Sunbeam rubber fan mounts work, no tools required. Honest!

Felger Carbon · Post by **Felger Carbon** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 2:14 pm

Right now I have Sunbeam rubber fan mounts on the 120mm exhaust fan in my #1 computer, sitting to the left of my 19" LCD monitor. I mounted them today, and it's good thing they come in a package of 16 because I busted some as part of an experiment/learning exercise. The point is, I mounted these in a filled, operational computer with no special tool(s) - just fingers!

In a second chassis, I have the SPCR favorite fan mounts - but I had to mount them with the case empty, had to pull the PSU out of the way, and needed long-nose pliers. I could have mounted them in a working computer if I had this special tool.

Sunbeam rubber fan mounts here, EAR/Acousti fan mounts and (US) here.

After successfully mounting a fan using the EAR/Acousti units, I ordered the special tool yesterday from Harbor Freight (the tool isn't that special, any tool shop carries it). I decided that since everybody (including me) agreed that the Sunbeam mounts flat didn't work, I'd expend the useless parts finding out why they didn't work. Instead, I wound up discovering that they were easier to mount than the EAR part. Here's what I discovered:

With the EAR mounts, one first installs them on the chassis. Then you pull them thru the fan ears. In a working computer, there usually isn't room to reach the bottommost units without the special pliers. Aside from that, installation is straightforward and problem-free once you realize the mounts really stretch!

I wound up installing the Sunbeam mounts on the fan first . I just used my fingers to pull the rubber thru the fan ear, pulling at a 40 degree angle or so. If you try to pull straight, the thing will break. With a little practice (a coupla broken units), you can pull these into place on the fan easily. Hint: the rubber stretches a great deal more than you would think!

The reason the Sunbeams can be installed in a filled computer chassis with no tools now becomes obvious: next the fan is placed inside the case with the rubber mounts protruding thru the chassis holes. All the important action now takes place outside the chassis!

You now use your eye (very important!) and fingers to pull the mount into place in the chassis fan hole. The rubber has to be pulled at a ~40 degree angle, and you can see the edge of the important part of the rubber coming thru. This is the easy part of the mounting process; placing the rubber on the fan is the hard part.

That's it!

Now the question is which is the better mount, since the rubber is obviously stiffer on the Sunbeam part. This would have to be discovered by experiment, using a suitably noisy (e.g. ball bearing) fan. The fan mass needs, for optimum results, to be matched to the elasticity of the rubber. I have no idea which is best. For instance, it's possible the EAR would be best on a 100g fan, and the Sunbeam best on a 175g fan (e.g. Papst).

In other words, it's conceivable that the Sunbeam is actually the better-performing unit in addition to being installable in a built-up computer with no tools. Or not.

Who has a suitably noisy fan, both Sunbeam and EAR mounts, and enough of a curiosity bump to carry this to the next level?

pangit · Post by **pangit** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 7:27 pm

I have used the Sunbeam ones and like a lot of people here I managed to break a few in the process. They aren't the easiest to install so I drilled out the holes in my fans a bit, and they seem to be pretty effective once in place. I haven't seen the EAR ones as they aren't easily available in Oz.

As for which performs better, I really think the difference will be so small as to be negligable, as it will be drowned out by the actual turbulence noise and any other noise inside the PC.

GHz · Post by **GHz** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 7:32 pm

I still have some of those Sunbeam fan mounts, and I still think they are total junk. I tried mounting them a hundred different ways, being as careful as possible, lubing them up first, drilling out holes, etc... they still broke. All you need to do to prove that they are junk is try pulling them apart with your hands... it's real easy. Now try to do that with the EAR mounts... good luck. I'm not going to waste my time doing vibration/resonance tests with a shoddy product that breaks so easily, there's no point. They would probably do better than the EAR mounts because they are thicker and softer, but again... it doesn't matter if they break so easily.

Sorry if I'm coming off as rude, but in all the silent PC products I've evaluated, I was most displeased with this product. It's the worst I've encountered.

Michael Sandstrom · Post by **Michael Sandstrom** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 8:37 pm

I like the Antec rubber fan mounts that ship with the SLK3700BQE and the Sonata. These mounts are very soft but seem to be durable. Although pricey, they are available on Antec's web site.

Felger Carbon · Post by **Felger Carbon** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 10:32 pm

There's no denying that the Sunbeams have more of a tendency to break than the EAR/Acousti's. It's a fact.

That said, I approached them as an experiment/learning experience. I tried different mounting procedures and I tried with tools and with just fingers. I expected breakage. One of the things I was trying to discover was what caused more, or less, breakage. I think I have a little bit of a grasp of that now. Some of the units that broke did so after I had successfully mounted them using one procedure, and I was trying a second - or a third!

Of the two URLs I provided, one source gave 4 EAR mounts for $3, exactly enough for one fan if you don't break any. And the one time I've mounted a 120mm fan with them, I didn't break any. The other source sells 16 units for $3. I think they expect some breakage.

I'm now confident that for $3, I can mount a fan using either product. What I'd like to know now is, what works best with the fans I prefer (which tend to be at the lighter end of the spectrum). I'd even like to know if the usual gasket a la Vantec works better - or worse.

My bottom line, absent performance data, is that for $3 I can mount a fan. Doing so fingers-only is a plus. Being able to do it in a computer with PSU, mobo, HSF etc already installed is a big positive.

GHz · Post by **GHz** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 11:18 am

FC, one thing is for certain: you're more patient than I am! Actually, I went through 2 bags of 24 trying different ways to mount them before I gave up

I did manage to mount one fan succesfully, but it wasn't worth the trouble. Now all I need are some angled needle-nose pliers to help install the EAR isolators in tricky places

Aleksi · Post by **Aleksi** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 12:35 pm

Stick type fan mounts aren't exactly a new invention. What makes the Sunbeam mounts so different from all the other rubber "stick type" fan mounts (is the material different when compared to i.e. NB slics), or are you guys forced to use them due to lack of selection in your country's computer shops?

I've been using fan mounts by Noiseblocker, Papst and a few other industrial brands (Actually I think the NB mounts could be Richco) and have yet to break any of them. The EAR grommets are a pain in the butt to install, but the "normal" black fan mounts you can see for sale often permit strecthing of several cm without tearing. Atleast in europe those black stick type fan mounts are probably one of the most common if not the most common fan mount available.

Btw, it's not exactly true to say ball bearing fans vibrate more than others. Only crappy ball bearing fans vibrate more than others. But there are "industrial" ball bearing fans that actually could be called vibration free

GHz · Post by **GHz** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 5:40 pm

There isn't a great selection of rubber fan mounts in the USA. The Sunbeam mounts are popular probably because they are dirt cheap compared to others available. I'm very happy with the EAR mounts.