Rubber fan mounts, penguins, nasty ogre, and some solutions

[Felger Carbon]

"This book told me more about penguins than I really ever wanted to know" - a little girl's famous book review.

There are lots of rubber mounts and most of them work fine. Each has its mounting ideosyncracies. If you know all this, then you don't need any of the following material. If you're new at using rubber fan mounts, what follows may prove useful.

All rubber fan mounts use rubber to couple the fan to the chassis. IMHO, they all work equally well if they can be installed at all. The latter phrase is what this writeup is about.

Two fan types to be mounted: those with two ears (C-M SUF, S-Flex) and those with bridged ears (Yate Loon, GW NCB).

The obligatory ogre from left field: exhaust fan rubber mounts can easily have a nasty conflict with the left side cover. So, I offer a surgical solution that defeats Mr. L.F. Ogre.

You only have one fan to mount. Below you will find detailed instructions on how to mount your fan.
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Two-ear fan (e.g. C-M SUF or S-Flex): use these. First, mount the rubber in the fan ears on the exhaust side (for an exhaust fan). Use pliers to pull the rubber into position and don't be gentle; these are rugged mounts. Then place the fan into position inside the chassis so that rubber protrudes out of the fan mounting holes. Use your fingers to pull the rubber through the mounting hole, 4 times. Voila! Your fan is mounted, but we're not through yet. Now try installing the left side cover. Got an interference with the rubber protruding out the back of the chassis? I thought so. Set the side cover aside. Use dikes (short for 'diagonal cutters', a common electronic tool) or a very sharp single-edge razor blade to slice off all but 1/16" of the largest-diameter part of the rubber. The side cover should now fit. If it's still too tight, use pliers to slightly bend the side cover sheet metal where it meets the rubber. Obviously, this mounting procedure also works in a populated chassis.
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Bridged-ear fan (e.g. YL or GW): use these if your chassis is unpopulated (no HSF or VGA). First insert the rubber sticks from the rear and pull them into position so that only two of the three end "flats" remain outside the case. This takes very little force. Now, inside the chassis, "thread" the rubber sticks into the fan holes. About a 1/4" of rubber will protrude out the other side of the fan. Do the following for all 4 sticks, in three stages: 1) pull ennough of the stick through the fan so that all of the first wide rubber cone enters the fan; this will hold that stick in place while you deal with the other 3 sticks. Now that all 4 sticks are secure, 2) pull more of the rubber through the fan until the first wide rubber cone fully emerges from the far side of the fan; do this for all 4 sticks. 3) Push the fan toward the back panel while pulling the stick to seat the rubber. When the rubber is properly seated, the cone will be about 0.1" past the fan body, and there will be 1/16" of 'slop' in the fit to the chassis. This 'slop' is designed into the rubber stick and is normal. Two "flats" will protrude out the rear of the chassis.

Now try installing the left side cover. Got an interference with the rubber protruding out the back of the chassis? I thought so. Set the side cover aside. Use dikes (short for 'diagonal cutters', a common electronic tool) or a very sharp single-edge razor blade to slice off all but one "flat". The side cover should now fit. If it's still too tight, use pliers to slightly bend the side cover sheet metal where it meets the rubber.
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Got a bridged fan and a fully populated chassis with a tall HSF that you don't want to remove? Then you will need these rubber sticks. First, mount the rubber washers on the rubber sticks. Then insert the rubber sticks into the fan from the exhaust side of the fan, and pull them all the way into the fan. Once the rubber sticks are mounted in the fan, put the fan inside the case so that the round rubber knobs protrude through the chassis fan mounting holes. Pull on each knob in turn until all of each rubber knob is all the way through the fan mounting hole.

Be sure the work area is well lit and that you have a clear view of the rubber heads. Firmly pull on the rubber head so that the flat shoulder is pulled through the chassis fan mounting hole. This works best if you pull the rubber at an angle until the first part of the shoulder comes through, and then pull at different angles until the entire shoulder emerges. You must have a clear view of this process.

Now that all 4 shoulders are through the metal chassis, you must 'seat' the rubber sticks. Push the fan toward the chassis while not-too-firmly pulling a stick. Do this too hard and you'll pull the stick all the way through the chassis mounting hole again! What you want to do is 'sneak up on it'.

Now try installing the left side cover. Got an interference with the rubber knob protruding out the back of the chassis? I thought so. Set the side cover aside. Use dikes (short for 'diagonal cutters', a common electronic tool) or a very sharp single-edge razor blade to slice off the knob while leaving the flat rubber shoulder. The side cover should now fit. If it's still too tight, use pliers to slightly bend the side cover sheet metal where it meets the rubber.

[JVM]

I've tried both the Verax sticks and the ones from Jab-tech that look like those sold in the Nexus kit. With the P150 case, the Verax sticks don't work because the rear case fan holes are too large and the whole stick gets pulled through.

The ones from Jab-tech (Nexus?) do not hold the fan as securely as I would like--there is some play in the fitting and I'm not so sure that's a good thing--again, this is with the P150 case.

