Any way to balance a 200mm top fan in my Antec 900?

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hall1k
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Joined: Mon Jun 06, 2011 10:45 pm

Any way to balance a 200mm top fan in my Antec 900?

Post by hall1k » Sat Jun 25, 2011 11:44 pm

Title says it all pretty much. To my ears my setup is more than quiet enough, but the only annoyance so far is that the 200mm fan at the top of the case seems to be off-balance, vibrating slightly. How would I go about balancing it? I really don't want to buy another fan, I already dropped enough on this rig.

mkk
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Re: Any way to balance a 200mm top fan in my Antec 900?

Post by mkk » Sun Jun 26, 2011 3:24 am

If it's vibrations then a softer mounting is the way to go in order to reduce and hopefully quiet down the noise. Unless the noise is really a ticking or grinding noise from the fan motor, or such strong vibrations that it might suggest that the fan is really going bad. Also, disconnect or carefully stop the fan to make sure that it's really it that is making the noise.

hall1k
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Re: Any way to balance a 200mm top fan in my Antec 900?

Post by hall1k » Sun Jun 26, 2011 9:43 am

mkk wrote:If it's vibrations then a softer mounting is the way to go in order to reduce and hopefully quiet down the noise. Unless the noise is really a ticking or grinding noise from the fan motor, or such strong vibrations that it might suggest that the fan is really going bad. Also, disconnect or carefully stop the fan to make sure that it's really it that is making the noise.
Okay, I did stop it and the noise went a away. I don't know if the vibration is coming from the mounting, but it seems like the fan is vibrating laterally.

dhanson865
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Re: Any way to balance a 200mm top fan in my Antec 900?

Post by dhanson865 » Sun Jun 26, 2011 12:36 pm

It's a tricool 200mm. Does it vibrate noticeably on low or just when on medium and high?

hall1k
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Re: Any way to balance a 200mm top fan in my Antec 900?

Post by hall1k » Sun Jun 26, 2011 8:04 pm

dhanson865 wrote:It's a tricool 200mm. Does it vibrate noticeably on low or just when on medium and high?
Yup, it's a tricool 200mm with no LED. So far I've always had it on low. I don't think I can even reach that stupid little switch haha.

Should I maybe try oiling it?

jhhoffma
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Re: Any way to balance a 200mm top fan in my Antec 900?

Post by jhhoffma » Sun Jul 10, 2011 6:07 am

The larger Antec fans are notorious for vibrations. Mostly it's due to the thin frames, which are way to flimsy for adequate rigidity.

On my 300, I used some "Peel & Seal" around the frame to add some mass to the frame and dampen the vibrations . Also using some type of isolation/decoupling will greatly reduce the vibrations transmitted to the case. Again, if you don't have specialized fan mounts, wedging some soft foam between the frame and the case at the screwholes will work well.

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