P182 and Solo dampening - are they odorless?

Enclosures and acoustic damping to help quiet them.

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jaggoll
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P182 and Solo dampening - are they odorless?

Post by jaggoll » Sun Jan 13, 2008 12:35 pm

Hello!

I need to setup a silent pc for someone who is also very sensitive to smells - a perfumer.
Certain dampening materials like rubber, asfalt, or even other types of polymers are definitely too smelly, particulary when warmed up as it happens inside a computer case.
So, I'm wondering how odorless are dampening materials used in cases such as the Antec P182 and Solo, or even the add-on foams and packs.

Can anyone with those cases and some odor sensibility, please comment whether they are odorless or not?
How about Acoustipack foam?

Shaman
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Post by Shaman » Sun Jan 13, 2008 1:10 pm

The P182 doesn't have any dampening materials that could cause a smell. The side panels are a sandwich of aluminum-plastic-aluminum.

The Solo has a thin layer of poly carbonate on the top/side panels, and although I haven't used one personally, so far I haven't seen anyone complain about any smell.

Shadowknight
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Post by Shadowknight » Sun Jan 13, 2008 4:57 pm

After that "new" smell has worn off of Acoustipack, it, like the P180/Solo are as odorless as iocaine powder.

jhhoffma
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Post by jhhoffma » Mon Jan 14, 2008 6:39 am

Most of those odors dissipate in a day or two. Especially if you can leave the case open in the sun for a day or two afterwards. I've used roofer's tape (Peel & Seal) which is just asphalt & aluminum and it smelled for the first couple hours, but dissipated by the time I was finished later in the day.

You could also try self-adhesive vinyl floor tiles. They usually use a water-based acrylic adhesive that has no odor. Though using them is much more tricky and they usually don't look quite as nice when your done. I put an extra layer of foam (automotive headliner fabric) over the tiles when I'm done.

Das_Saunamies
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Post by Das_Saunamies » Mon Jan 14, 2008 11:45 am

Noiseblocker's Evolution Easycutz were completely odourless pre and post-installation. I'd say the same applies for most if not all of the PC damping products.

pingu666
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Post by pingu666 » Tue Jan 15, 2008 7:05 am

ive got recent experience of accousti and akasa stuff

accousti stuff smells fishy... its the glue/adhesive stuff that mostly smells. i let it air for a few days and the smell is much reduced. the smell changes actully to a kind of fast food joint with a hint of fishyness. the smell should disapate in a week or so.

akasa stuff has a strong chemicaly smell, which goes after awhile, its in my dads pc and ive never smelt it after the intial application period.

also check out the fan mounts, so i had smelt very strongly of tar, washing may help (could be mold release with the smell).

id advise cracking open the boxes and airing the soundproofing as soon as you get it, and preferably a day or two after application.

the accousti stuff does feel like a quality product, and cuts well, you get a small amount of bobbling on the foam sometimes, and it tends to cut larger than you measured out.

scdr
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Post by scdr » Tue Jan 15, 2008 8:48 pm

I don't have experience with the sound damping material, but
I do have a P180. It doesn't smell a lot, but it does have a lot of plastic in it, so it would not be my first choice for a low-smell case. I would suggest an almost all metal case.
Use metal mesh for any fan filters (rather than plastic filters.)

It depends on how sensitive they are. If they are fairly insensitive - then just avoiding plastics might do. If they are really sensitive you might do better to aim at low power, fanless or put in enclosure and vent outside of living area.

I have a friend who has multiple chemical sensitivity - she is very sensitive to smells/chemicals.
I have been trying to set up a computer for her for some time - it is quite a challenge.

Most electronics smells - power supplies, cables, motherboards, fans, etc.
Plasticizers in the fans and insulation, left over chemicals from manufacturing process, components of the epoxy boards, etc. ...

For really low smell I think isolation is the key. I don't think you can get a computer that doesn't smell (at least I haven't found one), so job is to keep the smells away from the user. I would either try to put together a sealed system - low electrical power (so doesn't heat up/outgass much) and low airflow (so can seal it up and isolate the smells from the user). Or don't worry about smells and keep it away from the user (put it in a box with ventilation to the outside, put it in a separate room, etc.).

Torajirou
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Post by Torajirou » Wed Jan 16, 2008 2:49 am

I'm the happy owner of an AcoustiPack-Deluxe-V2-dampened Solo.

No odour noticed. Be careful when lifting the case, though, especially if you're using heavy heatsinks like myself. My back hurt for days afterwards :-(

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