PC PSU usage

I have a power supply out of an old tower computer that I want to use for a project. When I fire up the supply the fans in it make a lot of noise. If I remove the fans, will I have any danger of overheating in a wooden enclosure with 2+ inches of space on each side and 2 two inch holes in the wood?

Thanks.

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pcmorris over 10 years ago in reply to scorpion +3

Ben, I don't think anyone should give a straight yes answer to this question as getting it wrong is dangerous. Ultimately you really need to look at how much power your going to be dissipating in the device…
johnbeetem over 10 years ago +2

I wouldn't take out all the fans. Power supplies usually have a few key components that get quite hot, and if you don't have enough air flow bad things could happen. However, you may not need all the fans…
DAB over 10 years ago +1

Hi Ben, Sometimes the old PSU power supplies buzz when there is a short circuit. Others have a positive connection required with the motherboard that needs to be made before they will work. Make sure you…

0 DAB over 10 years ago

Hi Ben,

Sometimes the old PSU power supplies buzz when there is a short circuit.
Others have a positive connection required with the motherboard that needs to be made before they will work.

Make sure you get a users guide for the power supply so you know exactly what you are dealing with.

Assuming the unit still works, you can then wire it up, make sure you keep the fans and then check the voltage outputs under load conditions.

DAB
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0 scorpion over 10 years ago in reply to DAB

DAB,
I have checked all function of the PSU and confirmed they work. I was just wanting to remove the fans because they are making the noise.

Thanks,
Ben
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0 pcmorris over 10 years ago in reply to scorpion

Ben,

I don't think anyone should give a straight yes answer to this question as getting it wrong is dangerous. Ultimately you really need to look at how much power your going to be dissipating in the device to calculate what the temperature is like in the worst case operation. Obviously the designer of your tower assumed the unit needed forced cooling, however if your running at a reduced load this might not be the case for you. You could try running your setup without the box to gauge the temperature, fit a new fan to the unit or design additional hardware for thermal protection. The idea of running something hot in a flammable box always makes me twitchy, I would definitely not want to do leave anything I was uncertain about running unattended next to dry timber. Probably not a very useful response sorry but just be careful.
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0 johnbeetem over 10 years ago

I wouldn't take out all the fans. Power supplies usually have a few key components that get quite hot, and if you don't have enough air flow bad things could happen. However, you may not need all the fans if you're using less power -- check how the air flows through the PS and see if one fan could do the job by itself.

I would also look into replacing the fans with quiet versions. Quiet fans usually spin slower and have less air flow, but that could be OK for your application.
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0 pcmorris over 10 years ago in reply to pcmorris

Just to add im not recommending you work on it outside of an enclosure if that exposes you to live wiring, I assume the psu is probably enclosed but if its not, have it enclosed safely while live.
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0 scorpion over 9 years ago in reply to johnbeetem

Thank you,
This is the answer I was looking for.
From,
Ben
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0 scorpion over 9 years ago in reply to scorpion

johnbeetem
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0 moelleux over 9 years ago

Maybe you could just slow the fans down a little with some resistance. it would still keep some airflow and would be quiet
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