grill too?

 

[Andrein]

Tremendous amount of data including details of the heat sinks and heat sources to do a calculation like that. From a practical standpoint I think you are best off simply buying one of the infrared thermometer laser pointer guns which he can get from Harbor Freight for something like $18 and probably $25 from Lowe's or Home Depot.
Find out where the hottest spots are at the top of your unit and place the fans over the vent holes in the case that are closest to those areas. Monitor what the temperature goes to when you start using the fans. I'm not sure what is really a good number versus a bad number but I would generally look for at least a 10 degree drop from using the fans over not as an objective.

Thank you, Kurt. Yeah, I now see that there are too many variables in this equation. Plus I did not mention I have 2 computers in that room. One is server working 24x7. Anyway, monitoring should work regardless. I still hope 2 fans will be enough though

 

[PENG]

Thank you, Kurt. Yeah, I now see that there are too many variables in this equation. Plus I did not mention I have 2 computers in that room. One is server working 24x7. Anyway, monitoring should work regardless. I still hope 2 fans will be enough though

If you plan on using two Infinity fans, the ambient is below 30 deg C, don't worry about the calculations. If the temp gun shows the fans can bring the temperature to say below 40 deg C, you can slow one or both fans down to reduce the noise. If noise is not an issue then leave them at full speed. The thing I like about those Infinity fans is that it has 3 speeds.

 

[Andrein]

If you plan on using two Infinity fans, the ambient is below 30 deg C, don't worry about the calculations. If the temp gun shows the fans can bring the temperature to say below 40 deg C, you can slow one or both fans down to reduce the noise. If noise is not an issue then leave them at full speed. The thing I like about those Infinity fans is that it has 3 speeds.

Ok. Understood. One more question. Do i need to remove the metal cover to point temp gun to some internal parts or just to the hottest external part of the cover?

 

[PENG]

Ok. Understood. One more question. Do i need to remove the metal cover to point temp gun to some internal parts or just to the hottest external part of the cover?

No, the beam can go right through. I wouldn't bother though, because it is a relative thing, so as KEW mentioned, just move the beam around slowly until you find the hottest spot and stick with it to get consistent readings for comparison. With no fans, you will probably reach (Eco off) 35 to 55 deg C depending on your room temperature and how much space you have around the unit. Then with the fans on, you should be able to drop it down by 3 to 12 degrees C depending on the fan speed. That's of course just my educated guess to give you some ball park figures.

 

[-Jim-]

Based on a lot of the discussions and recommendations on this Forum, I ordered a couple of these 120 mm Infinity fans this week; even though I too live in the Pacific Northwest (Vancouver, BC, Canada), and I have a heat pump which provides Air Conditioning in Summer.

I just found my new Denon AVR-X4400H ran a bit too warm for my liking when pushed to near reference levels for an hour or so. The room ambient was about 22°C => 72°F for those metrically challenged .

I plan to dig out the infrared temperature gun, and see where the warmest area of the X4400H's case is after a bit more of my latest Rock & Roll Hall of Fame BluRay. I'll put one there and see what the results are before moving onto the second one.

However, I really miss not having a switched 120 VAC plug on the back of my receivers anymore. It used to be so simple to have auxiliary device turn off & on with the receiver. I guess I'll have to come up with an inexpensive plan B.

 

[lovinthehd]

Based on a lot of the discussions and recommendations on this Forum, I ordered a couple of these 120 mm Infinity fans this week; even though I too live in the Pacific Northwest (Vancouver, BC, Canada), and I have a heat pump which provides Air Conditioning in Summer.

I just found my new Denon AVR-X4400H ran a bit too warm for my liking when pushed to near reference levels for an hour or so. The room ambient was about 22°C => 72°F for those metrically challenged .

I plan to dig out the infrared temperature gun, and see where the warmest area of the X4400H's case is after a bit more of my latest Rock & Roll Hall of Fame BluRay. I'll put one there and see what the results are before moving onto the second one.

However, I really miss not having a switched 120 VAC plug on the back of my receivers anymore. It used to be so simple to have auxiliary device turn off & on with the receiver. I guess I'll have to come up with an inexpensive plan B.

Something like a smart power strip might be an idea....

 

[PENG]

However, I really miss not having a switched 120 VAC plug on the back of my receivers anymore. It used to be so simple to have auxiliary device turn off & on with the receiver. I guess I'll have to come up with an inexpensive plan B.

If it is for the fans, I am using smart plugs. Just tell Google assistance or Alexa to turn it on/off, or use the phone app.

There are all kinds of them, some have electrical certifications such as ETL.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=amazon.com+smart+plug&rlz=1C1CHBF_enCA790CA790&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiM_e3bwKbdAhVPSK0KHY-OBegQsxgIJg&biw=1745&bih=857#spd=7095390808585657924

 

[-Jim-]

Gents,

Thanks for the input. I'll check out these smart devices. Haven't jumped to Google assistance or Alexa yet. Somehow I didn't like the concept that these devices could be listening to our every word and broadcasting it worldwide. But I have no issue with a WiFi enabled plug.

 

[Andrein]

Are these infinity fans really silent? I bought s7 which is the most powerful from the line and still rated at 19db, at low speed i guess. All other models i saw were 27-29db at best. So had to order infinity from US.