Best Silicon/Rubber Mounts...

magic_p · Post by **magic_p** » Fri May 07, 2004 6:35 am

For fans:

#1 http://www.directron.com/fanfasteners.html
or
#2 http://www.siliconacoustics.com/fanisolators1.html
or
#3 http://2cooltek.safeshopper.com/62/464.htm?311

I have Nexus 120mm "Real Quiet" fans. The ones that someone reviews in a thread around here and seemed to like quite a bit so I decided to give them a whirl. Worst case, I send them back and buy some Papst fans.

In any case, I'm trying to find someway to mount these. They have "closed ends". This means instead of having discrete four holes on each side of the fan, you actually get something more like a single hole on each corner that goes all the way through.

It would seem that option #3 would easily work to cut down on noise and then I would just use normal fan screws. Option #2 has been much revered but I'm not sure if it'll work because of the design of them. Option #1 is just another version of #2, but I've yet to see a decent review of them.

For PSU:
Now for the PSU. So far I've only seen something like:

http://2cooltek.safeshopper.com/62/464.htm?311 (You can choose fan or PSU mounts on that page.)

Do these work very well? I'll be using a Nexus NX-3500 PSU. Will I even need something like this to get a silent system?

BTW, yes I know the PSU doesn't quite fit here, but I'm much more interested in the fan mounting than I am the PSU. My TruePower PSUs don't rattle as far as I can tell so I'm not *really* worried. It's more of a passing interest.[/b]

ahrbruz · Post by **ahrbruz** » Fri May 07, 2004 9:50 pm

As an alternative solution:

I mounted a 120 mm EverCool Al fan to the rear of my case using a combo of rubber grommets and nylon bolts/nuts.

The fan frame is 25 mm thick, so a typical 'ear' mount would not work.
The procedure involved drilling oversized case holes to accept the grommets. End result: fan totally isolated.

magic_p · Post by **magic_p** » Thu May 13, 2004 2:19 pm

So no one wants to take a stab at which one would be better?

SpyderCat · Post by **SpyderCat** » Thu May 13, 2004 2:50 pm

magic_p wrote: ..........
I have Nexus 120mm "Real Quiet" fans. The ones that someone reviews in a thread around here and seemed to like quite a bit so I decided to give them a whirl. Worst case, I send them back and buy some Papst fans.

In any case, I'm trying to find someway to mount these. They have "closed ends". This means instead of having discrete four holes on each side of the fan, you actually get something more like a single hole on each corner that goes all the way through.
..........

Those closed ends are nothing a file or a Dremel can't handle.
I used a hacksaw, and mounted the fans with the normal rubber thingys.

shathal · Post by **shathal** » Thu May 13, 2004 3:17 pm

ahrbruz wrote:As an alternative solution:

I mounted a 120 mm EverCool Al fan to the rear of my case using a combo of rubber grommets and nylon bolts/nuts.

The fan frame is 25 mm thick, so a typical 'ear' mount would not work.
The procedure involved drilling oversized case holes to accept the grommets. End result: fan totally isolated.

I can't quite imagine how that works. Can you offer pics? The request is not altruistic in nature, as I happen to have two Evercool 120 mm's which I'm currently mounting by plagiarising Bluefront's method of using cableties (which works a treat, as far as fastening goes).

ahrbruz · Post by **ahrbruz** » Thu May 13, 2004 6:31 pm

I don't know if this will help or not. The grommets are like a "Cheerio" (ceral breakfast food, not your 'goodbye') with a groove set into the outside circumference. The grommet is wiggled into position in the hole through which you would normally install the screw to hold the fan. The nylon bolt passes through the grommet to the back of the fan where it is fixed by a nylon nut. In my application, I cut the bolts to accept a 'cap' nut rather than a standard nut.

These two pics may shed some light:

http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ahrbru ... .dir=/e66c

mynameisyoung · Post by **mynameisyoung** » Thu May 13, 2004 11:23 pm

I believe the Rubber Sticks from Directron will work on "closed" fans.
There's been a few discussions about them on the forum, you might wanna do a search.

Apparently they're made by Verax and are as good as the mounts that Silicon Acoustics has.
I think the ones at Silicon Acoustics can also be found on www.mcmaster.com for a much cheaper price (20 pack I believe).

I actually ordered 3 sets of the Rubber Sticks from Directron, It's a little more expensive but having the ability to use it on any fan is more than worth it.

I don't know if they'd secure an Evercool Aluminum, I actually have that fan (I hate it, for some reason I get bearing noise at 5 volts). I'll test it when I get the sticks.

shathal · Post by **shathal** » Fri May 14, 2004 1:56 am

Please do - the one concern I have with the Evercool fans (while mine seem to be dead-quiet) to be the sheer WEIGHT of the monsters

.

Your results will be appreciated

.

mynameisyoung · Post by **mynameisyoung** » Fri May 14, 2004 2:05 am

Actually after posting here I did a search for "directron sticks" and I came across a few posts about moutning the Evercool Aluminums on the sticks.

Most people seem to say that it's pretty secure for the most part, but they would still not risk moving their comps with them mounted like that.

You should do the search it might what you're looking for. But I'll test anyways. Just to double check

mynameisyoung · Post by **mynameisyoung** » Fri May 14, 2004 2:06 am

Actually after posting here I did a search for "directron sticks" and I came across a few posts about moutning the Evercool Aluminums on the sticks.

Most people seem to say that it's pretty secure for the most part, but they would still not risk moving their comps with them mounted like that.

You should do the search it might what you're looking for. But I'll test anyways. Just to double check

shathal · Post by **shathal** » Fri May 14, 2004 2:08 am

Thanks.