I have the Verax sticks mounting the Papst in my Sonata case and it gives a tighter fit than the ones from Jab-tech that I tried in the P150.

[Felger Carbon]

With the P150 case, the Verax sticks don't work because the rear case fan holes are too large and the whole stick gets pulled through.

I have the Verax sticks mounting the Papst in my Sonata case and it gives a tighter fit than the ones from Jab-tech that I tried in the P150.

Don't use Verax sticks with the P150 and do use them with the Sonata. OK.

The ones from Jab-tech (Nexus?) do not hold the fan as securely as I would like--there is some play in the fitting and I'm not so sure that's a good thing--again, this is with the P150 case.

The 'slop', as I described it in my writeup, is deliberately designed in by the makers of the rubber mounts. It's a feature, not a bug. It assures that the fan is not tightly coupled to the case. If you want the case-fan to be tightly coupled, I'd recommend you use metal screws.

[Tyrven]

Another helpful post - thanks for the reference. I was curious how easy (or not) these were to install and also how tight they held the fan to the case. This addressed both issues.

I'm also glad to hear that brand isn't so critical; based on SPCR reviews I had considered the EAR version, but they are only available at a single shop (that I've found).

[JVM]

With the P150 case, the Verax sticks don't work because the rear case fan holes are too large and the whole stick gets pulled through.

I have the Verax sticks mounting the Papst in my Sonata case and it gives a tighter fit than the ones from Jab-tech that I tried in the P150.

Don't use Verax sticks with the P150 and do use them with the Sonata. OK.

The ones from Jab-tech (Nexus?) do not hold the fan as securely as I would like--there is some play in the fitting and I'm not so sure that's a good thing--again, this is with the P150 case.

The 'slop', as I described it in my writeup, is deliberately designed in by the makers of the rubber mounts. It's a feature, not a bug. It assures that the fan is not tightly coupled to the case. If you want the case-fan to be tightly coupled, I'd recommend you use metal screws.

As I said above, the Verax sticks hold the fan tightly, and the EAR fasteners also hold the fan tightly--your analogy with metal screws escapes me.

[Felger Carbon]

As I said above, the Verax sticks hold the fan tightly, and the EAR fasteners also hold the fan tightly--your analogy with metal screws escapes me.

In fact, how tightly the Verax sticks hold the fan to the case is entirely under the control of how the user "seats" the Verax sticks. The sticks can be seated loosely, tightly, or in between. If seated tightly, there's a real danger a Verax stick will be pulled all the way into the case (as you noted happened with one of your Antec cases).

My directions emphasized that seating the Verax stick was to be done slowly and hence carefully. I did not try to dictate that the final result be loose or tight; I believe in freedom of choice. If you like to tightly couple your fan to your case, more power to you. I attend a different house of worship.

[JVM]

As I said above, the Verax sticks hold the fan tightly, and the EAR fasteners also hold the fan tightly--your analogy with metal screws escapes me.

In fact, how tightly the Verax sticks hold the fan to the case is entirely under the control of how the user "seats" the Verax sticks. The sticks can be seated loosely, tightly, or in between. If seated tightly, there's a real danger a Verax stick will be pulled all the way into the case (as you noted happened with one of your Antec cases).

My directions emphasized that seating the Verax stick was to be done slowly and hence carefully. I did not try to dictate that the final result be loose or tight; I believe in freedom of choice. If you like to tightly couple your fan to your case, more power to you. I attend a different house of worship.

Felger,

The Verax sticks that hold the Papst in my Sonata are seated correctly and hold the fan tightly--they are seated exactly as stated by the directions. The reason the Verax sticks do not work in the rear of the P150 is because the fan holes are larger than in the Sonata, so they get pulled through--completely pulled through and that means the whole stick including the little nubby end. Otherwise, the fan is wobbly, and by that I mean the fan can easily be moved--not like in my Sonata where it is tight and same installation.

[cpemma]

Do any of these rubber mounts work with a wire fan grille?

[Felger Carbon]

Do any of these rubber mounts work with a wire fan grille?

Yes. The "long stick" sold by Jab-Tech and elsewhere is specifically designed to mount a wire grill. I'm using this part, along with the closed-corner GW NCB fan, as mods in all 3 of my PowerMan PSUs, and they do have the wire grills in place.

See the two levels at the top? The wire grill loop fits between those two levels. I believe this "long stick" can also be used on open-corner fans such as the CM SUF12s. Just cut off the excess length.

[cpemma]

Thanks, I think I see the one you mean. Unfortunately our UK choice seems to be much more limited at the moment.

[Felger Carbon]

Thanks, I think I see the one you mean. Unfortunately our UK choice seems to be much more limited at the moment.

Yep, them's the ones. I first saw them advertised in Australia. They come in the <$20 Nexus anti-vibration kit, along with a bunch of other stuff. I'd be surprised if nobody in your neck of the woods carried them.

[Shadowknight]

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=21152 includes a place or two in the U.K. and Australia of places that sell rubber sticks that allow you to mount closed flange fans in addition to mounting aftermarket grills.

[whoatethepies]

You can get the Nexus Anti Vibration Kit from KustomPCs in the UK for £12.