[SunRescue] Sparc 10 fan upgrades (was cheap thrills...)

[James Lockwood]

On Wed, 14 Jul 1999, Michael C. Vergallen wrote:

> No real problem on the Sparc 10's I've fixed the cooling issues by getting
> a metal closset ( you know the ones for archives) fixed some some high 

Heck, why not just get an upright fridge or freezer and run it at a very
high thermostat value (60-65F?)  This would dramatically cut down on dust
if you kept it as a near-sealed system, all you would need to worry about
would be dehumidification.  Carve some holes in the front and mount all of
the blinkenlights in plain view.  You could even use some of the
"standard" shelving, just add a power strip and hub internally.
Effectively a mini machine room.  This would also provide a good quieting
effect for the fans inside (you would probably want one or two big fans
just to keep air circulating well). 

I'm actually giving this serious thought, can anyone shoot it down?  With
temperatures down here soaring into the 90's even with air conditioning
going full-blast, I'm quite worried about some of my hotter equipment.  A
box of dessicant and a humidity gauge would probably work as a first pass
for humidity regulation.

> Or you can simpy modify the powersuply's last fan by adding a extra fan on
> a card like the ones mounted on celerons that slips just inbetween the
> back of the floppy and the first hd.. for the cpu's just add the same type
> of fan but their you'll loose a sbus slot...becuase you need to open the
> slot to extract air. 

Even if you locate a fan in between the floppy and the drive, you don't
have a clear air inlet path.  Removing the floppy drive solves this
problem and lets you use a larger unit.

As far as beefing up cooling in the CPU/motherboard area, I would much
rather add a set of fans to the far side of the case from the p/s to draw
air through.  One of the best design points of the SS5/10/20 pizzaboxes is
near-laminar airflow through the case, this is a good thing to preserve if
possible.  Opening a hole on the back of the case will let out some of the
warm air that has just moved past the processors, but will increase
turbulence and decrease cooling of the rest of the system.  I'm
experimenting with a bank of 3 fans on the left side of the case of my '20
right now, they seem to significantly drop internal air temperatures.
Granted, this machine has 2 SM71's and tons of RAM, so it needs it more.

-James