DIY or buy 120mm fan shrouds

  • Buy commercial fan shroud
  • DIY shroud with a cheap fan
  • No shroud
  • Something else

0 voters

Buy fan shrouds for pushing through a 240mm radiator, destroy a cheap fan and use that as the shroud, or don’t bother?

Also, is it useful to use a shroud for fans in pull?

In context, this is an AIO CPU rad bringing fresh air into the front of a 4U that does have a GPU and no top or side ventilation; only rear exhaust.

Also, given the conditions, might push-pull be worth the small gain? Might be building this weekend or next week. Thanks peeps

A picture would probably help

What do you mean by shroud? If you mean what I think you mean, then how are you going to make it by destroying an old fan?

Probably…

If it was me and no OEM shroud was available, I’d be inclined to just make one. Anything flat, formable, and non-conductive should work for prototyping (I’d probably use card stock), but paper is a fire risk so don’t use that for the final “product”.

Also, yes, pictures would help.

Basically a fan with no blades

Supposed to help even out pressure across rad fins, especially in the center

@psycho_666 you hack a fan into pieces until all that’s left is the frame

image

It furthers the fans from the radiator. Further away the fan is - lower the pressure is.
Am I wrong?

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Not if it’s sealed
The idea is that there’s a dead spot in the center of the fan and most SP fans blow mostly outward so it evens the spread by spacing it. As long as it’s mostly airtight, you don’t lose pressure

Got the chassis in today and hacked up some fans

The reason I ask “DIY or buy” is twofold:
Whether the time required is worth it (mostly already spent that)
and
Whether the extra surface area of the corners is worth buying one for, since my DIY shroud is still a circle.

1 Like

I would personally buy but DIY would be a good option if you get some sandpaper

Yeah I filed the rough edges down to be mostly smooth

Could 3D print but that’s even more time

I’d be interested to see a 3D printer variant just because

DIY as creativity / learning should be encouraged. Have some fun and if it doesn’t work out you can always buy something at some point.