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

[Michael C. Vergallen]

On Mon, 12 Jul 1999, James Lockwood wrote:

> : RO
> X-Status: 
> X-Keywords:
> X-UID: 1054
> 
> On Tue, 13 Jul 1999 firststep at clara.net wrote:
> 
> > New user here trying to get IPX and gear together. This sort of stuff
> > will certainly help me in the coming weeks to get up and running.
> > 
> > More like this please.
> 
> Ok, here's another helpful tweak:
> 
> Those of you with Sparc 10's and 20's probably already know your biggest
> enemy: heat.  With multiple high-powered CPU's and 4 sbus slots, these
> machines can cook themselves in short order if they're not taken care of.
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 
quality fans in the bottom of the closset to blow air in and some at the
top to blow air out..taking out some metal and fitted some filters from a
cooker hood to replace open space created opened up all sparcs and left
them open connected the powercords to a powerstrib and network cables to a
hub closed the door and connected the one powerstip cable to a externally
located UPS and the cable comming from the internal hub to a externally
located hub. Now my sparc's are decently cooled...B.T.W. All my systems
are located in one closet ... I have 10 fans in the closet..this is
adequate cooling ...the fans are connected to a 250 W redundant
powersuply. Basically if you can't afford a professional computer rack you
can build your own..I've described most of the procedure above ...
hardwire the UPS to a 32A fuse with a spike supressor and a differential
for safety. 
> 
> Fortunately, it's easy to fix this problem, if you are willing to accept
> the loss of the floppy drive.  Procure a high-flow 50x50mm box fan (the
> front auxiliary fan from a Sparc 2 is the perfect size).  Using normal
> PC-style powersupply splitter cables, split the power from one of the
> drive bays and connect the +12V and ground pins to the power pins of the
> fan.  If you get a fan with the right style of mating connector,
> everything will just plug right in. Using a 1" long piece of double-stick
> tape, mount the fan near where the back of the floppy drive once sat (at
> one corner of the floppy bay "well", about 2" away from the middle of the
> drive). A small piece of double-stick tape is also useful for holding down
> the power cables in that area so they don't obstruct airflow. 
> 
> Power up and make sure that you are moving air, then put your hotter drive
> in and check the temperature every couple of minutes.  Keep in mind that
> you'll need to leave the case lid installed for best cooling.  I've been
> able to run hot 7200RPM 4GB drives in my SS10 in 80F ambient air, and they
> are only warm to the touch.  The case lid just touches my fan when it
> closes, holding everything in place.
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. 
Michael
---