Hard Disk Enclosure Mod Advice

[amjedm]

Update:

Almost finished

Right hand side view - waiting to apply the modders mesh (pictured), not sure what to use (might be Blu Tack)


Left hand side view with the 120mm Scythe 800rpm fan


Top view


Front view


What do you think?

Have to admit I have NO DIY skills (honest), I can't hammer a nail in straight

(Why I did the mod - after buying a Beige SATA Removable Caddy and attempting to mod it for external use (with a fan) I stumbled upon an idea , see pics above)

[amjedm]

bump,

had a new idea

advice please

[peterb]

Buy a proper external caddy?

[amjedm]

Buy a proper external caddy?

The internals are from a proper caddy , reason for modding is for better cooling.

The caddy had tiny 20mm and after prolonged use the HD would get hot as you'd expect and the fan would become noisy , when sorting out friends/colleagues computers I like to take a backup and depending on how much data there is this could take hours.

[Will404]

Lol, like the idea - reminds me of when I thought that a cardboard tube (made from cut out cerial boxes) going over the CPU HSF, and out to the rear fan, which I turned round to make it an intake was a good idea. Tempratures did go down, cos the CPU got cold air, but Dad said it would catch fire.

Anyway, from the pics I cant see where the air pumped in from your 120/90mm fan will escape - or will the fan be pulling air out of the enclosure. That would probably be best, to drill some holes in the opposite side of the enclosure to the fan, and have the fan running as an outtake fan, forcing the air to get pulled around the HDD in all directions

[amjedm]

Lol, like the idea - reminds me of when I thought that a cardboard tube (made from cut out cerial boxes) going over the CPU HSF, and out to the rear fan, which I turned round to make it an intake was a good idea. Tempratures did go down, cos the CPU got cold air, but Dad said it would catch fire.

Anyway, from the pics I cant see where the air pumped in from your 120/90mm fan will escape - or will the fan be pulling air out of the enclosure. That would probably be best, to drill some holes in the opposite side of the enclosure to the fan, and have the fan running as an outtake fan, forcing the air to get pulled around the HDD in all directions

The rectangle hole will be covered with modders mesh, the bottom of the HD will be facing towards the mesh.

The side where I hope to install a fan or two is the second picture - doesn't have holes drilled. Trying to get hold of a 76mm holesaw.

If I install a fan or two blowing down, then the air will escape around the edges of the hard disk. In addition any heat from underneath the drive should escape via the modders mesh?

[Will404]

cool. You could make some feet as well, so that the air can get under it easier so as not to have the desk obstructing airflow:

[amjedm]

cool. You could make some feet as well, so that the air can get under it easier so as not to have the desk obstructing airflow:

Have been thinking of those, better make sure the things works (with the amount of knocks, dust etc. it's had in the past couple of days) before I make some feet

[peterb]

Buy a proper external caddy?

The internals are from a proper caddy , reason for modding is for better cooling.

The caddy had tiny 20mm and after prolonged use the HD would get hot as you'd expect and the fan would become noisy , when sorting out friends/colleagues computers I like to take a backup and depending on how much data there is this could take hours.

I'm sorry - that comment of mine was a bit flippant - I guess what I meant was that it seemed a lot of trouble to go to when you could buy something off the shelf - but that detracts from the spirit of the project - "I'll do it because I can"!

So to try and add some useful advice... Remember that hot air rises, so you really want the fan extracting air at the top, so you will need feet to raise it off the surface it is standing on - and ventilation holes for cool air to be drawn in. (You could just as easily have the fan at the bottom.

You might find that with the cutout at teh top you get enough natural convection to keep the drive cool, but with regards to the fan size, larger fans tend to be quieter, and you probably don't need a high airflow, so a slimline 80 or 120 would probably fit the bill.

http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/prod...oducts_id=1215

(They did sell a slower speed version (quieter) but seems to have been discontinued.)

[amjedm]

I'm sorry - that comment of mine was a bit flippant - I guess what I meant was that it seemed a lot of trouble to go to when you could buy something off the shelf - but that detracts from the spirit of the project - "I'll do it because I can"!

So to try and add some useful advice... Remember that hot air rises, so you really want the fan extracting air at the top, so you will need feet to raise it off the surface it is standing on - and ventilation holes for cool air to be drawn in. (You could just as easily have the fan at the bottom.

You might find that with the cutout at teh top you get enough natural convection to keep the drive cool, but with regards to the fan size, larger fans tend to be quieter, and you probably don't need a high airflow, so a slimline 80 or 120 would probably fit the bill.

http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/prod...oducts_id=1215

(They did sell a slower speed version (quieter) but seems to have been discontinued.)

No need to apologise , I never took the comment like that or even realised it could be taken like that

I did have a look at off the shelf but would have to mod with a quieter fan (if the enclosure already had a fan), or buy a decent caddy and then add a fan, wasn't too happy at cutting aluminium with a drill.

I'll post pictures of the finished item later, have almost finished, stuck a Scythe 120mm 800rpm fan on it with a grill. Did test an 80mm Panaflo (one of my favourite ones 59p from Scan once in a while) but found it a bit on the louder side

[amjedm]

Bump - just in case someone's eagerly awaiting pictures - have now added updated ones

[manwithnoname]

Fair play for having a go.

Looking at the front view do you have some more pieces of wood that the left hand side was made from (the thicker wood? If so you could either replace the left handside (the one the fan is mounted on) then box in it all in with the same wood with small nails tacked onto the left and right hand sides. Sand it down and varnish it.
Another option, if you have have enough of that wood, put another piece of wood on the right hand side cutting out a hole the size of the fan, so the fan flush with the wood. May be add some mesh on that side over the fan as well.

[amjedm]

Fair play for having a go.

Looking at the front view do you have some more pieces of wood that the left hand side was made from (the thicker wood? If so you could either replace the left handside (the one the fan is mounted on) then box in it all in with the same wood with small nails tacked onto the left and right hand sides. Sand it down and varnish it.
Another option, if you have have enough of that wood, put another piece of wood on the right hand side cutting out a hole the size of the fan, so the fan flush with the wood. May be add some mesh on that side over the fan as well.

er em thanks for the advice but thank God I've got this far, as stated above my DIY skills are zilch

I think it's functional and I don't intend to move it outside the house so I'm hoping God Willing it'll be ok

[manwithnoname]

er em thanks for the advice but thank God I've got this far, as stated above my DIY skills are zilch

I think it's functional and I don't intend to move it outside the house so I'm hoping God Willing it'll be ok

Boxed in and varnished it still wouldn't be suitable for outside use, I was thinking more about dust and dropping small things on it: pens screws, coins etc. May be glue some thick card on instead? (Unless heat is still an issue)

When you run out of storage next may be base a caddy on a tupperware box with lots of holes cut in it.

[amjedm]

Boxed in and varnished it still wouldn't be suitable for outside use, I was thinking more about dust and dropping small things on it: pens screws, coins etc. May be glue some thick card on instead? (Unless heat is still an issue)

When you run out of storage next may be base a caddy on a tupperware box with lots of holes cut in it.

Good tips, I may have to stick some of that mesh around the edges in that case but I've only got a bit left now

It's quite easy to remove the hard disk (just remove the side which has fan attached - 4 screws) and then unscrew the hard drive so I intend to upgrade it

Have already been looking at the Samsung F2 1TB to repalce the Samsung 500GB.