FLA Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 My dealer used a panasonic exhaust fan to exhaust air and cool my equipment closet. I believe it is just one of their whisper quiet bathroom exhaust fans with some type of thermostat control that is supposed to turn it on when it gets too warm in the closet. The thermostat switch doesn't seem to be working because the fan is on 24/7 and is no longer "whisper quiet". Has anybody had any experience with this type of setup or something similiar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 I use these unless the closet has dedicated A/C, and they work great. Closet-to-attic: http://www.truaudio.com/equipment-racks/thermal-management/bg-cka-102.html Closet-to-adjoining room (if you cant get a vent to the attic) http://www.truaudio.com/equipment-racks/thermal-management/bg-ckh-102.html Note that you'll need an intake vent near the bottom of the door or something to accommodate the intake air requirement. All this does is promote a good airflow exchange (passive) but isn't active cooling, so your source air will hopefully be conditioned enough (IE not from a hot garage). *disclaimer: I used to work for the sister company of Boragear. The fans were assembled and tested by hand in Texas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLA Posted February 8, 2016 Author Share Posted February 8, 2016 1 hour ago, thecodeman said: Note that you'll need an intake vent near the bottom of the door or something to accommodate the intake air requirement. All this does is promote a good airflow exchange (passive) but isn't active cooling, so your source air will hopefully be conditioned enough (IE not from a hot garage). My rack is in a very very small closet. The rack is on casters and just barely fits in side the closet. The closet door is louvered and draws air from the living room. My house does not have AC but we are very close to the water on the coast so it it usually very mild. My problem is that I have never pulled the rack out of the closet myself because I did not want to take the chance of any connections becoming loose. I know that all wires and connections should be stabilized but several times after my dealers technician removed the rack some connections have come loose. I believe that was an error made by the technician but either way I have not wanted to take the chance until my warranty is up. Because of not pulling the rack out I have not been able to check on my exhaust fan but I can say that it is no longer whisper quiet and it has run consistently for 4 months or so. That leads me to believe the thermal switch is not operative. Did you have the Panasonic fans that you installed hooked up to some type of thermal switch? If so what switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 7 hours ago, FLA said: My rack is in a very very small closet. The rack is on casters and just barely fits in side the closet. The closet door is louvered and draws air from the living room. My house does not have AC but we are very close to the water on the coast so it it usually very mild. My problem is that I have never pulled the rack out of the closet myself because I did not want to take the chance of any connections becoming loose. I know that all wires and connections should be stabilized but several times after my dealers technician removed the rack some connections have come loose. I believe that was an error made by the technician but either way I have not wanted to take the chance until my warranty is up. Because of not pulling the rack out I have not been able to check on my exhaust fan but I can say that it is no longer whisper quiet and it has run consistently for 4 months or so. That leads me to believe the thermal switch is not operative. Did you have the Panasonic fans that you installed hooked up to some type of thermal switch? If so what switch. I didn't use the panasonic fans. The Boragear fans I linked to that we used - they were so quiet (because the fan itself is located away from the closet and in the attic) that 9/10 times we opted to leave them on all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLA Posted February 9, 2016 Author Share Posted February 9, 2016 17 hours ago, thecodeman said: I didn't use the panasonic fans. The Boragear fans I linked to that we used - they were so quiet (because the fan itself is located away from the closet and in the attic) that 9/10 times we opted to leave them on all the time. Got it. I don't really have an attic to speak of above my equipment closet . Just a small space about 18" high. My fan has been gradually getting louder, I beleive because of running all of the time and never shutting off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 9 hours ago, FLA said: Got it. I don't really have an attic to speak of above my equipment closet . Just a small space about 18" high. My fan has been gradually getting louder, I beleive because of running all of the time and never shutting off. Does that 18" go anywhere? Or is it just a sealed 18" space. Running a unit 24/7 that wasnt intended to will definitely shorten the lifespan of the components. Sounds like a bearing or motor on the way out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lippavisual Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Yup, sounds like the wrong part for this application. Those bathroom fans are intended to run for short amounts of time, not all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLA Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 15 hours ago, thecodeman said: Does that 18" go anywhere? Or is it just a sealed 18" space. Running a unit 24/7 that wasnt intended to will definitely shorten the lifespan of the components. Sounds like a bearing or motor on the way out. 12 hours ago, lippavisual said: Yup, sounds like the wrong part for this application. Those bathroom fans are intended to run for short amounts of time, not all the time. 15 hours ago, thecodeman said: Does that 18" go anywhere? Or is it just a sealed 18" space. Running a unit 24/7 that wasnt intended to will definitely shorten the lifespan of the components. Sounds like a bearing or motor on the way out. The 18" goes to an approximate 4'X10' overhang. The fan is hooked up to a thermal switch that is obviously not working. I'll report back after the 15th when my dealer is sending his technicians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lippavisual Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I can't be positive obviously, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the Thermo is malfunctioning or at fault. The temp in the closet could just be higher than the set point, which in turn sets the fan on. If the temp never comes down, than that puppy will run all day everyday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StroTek LLC Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I use a pair of these in my server closet: http://www.snapav.com/p-311-vs-hfb.aspx One at the bottom of the door to pull cold air in.. and one at the the top to blow warm air out they are super quiet and run 24/7 EDIT: I do have a A/C vent that blows air in to the closet.. when the AC is on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLA Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 13 hours ago, lippavisual said: I can't be positive obviously, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the Thermo is malfunctioning or at fault. The temp in the closet could just be higher than the set point, which in turn sets the fan on. If the temp never comes down, than that puppy will run all day everyday. Good point, but after installation it did not run all of the time. For the last few months it didn't matter what the temp in the house was, hot or cold it just runs. You can bet when the rack comes out on the 15th the first thing I will personally check regarding the fan will be the temp control. 11 hours ago, Johann Stroh said: I use a pair of these in my server closet: http://www.snapav.com/p-311-vs-hfb.aspx One at the bottom of the door to pull cold air in.. and one at the the top to blow warm air out they are super quiet and run 24/7 EDIT: I do have a A/C vent that blows air in to the closet.. when the AC is on Those fans seem really nice. If you don't mind me asking, what did they cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Retail is about $145 plus install. Boragear makes something similar. However, I hope that that cool components fan isnt from the same manufacturer as the ones snap uses on their rack tops - those fans are super loud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StroTek LLC Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 10 hours ago, FLA said: Good point, but after installation it did not run all of the time. For the last few months it didn't matter what the temp in the house was, hot or cold it just runs. You can bet when the rack comes out on the 15th the first thing I will personally check regarding the fan will be the temp control. Those fans seem really nice. If you don't mind me asking, what did they cost? I paid a little more than this.. but they are on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/HiFlo-Basic-Vent-System-Black/dp/B007J26QL4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLA Posted February 12, 2016 Author Share Posted February 12, 2016 13 hours ago, thecodeman said: Retail is about $145 plus install. Boragear makes something similar. However, I hope that that cool components fan isnt from the same manufacturer as the ones snap uses on their rack tops - those fans are super loud. 11 hours ago, Johann Stroh said: I paid a little more than this.. but they are on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/HiFlo-Basic-Vent-System-Black/dp/B007J26QL4 Thanks you guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.