# OT: Quieting a gear rack



## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

This is slightly off topic, but it does involve Roxul Safe-n-Sound, so I figure this is the best forum for it:

I have a computer rack at work that is really close to where people sit. It wasn't a problem until we ran out of space and now people sit next to it and hear fans hiss and whirr all the time. It's right at 85dB, so we may be looking at OSHA issues as well if we don't quiet it.

The gear exhausts to another room, so only the front is exposed. That said, it still has about 8 rack computers with fans pulling air through and it is plenty loud.

An idea was tossed around to put Roxul Safe-n-Sound in a frame and cover the whole front of the rack. While I know this will work for sound reasons, I'm worried about air flow through the machines, as that would basically be a really dense filter. Or am I worry too much over nothing?

Any other options or products that might yield better results? We can tolerate something sticking out 6" or so from the front, but a fake wall or big duct would probably be out of the question.

Thanks in advance,
Anthony


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

I think it would impede the airflow quite a bit. Maybe you can do it so that you leave just a 2-3" gap at the bottom along the floor that has free air flow. That would still do a lot to quiet things.

Bryan


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## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

Yeah, that's what I was afraid of.

Any products that are thinner that can at least knock down the high frequency stuff? It looks like I"m going to be making a custom "door" for the rack that has some Z duct channels to let air in and then have insulation lining the rest.


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## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

Bryan,
As a stop-gap measure, do you think your Screen Panel would work folded in a V in front of the rack?

I only need to knock down a few dB overall and keep the high annoying frequencies tamed.

Thanks,
Anthony


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Sure - if you need something that big.


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## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

Oh yeah, the rack is a 40U Rack, a little over 6' tall, almost full, too.

I'll give you a call tomorrow. Since it's for my day job company, I'll need a formal quote and need to know availability and such. We can do that via PM or offline.

Thanks for the help!


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Not a problem.

Give me a shout when it's convenient for you.

Bryan


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