Now, the OTHER challenge is to find the sticks in Europe. Are THESE the ones:
http://www.pcsilent.de/enpd_verax_fan_d ... r&p2=Verax

mynameisyoung · Post by **mynameisyoung** » Fri May 14, 2004 3:59 am

Comparing them to the pictures on the Directron site I believe they are, and other posts have said they're made by Verax.

shathal · Post by **shathal** » Fri May 14, 2004 4:02 am

*nods*

I'll hold off on ordering them 'til I hear back from you. If I can't move the case with risking the fans to break the holders off, I won't get them. Seeing as my rig will be moved now and then to the odd LAN / friend's gathering, that's something that it'll have to be able to survive (that, and transport itself, of course).

I'll wait with baited breath

.

magic_p · Post by **magic_p** » Fri May 14, 2004 10:16 am

It's "bated" breath.

Anyway, thanks for checking into the Directron/Verax sticks. I don't plan on moving my machine a whole lot, but on the other hand I don't want to have to worry about moving it if I do happen to need to move it.

BTW, I did a search and didn't find what I was looking for. Perhaps I'm not asking the right questions.

I also don't really like the idea of modding a $20 fan so I can use a $5 product on them. It seems to be that using the silicon fan isolators like Vantec and Antec sell might be the better solution. They aren't going to cause problems when moving the machine and I shouldn't have to mod my fan to get them to work properly.

loren_brothers · Post by **loren_brothers** » Fri May 14, 2004 10:19 am

magic_p wrote:It's "bated" breath.

Unless the "Big S" is actually trolling for something!

roflmao!

shathal · Post by **shathal** » Fri May 14, 2004 10:28 am

Yeah yeah yeah ... so it was a typo and I wasn't awake.

There.

Genuine excuse.

Not my fault if my brain is already 1/2 a sentence further than my fingers type ...

Metaluna · Post by **Metaluna** » Fri May 14, 2004 2:03 pm

ahrbruz wrote:I don't know if this will help or not. The grommets are like a "Cheerio" (ceral breakfast food, not your 'goodbye') with a groove set into the outside circumference. The grommet is wiggled into position in the hole through which you would normally install the screw to hold the fan. The nylon bolt passes through the grommet to the back of the fan where it is fixed by a nylon nut. In my application, I cut the bolts to accept a 'cap' nut rather than a standard nut.

These two pics may shed some light:

http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ahrbru ... .dir=/e66c

As a refinement you could use the EAR-style HD mounting grommets that McMaster Carr sells. These should give better damping than a typical rubber grommet.

euclid13 · Post by **euclid13** » Tue May 18, 2004 10:57 am

I'm using the Directron fan mounts in my PC. Used them to mount Panaflo 120mm fan in my case. I have moved it around without the fan coming loose. They work well. One benefit of these over the EAR style is the Directron mounts have "balls" on the ends outside the case that you can mount a wire fan grill on.

Grump · Post by **Grump** » Wed May 19, 2004 11:57 am

mynameisyoung wrote: Apparently they're made by Verax and are as good as the mounts that Silicon Acoustics has.
I think the ones at Silicon Acoustics can also be found on www.mcmaster.com for a much cheaper price (20 pack I believe).

Could you please give a name, part number or some other identifying description. I just spent the last half hour on the phone with McMaster's (after a futile search of their website) and couldn't find them. I have several other items to order from them and would like to get (or at least look at) the part you refer to. I like the Verax part and will order that from Directron if all else fails.

Thank you,

Grump

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Wed May 19, 2004 1:49 pm

Grump wrote:
mynameisyoung wrote: Apparently they're made by Verax and are as good as the mounts that Silicon Acoustics has.
I think the ones at Silicon Acoustics can also be found on www.mcmaster.com for a much cheaper price (20 pack I believe).
Could you please give a name, part number or some other identifying description. I just spent the last half hour on the phone with McMaster's (after a futile search of their website) and couldn't find them. I have several other items to order from them and would like to get (or at least look at) the part you refer to. I like the Verax part and will order that from Directron if all else fails.

Thank you,

Grump

Everything you need to know is in this wonderful post.

They're called "elastomer fan mounts" and are made by "E.A.R.". You can buy a set of 4 from Silicon Acoustics for $4. This size fits "normal" size flanges such as those found on the 80mm and 92mm Panaflos. You'll need a different size (available from McMaster, PN is in the link I gave you) for the thicker flanged fans like the 120mm Panaflo. McMaster sells them in packs of 20 and they end up costing half as much per piece than the ones from Silicon Acoustics. They're a little difficult to work with (until you learn how) so I'd recommend getting the 20 pack from McMaster.

You can also get the Verax fan mounts (for the closed end fans) from Directron.

Grump · Post by **Grump** » Wed May 19, 2004 8:20 pm

Thanks, Ralf. I placed an order for fan mounts and a PSU gasket.

Grump

akaidiot · Post by **akaidiot** » Thu May 20, 2004 4:24 pm

Grump wrote:Thanks, Ralf. I placed an order for fan mounts and a PSU gasket.

Grump

Where? Not McMaster? Do they have PSU gaskets also?

Grump · Post by **Grump** » Thu May 20, 2004 6:25 pm

I had to order from Directron. They had the fan fasteners I wanted as well as the PSU gasket. I don't know if McMaster had the PSU gasket, but they could not get me the fan pins I wanted. I'll tell you what though, if I need anything McMaster carries, I'll order from them. They really went out of their way to help me find stuff on their site and spent an inordinate amount of time with a guy who wasn't gonna spend more than 10 or 20 bucks. Their service is way above average.

Grump

Best Silicon/Rubber Mounts...

Best Silicon/Rubber Mounts...

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