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Cooling

[Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 18
Forum Member
in Sky #1
I have recently upgraded my hard drive to a maxtor 80GB the problem i have is its running very hot ...I have read several posts about peeps cooling there sky plus but cant find any details .....

How have you guys cooled your boxes pictures would be nice ...like how do you fit an 80mm stealth fan in there... I changed my drive because it squeal slightly but oddly only when the screen was showing something bright or white (hope that makes sense) but the upgraded drive is still squealing ...i took the cover off and its running very hot ...so how can i cool it ...i noticed theres not a lot of space to get a fan on top so where do i put it ?

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    mickeyboymelmickeyboymel Posts: 329
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    #2
    Presuming you are referring to Sky+, the latest software update delivered in the early hours of Thursday morning, activates the internal system fan.

    The Model No on a Pace V2 should read: 2.057B1.

    The fan will cut in and out as needed.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 18
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    #3
    mickeyboymel wrote:
    Presuming you are referring to Sky+, the latest software update delivered in the early hours of Thursday morning, activates the internal system fan.

    The Model No on a Pace V2 should read: 2.057B1.

    The fan will cut in and out as needed.

    Yea sorry it is sky plus...I have checked and i have the latest update but teh fan still isn't coming on ....i want to cool the hd directley and was wondering how some of the guys did it
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    mickeyboymelmickeyboymel Posts: 329
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    #4
    It will only cut in and out as needed, mine runs for about 30 mins every 5 or 6 hours
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 154
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    #5
    If you are getting squealing when certain colours are displayed on screen, surely it must be the TV, maybe the tube. Not your sky box.
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    Mark AMark A Posts: 7,695
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    #6
    When cooling the drive you've got three real alternatives.

    1. Buy a special power adaptor to replace the one feeding the drive. This has an extra flyout lead that will feed the fan. This means it will now be on constantly. You can temper this with a Zalman fan speed controller and slow the fan down slightly. This will make it quieter but it will be on permanently. This is probably the most elegant solution and one I would have done had I not already done...

    2. Take the cover off that covers the so called expansion slot and mount a fan blowing into the case, mounting it using double sided sticky pads in each corner. Remove the existing suction fan altogether and mount another suction fan in its place and connect both fans to an external power supply. If you make it a variable voltage supply you can control the fan speeds that way. I have 12v fans throttled back to 7.5 volts and they're whisper quiet. The whole box is cold to the touch and the hard drive is no more than warm.

    3. Take out the cover as in 2. but this time replace both the power lead and date cable with long versions and feed them both out through the hole in the back to have your hard drive external to the box. This will keep it much cooler than being inside the box though it does mean you'll have to rig up some sort of holder for it.

    Regards

    Mark
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 180
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    #7
    Mark A wrote:
    it does mean you'll have to rig up some sort of holder for it.
    I have gone for the "external HD" option. You can use one half of the existing metal drive caddy as a cradle to sit the disk in, and use some rubber door stops as feet so that air can circulate underneath as well. Then simply sit it on the floor behind your telly.

    Interestingly, having the drive outside the box doesn't make any difference to the frequency with which the fan comes on with my V1 box. This leads me to suspect that the standard fan is not triggered by the heat from the HD, and probably therefore that the fan doesn't do a good job of cooling it.
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    arharh Posts: 68
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    #8
    Hi all

    The 80GB Maxtor drive I had in my V1 box packed in yesterday. I went to put the old drive back in and realised that the 80GB one was really hot. I had kept an eye on temperature when I first installed it back in January and it didn't seem too bad, but it must have been getting too hot and fried itself.

    Anyway, before I get a replacement I thought I'd look at cooling so went down to Maplins earlier today and got a Fan Mate, as that seems to be quite popular around here. I got home, opened up the box only to find that the connector on the fan is a two-pin connector, but the Fan Mate is 3-pin. I've been looking at the Maplin website to try and see if I bought the wrong one but there seems to be just the one option.

    Can anyone suggest how to fit the Fan Mate, or point me to a link tha has the info?

    Thanks in advance for any help

    Anthony
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    spoonsspoons Posts: 427
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    #9
    I just pushed the old connector into the fanmate you only need to use two leads the other one is for speed sensing I think.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 18
    Forum Member
    #10
    Mark A wrote:
    When cooling the drive you've got three real alternatives.

    1. Buy a special power adaptor to replace the one feeding the drive. This has an extra flyout lead that will feed the fan. This means it will now be on constantly. You can temper this with a Zalman fan speed controller and slow the fan down slightly. This will make it quieter but it will be on permanently. This is probably the most elegant solution and one I would have done had I not already done...

    2. Take the cover off that covers the so called expansion slot and mount a fan blowing into the case, mounting it using double sided sticky pads in each corner. Remove the existing suction fan altogether and mount another suction fan in its place and connect both fans to an external power supply. If you make it a variable voltage supply you can control the fan speeds that way. I have 12v fans throttled back to 7.5 volts and they're whisper quiet. The whole box is cold to the touch and the hard drive is no more than warm.

    3. Take out the cover as in 2. but this time replace both the power lead and date cable with long versions and feed them both out through the hole in the back to have your hard drive external to the box. This will keep it much cooler than being inside the box though it does mean you'll have to rig up some sort of holder for it.

    Regards

    Mark

    thanks for your replies just out of intrest what fans where they
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    Mark AMark A Posts: 7,695
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    #11
    > what fans where they

    The ones I used were low noise 12v 50mm fans I got from RS (that's Radio Spares, not Richer Sounds).

    If you don't have access to RS which is trade only then plenty of places sell similar fans such as Maplins or any of the net PC spares suppliers.

    Regards

    Mark
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 18
    Forum Member
    #12
    Mark A wrote:
    > what fans where they

    The ones I used were low noise 12v 50mm fans I got from RS (that's Radio Spares, not Richer Sounds).

    If you don't have access to RS which is trade only then plenty of places sell similar fans such as Maplins or any of the net PC spares suppliers.

    Regards

    Mark

    thanks...I thought they where 40 mm fans so its 50mm then off to maplins i go then
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