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captainfepa · 03-23-2006, 02:25 PM

I am new here so forgive me if this has been covered - I didn't see this on my brief perusal.

Many people are filling small closets with routers, security systems, etc that might benefit from some cooling, but bathroom fans are much too large and loud. I've made up wall trim for case fans from picture frame molding, mesh grilles, etc. but this gets awkward. There should be - and maybe is - a very cheap but attractive case fan mount/trim set for drywall partitions - something quiet and small enough to fit, say, unobtrusively over the closet door.

I am thinking for example of two mating pieces of formed plastic creating a square cylinder (short plenum) just large enough within for a 120mm 110VAC fan, each piece about 3 inches long and with a trim flange of half an inch or so. The plenum pieces would be sized so one just fits into the other, with opposing molded ratchet teeth to hold the pieces together when one is pressed into the other. One of the pieces would have snaps built in to hold the 120mm fan; the outer piece would have a trim grille and the inner piece would have just enough grille to keep out bats and fingers. So: make about a 4-inch square hole in the drywall, insert the larger plenum-and-trim-piece from the front, snap in the fan with its AC power cord, and press together the second plenum-and-grille-piece from the inside to secure the fan and enclosure through the wall. Sounds like this should cost less than five dollars (plus fan) and be much simpler to make than in-wall speaker mounts (since both sides of the wall should be accessible); and one basic set of interlocking plenum halves would adjust for any standard wall thicknesses. A deluxe version might have a temperature control or sensor and rubber mounts - but I try to be a very cheap person.

Yes? No?

03-23-2006, 02:25 PM	#1
captainfepa Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: md Posts: 3	Closet cooling? I am new here so forgive me if this has been covered - I didn't see this on my brief perusal. Many people are filling small closets with routers, security systems, etc that might benefit from some cooling, but bathroom fans are much too large and loud. I've made up wall trim for case fans from picture frame molding, mesh grilles, etc. but this gets awkward. There should be - and maybe is - a very cheap but attractive case fan mount/trim set for drywall partitions - something quiet and small enough to fit, say, unobtrusively over the closet door. I am thinking for example of two mating pieces of formed plastic creating a square cylinder (short plenum) just large enough within for a 120mm 110VAC fan, each piece about 3 inches long and with a trim flange of half an inch or so. The plenum pieces would be sized so one just fits into the other, with opposing molded ratchet teeth to hold the pieces together when one is pressed into the other. One of the pieces would have snaps built in to hold the 120mm fan; the outer piece would have a trim grille and the inner piece would have just enough grille to keep out bats and fingers. So: make about a 4-inch square hole in the drywall, insert the larger plenum-and-trim-piece from the front, snap in the fan with its AC power cord, and press together the second plenum-and-grille-piece from the inside to secure the fan and enclosure through the wall. Sounds like this should cost less than five dollars (plus fan) and be much simpler to make than in-wall speaker mounts (since both sides of the wall should be accessible); and one basic set of interlocking plenum halves would adjust for any standard wall thicknesses. A deluxe version might have a temperature control or sensor and rubber mounts - but I try to be a very cheap person. Yes? No?