avoiding dust build-up

  • Thread starter Thread starter Matt Lobegeiger
  • Start date Start date
Matt Lobegeiger said:
Hi again,
Just wondering if anyones got any ingenious methods of stopping dust from
accumulating inside their cases. Has anyone tried covering the airflow
holes
with fine mesh-type filter material, like the stuff in air conditioner or
clothes dryers filters? I'm guessing it would reduce air flow quite a bit,
and possibly cause more harm than good.

Anyone tried it or got any other methods?

matt
Click to expand...

I use Scotch Bright, the very course grade for filters and it works fine and
is washable. Don't get the fine grade because it is too restrictive. You can
also cut AC filters to size and they work good too but don't like
washing......:-).


Ed
 
stopping dust from
accumulating inside their cases.
Click to expand...

I have have all my 7 fans running on 5V, front fan hole
filtered with a piece few layers of nylon (lady) stocking, all
unnecessary holes closed with very good AirFlow thru case & slightly
positive pressure inside case.
Now it needs cleaning inside every 2y & once a year cleaning
the "filter" (few times less than before). You can see my setup from
inside on my site; maybe you will get some ideas ...
 
Al Smith said:
A worthy solution. But what about this? Just point all the fans so
that they blow air from the inside to the outside. That way, no
new air can get into the case, and when the dust that's inside to
begin with is all blown out, the case will stay perfectly clean
forever. Somehow I sense a logical flaw in this plan, but why let
logic interfere with its sheer elegance?
Click to expand...

I love it!

Jon
 
I use Scotch Bright, the very course grade for filters and it works fine and
is washable. Don't get the fine grade because it is too restrictive. You can
also cut AC filters to size and they work good too but don't like
washing......:-).
Click to expand...

If this is a personal hygiene statement I find it a little harsh and
some what bizarre :D



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John said:
A piece of packaging tape easily/neatly solves that problem.
Click to expand...

For maximum air flow, it's better to: 1) remove the stock mesh filter
from the plastic front panel, and 2) tape a piece of furnace filter over
the fan vent holes in the metal wall of the case.
 
Al said:
A worthy solution. But what about this? Just point all the fans so that
they blow air from the inside to the outside. That way, no new air can
get into the case, and when the dust that's inside to begin with is all
blown out, the case will stay perfectly clean forever. Somehow I sense a
logical flaw in this plan, but why let logic interfere with its sheer
elegance?
Click to expand...

DO NOT try that! I set up a system with several fans all blowing out.
The pressure on the inside was reduced to the extent that atmospheric
pressure crushed the case like a beer can.
 
Matt said:
Just wondering if anyones got any ingenious methods of stopping dust from
accumulating inside their cases. Has anyone tried covering the airflow holes
with fine mesh-type filter material, like the stuff in air conditioner or
clothes dryers filters? I'm guessing it would reduce air flow quite a bit,
and possibly cause more harm than good.
Click to expand...

I've been considering trying fine nylon stockings, since the close weave
of very fine thread would help to stop dust particles while minimizing
obstruction of the airflow. However, I haven't gotten around to buying
some nylons to try this out (I don't know anything about nylons, so I'm
not sure which type or brand would have the ultrafine weave that would
presumably work best in this capacity). I figure a square of the nylon
fabric would fit nicely in front of the fan, and every so often I could
just throw it away and replace it with a new square of fabric; a single
pair of nylons might thus last for a very long time.
 
Al said:
A worthy solution. But what about this? Just point all the fans so
that they blow air from the inside to the outside. That way, no
new air can get into the case, and when the dust that's inside to
begin with is all blown out, the case will stay perfectly clean
forever. Somehow I sense a logical flaw in this plan, but why let
logic interfere with its sheer elegance?
Click to expand...

It's not a bad idea, if the incoming air is moving very slowly (through
a large number of openings in the case, for example). If you can force
the incoming air through baffles first, that would work even better.
The idea is to make sure that incoming air is moving too slowly to carry
much in the way of dust (the more slowly air moves, the more the dust it
contains settles out due to gravity). Putting filters over the openings
would help still more. So you have slow-moving incoming air that isn't
carrying much dust, plus filters that will trap what remains (and since
the air is moving slowly past large filters, they'll trap quite a bit).

The drawback is that you don't have a lot of control over airflow in the
case. Cool air enters and cools the case overall, but hot spots may not
be addressed in this way adequately.
 
Matt said:
DO NOT try that! I set up a system with several fans all blowing out.
The pressure on the inside was reduced to the extent that atmospheric
pressure crushed the case like a beer can.
Click to expand...

Sounds like some pretty sturdy fans, or a large and/or delicate case.

It's true that relatively small differences in pressure can have wild
effects, though. I once heard about a design for some restrooms with
exhaust fans that were too powerful: they had to be changed because with
the airflow rating they had the restroom would effectively be turned
into a high-altitude chamber!
 
Spajky said:
I have have all my 7 fans running on 5V, front fan hole
filtered with a piece few layers of nylon (lady) stocking ...
Click to expand...

I've been thinking of trying stockings, too. What type of stocking do
you use for the best filtering effect?
 
DO NOT try that! I set up a system with several fans all blowing out.
The pressure on the inside was reduced to the extent that atmospheric
pressure crushed the case like a beer can.
Click to expand...

That's easy to fix, just increase the power to the case's structural
integrity field.

Stephen


--
 
I've been considering trying fine nylon stockings, since the close weave
of very fine thread would help to stop dust particles while minimizing
obstruction of the airflow. However, I haven't gotten around to buying
some nylons to try this out (I don't know anything about nylons, so I'm
not sure which type or brand would have the ultrafine weave that would
presumably work best in this capacity). I figure a square of the nylon
fabric would fit nicely in front of the fan, and every so often I could
just throw it away and replace it with a new square of fabric; a single
pair of nylons might thus last for a very long time.
Click to expand...

I've used nylons as an air filter. Don't know what sheerness they
were, just "borrowed" a pair from the lady of the house. They weren't
the thick kind though. I would guess just normal everyday pantyhose
for work etc. Nothing sexy.
 
Stephen said:
That's easy to fix, just increase the power to the case's structural
integrity field.
Click to expand...

If you lower the pressure in the case by only 3%, it will probably
collapse under the several hundred pounds of pressure that will be
pushing on it from the outside.
 
Matt said:
For maximum air flow, it's better to: 1) remove the stock mesh filter
from the plastic front panel, and 2) tape a piece of furnace filter over
the fan vent holes in the metal wall of the case.
Click to expand...

What equipment do you use to measure air flow?
 
What is the point of copying my header?
Click to expand...

What equipment do you use to measure air flow?

If you want maximum air flow, why did you complain about the hole
in the front panel?

Why do high-efficiency air air-conditioners use mesh filters?

Why do you keep changing the subject?
 
I use dryer fabric softener sheets - used, of course. I have the case
fan in my side window blowing in. This pretty much blows air right on
the CPU fan and Northbridge. The other 4 fans are blowing out.

I cut out a circle about 1" bigger all around than the fan size. I just
slap it on the fan grill. The suck will hold it in place.

It does work - to a degree. i.e. It gets dirty and plugged up. So, I
change it about every 2 weeks. It doesn't keep all the dust out. There
are other holes bringing air in. One of them is the lower front of the
case. I suppose I could put some of this there too, but it isn't very
convenient.

Therefore, I do have to get out the canned air and blow everything off
every few months. It isn't so bad. My Intel Active Monitor tells me when
to clean. When I'm working the computer hard and the monitor beeps that
it's getting too hot, I know it's time to clean.

Clyde
 
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