Cooling a Server Cupboard

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Incindre

117 posts

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#113947 2-Feb-2013 11:29

Hiya,

I currently have my UPS and attached Router and Server in a cupboard to keep them out of the way. Obviously cooling was foremost on my mind so I cut a hole and attached a fan to it so it can suck cool, dry air up from under the house.

This works fine as far as the transfer of air is concerned, but the ultra fine dust and musty smell from under the house comes up through the fan and is now detectable outside the cupboard.

Does anyone have any advice on how to cool a small cupboard, or know if I can use a HEPA filter or something to stop the dust while still allowing adequate airflow?

Cheers,
Incindre

cyril7

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#754752 2-Feb-2013 11:49

Hi, why pull air from outside, whilst its cooler it has issues as you have found. Can you not just pull the air from inside the house but outside the cupboard, maybe a diagram or photo would help us with suggestions.

Cheers
Cyril

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jonherries

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#754756 2-Feb-2013 12:23

Vacuum cleaner bag (one of the cloth ones from the supermarket) taped over the vent? I will be putting one in the top of my cupboard to draw air through, the top is about 2200mm high so you cant see it.

Jon

Incindre

117 posts

Master Geek

#754782 2-Feb-2013 14:53

I've made a diagram:

Sever Cupboard

Note that the equipment sits on a false floor about 150mm above the actual floor (which as an unfiltered hole in it to allow air from under the house to flow). This space between the false floor and the real floor is free and a solution which could fit in this gap would be preferable.

cyril7

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#754794 2-Feb-2013 16:03

So could you put a grill in the bottom of the door ( I presume the door goes to the floor) and pull the air from the hallway or room its in, obviously block the floor hole off. Or as john says install a filter over the floor hole, Bunnings should have some options.

Cyril

Dairyxox

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#754806 2-Feb-2013 16:45

Maybe use your fan at the ceiling, to exhaust hot air from the top.
Make sure you've got airflow allowed in from from the bottom (preferably not under the house but instead from under the door/the neighboring space)

raytaylor

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#754980 3-Feb-2013 10:45

I have a shed out the side of the house which is sort of a workshop for me.
In the morning when the sun comes up, a solar panel on the roof starts capturing electricity to run 4 fans on the bottom of the door to bring cool air in, and 4 fans on the top of the door to let hot air out.

Here is my suggestion for you.

Edit - you may want to place a 20cm piece of downpipe below the inwards fan, so that the hot air coming out of the exhaust fan will not be sucked back in. It will rise and sit under the floor boards, where as the cooler air closer to the ground under the house will be sucked in.

Ray Taylor

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blackjack17

1624 posts

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#754998 3-Feb-2013 11:30

raytaylor: I have a shed out the side of the house which is sort of a workshop for me.
In the morning when the sun comes up, a solar panel on the roof starts capturing electricity to run 4 fans on the bottom of the door to bring cool air in, and 4 fans on the top of the door to let hot air out.

Here is my suggestion for you.

Edit - you may want to place a 20cm piece of downpipe below the inwards fan, so that the hot air coming out of the exhaust fan will not be sucked back in. It will rise and sit under the floor boards, where as the cooler air closer to the ground under the house will be sucked in.

Wouldn't it be easier/more effective to dump the hot air into the roof space?

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PhantomNVD

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#755031 3-Feb-2013 12:24

Conversely, just change the original fan so it pushes the air down into the floor, and add another doing the same, so the house/clean air comes in and the hot air goes out? I like the pipe to the top to suck the hot air down on the right, but all you need is airflow, why not just use negative pressure to suck it in from the room, and put a small bent inn the door if you really feel it's needed?

My 2c :)

Incindre

117 posts

Master Geek

#755621 4-Feb-2013 15:31

Thanks for the advice guys,
The suggestions of sucking the hot air out through the floor is a non-starter (physics being that law abiding citizen that it is) and drilling a hole in the rimu door for a floor level vent is also not a happening thing, partly because even the air at floor level is far too hot to be of any use.

A vacuum cleaner bag would require far more force to push air through it than my little fan could manage.

I've been observing the situation on a windy day and the dust was not moved so I'm convinced now it's just a small amount of dust coming through, so a heavy duty solution isn't necessary.

The ideal solution would be some sort of filter fabric/mesh that I can staple over the fan, does anyone know where I can get one of these? Needs to be around 150mm x 150mm in size.

ubergeeknz

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#755623 4-Feb-2013 15:34

Incindre: The ideal solution would be some sort of filter fabric/mesh that I can staple over the fan, does anyone know where I can get one of these? Needs to be around 150mm x 150mm in size.

Yep, vacuum cleaner filter. They come with some types of vacuum cleaner bag. That should do the job.

PhantomNVD

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#755829 4-Feb-2013 23:27

Or maybe a 'chucks' cloth like the blue and white very porus cloth misses uses to clean around the sink with?

I expect even cheesecloth would do the trick well too if you can get it?

timmmay

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#755876 5-Feb-2013 08:01

PhantomNVD: Conversely, just change the original fan so it pushes the air down into the floor, and add another doing the same, so the house/clean air comes in and the hot air goes out? I like the pipe to the top to suck the hot air down on the right, but all you need is airflow, why not just use negative pressure to suck it in from the room, and put a small bent inn the door if you really feel it's needed?

This seems sensible to me. It'll draw air in from the house, under the door, which should be plenty cool enough to keep things cool. Seems much less risky than drawing air from under the house.

Air from the ceiling can be 45 degrees in summer, so that's not an awesome idea.

Goosey

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#755913 5-Feb-2013 09:30

you could try an air or air cabin/pollen filter that cars use, or even an air filter from a ride on lawn mower or somthing. Supercheap auto?