Insulators for case fans

[Vigo]

I know they sell kits that come with little vinyl pads that you can put inbetween a case fan and the chasis.

What can I use around the house? Will a piece of electrical tape stuck on each corner with a hole for the screw work? Paper towels? What other types of material will work at dampening the vibration and noise?

[bailey]

all the case fans I have ever seen are made of plastic and there is no need to insulate a non conductive material from anything

[JPMiller]

hes asking about noise and vibration.... not electrical insulation...
-------
you know the foam sheet that was under your motherboard when you bought it? Ive used those...
an old thin mouse pad... old tire innertube, any thing like that...
I wouldn't use something like paper though... find something a little more sturdy and lasting...
I usually cut them out in triangles and use a hole punch for where the screw goes through and set them over the corners...
a dab of heatglue works also to hold them there without being permanent.
if noise is an issue, I also standardly use a dremel or holesaw to remove the "hole-punched" metal fan guards on the case and replace them with wire finger guards where they show, and nothing in the front where they don't show behind the front plastic face...

[Vigo]

Plastic or not...

The cheap case fans that came with the case loosen/tighten on their own- the vibration that occurs when it happens makes a significant amount of noise at times. Playing around with each screw- tightening or loosening with a screwdriver- usually fixes the problem.

So i beg to differ.

http://www.svc.com/sounddampening.html

I saw a similar "kit" at a local store that stated the pads were made of vinyl. So if anyone knows any other "good" material to use to absorb the vibration... personally im thinking of using electrical tape to line the rim of the chasis where the fan touched. Even if the tape doesnt absorb sound vibration very well i the fan won't be vibrating against metal.

The only other thing I can think of that might be causing the noise is the vibration between the screws and the fan... maybe the screws dont fit tightly enough?

In which case I guess I should just try some double sided tape.

Looking for more suggestions.

[Vigo]

Originally Posted by JPMiller hes asking about noise and vibration.... not electrical insulation...

Right... thought maybe I wasn't specific enough but the last line seems clear enough to me.

About double-sided tape... how long are the standard 1 inch adhesive cubes or whatever supposed to hold up?

[JPMiller]

Ive actually had some cases that I used high temp heat glue on... used it on all the seams and on all the screws.
Does a good job of deadening vibration and you just use a razor blade to trim it up...
-------
double-sided tape...
Heck Ive had those be good after 10 years on old AT cases when they were used on plastic clips holding wires...

[Cricket]

Rubber o-rings or grommets between the fan and the chassis used to be recommended in the past. It isolates fan vibration from the chassis.

Cricket

[sigmaseven]

Another good thing for sound dampening is something called "sound coat". Heard it from one of the mods at a HTPC forum. Go to http://www.soundcoat.com

[Vigo]

Thanks for providing a few more suggestions. I have no idea how much the solutions sound coat offer are, but they look like a little (a lot) more than what i want/need.

I did a quick google for grommets and found some cheap kits... i'll have to look at them some more... otherwise i think i'll just glue them as it was also suggested, or use double sided tape. I need to find out how well either will hold up (long term).. the double sided tape might reduce vibration since theres no contact between case and fan, and the pad itself should make a good dampener... but i'm thinking it might not be strong enough to keep the motor from vibrating on its own if the fan has a little give...

I'm still strangely suspicious of the screws and the screw settings as well. Since when i take the fan out, remove the screws and hold it in my hand theirs very little noise coming from the motor.

I'll try both out soon. See which one I like. Whats the best way to dissolve the glue if I dont like it? Nail polish remover? Run a hair dryer over it?

[bailey]

sorry guys, I have never run into that kind of problem, if a fan is noisey, I replace it, problem solved.

[JPMiller]

most often the noise is not from the fan motor... it is the vibration either between the fan and the mounting points, or the vibrations transfered through the case.
double sided tape will work longer than most of your components will...lol
you dont have to spend alot of money on grommets or anything either...
If you use heat glue, you can usually just peel it of if you dont like it or want to replace it...
if you use it to insulate the srews and mounting holes it will last as long as you want...
cutting out the "punched hole" areas in front of the fans will reduce noise and improve airflow as well...