Newbie Q: Push or pull fans on radiator?

stoff · 12-02-2002, 12:49 AM

I salute the highly estimated members out in the very fine art of water cooling with a total newbie question:

What is most efficient: To have the fans pull or push air through the radiator (a Innovatek Dual with two papst 120 mm 7 volt mod fans)?

Very low noise is the game here, and I plan to mount the radiator on top on the case with the air being blown up.

I still don't know whether I will make an air vent channel to supply the fan/radiator with fresh cool air from outside the case or will settle with blowing the case air out. :shrug:

Regards, stoff

Hallis · 12-02-2002, 02:50 AM

Well, Most that i have seen were Radiators mounted on the inside, with a single fan drawing in air from outside the case and through the radiator, Pulling. Your system should work fine with one thing in consideration. The eir going through your Radiator as it reads will be internal case air which will be warmer than the ambient room temp. If you are goung to go with this i suggest ducting the air from another place adjacent to the outside like another fan hole used as a "suck" hole. Or you could save yourself the trouble and do it like 90% of the population of Extreme Coolers because Ducting=more time + more money.

*Edit for 3AM Typo Patrol*

MadDogMe · 12-02-2002, 04:02 AM

Highly "estimated" :? ...

Pulling air through, I've never seen an argument against, well one!, but that was saying it was more noisey, which I took to mean more air was going through the rad...

gmat · 12-02-2002, 04:10 AM

This is a FAQ, you could consider a search in this forum on this topic.
To be short the answer is "pulling is better with axial fans".

As for blowing the case air out it may be a good idea if you've got hot components in there that need airflow. If not you'll get better cooling by ducting from the outside.

stoff · 12-02-2002, 06:11 AM

Thanks for the replies (and sorry about missing the FAQ)!

Gonna go home and do some thinking about some case mod'ing! I will make some air duct.

Regards, stoff

MadDogMe · 12-02-2002, 06:56 AM

What size rad have you got or are thinking about?. best place is at the bottom front of the case IMO, drawing air in over the rad, and the rad air is used to cool the mobo case as well, IMO it's hardly any warmer for having gone through the rad and is better put to use than venting it straight back out again, a blowhole up top of the case will give it somewhere to go...

Brians256 · 12-02-2002, 12:57 PM

I push case air out through my radiator so that my heater core is my fan grill. So, air comes in through the front (hard drive caddies and a grill on the bottom) and exhausts through the heatercore. The temps seem fine with this setup although it would always be better to use "fresh" air for the heater core for lower temps.

I would like to use only one set of fans on my case, but it seems that temps really suffer unless I have a parallel output through the PSU. That power supply really pumps out some heat! I think it wastes about 40W of heat (although I really couldn't say for sure). A switching power supply wastes about 10% of it's rated output, so my 400W sparkle probably puts out about 40W of wasted energy as heat.

stoff · 12-02-2002, 02:07 PM

Well, I got the InnovaRadi Dual today!

The radiator got a heater core at 13.5 mm x 25.5 mm which fits perfect with two 120 mm fans. I just did a quick n' dirty test and it seems that the 'turbulence' noise from air blowing through the radiator is more or less the same whether the fan are pulling or pushing air through it. So far, so good.

I’m now thinking about getting a small base case (with air ducts) for the radiator and fans and place the main case on top of it. I don’t know, but I’m fairly obsessed with the idea of only using ‘fresh’ ambient air for cooling. Silly me…

Regards, stoff

12-02-2002, 12:49 AM	#1
stoff Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Denmark, EU Posts: 10	Newbie Q: Push or pull fans on radiator? I salute the highly estimated members out in the very fine art of water cooling with a total newbie question: What is most efficient: To have the fans pull or push air through the radiator (a Innovatek Dual with two papst 120 mm 7 volt mod fans)? Very low noise is the game here, and I plan to mount the radiator on top on the case with the air being blown up. I still don't know whether I will make an air vent channel to supply the fan/radiator with fresh cool air from outside the case or will settle with blowing the case air out. :shrug: Regards, stoff

12-02-2002, 02:50 AM	#2
Hallis Cooling Savant Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Dallas, Tx Posts: 469	Well, Most that i have seen were Radiators mounted on the inside, with a single fan drawing in air from outside the case and through the radiator, Pulling. Your system should work fine with one thing in consideration. The eir going through your Radiator as it reads will be internal case air which will be warmer than the ambient room temp. If you are goung to go with this i suggest ducting the air from another place adjacent to the outside like another fan hole used as a "suck" hole. Or you could save yourself the trouble and do it like 90% of the population of Extreme Coolers because Ducting=more time + more money. Edit for 3AM Typo Patrol

12-02-2002, 04:02 AM	#3
MadDogMe Thermophile Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Just shut up ;) ... Posts: 1,068	Highly "estimated" :? ... Pulling air through, I've never seen an argument against, well one!, but that was saying it was more noisey, which I took to mean more air was going through the rad...

12-02-2002, 04:10 AM	#4
gmat Thermophile Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: France Posts: 1,221	This is a FAQ, you could consider a search in this forum on this topic. To be short the answer is "pulling is better with axial fans". As for blowing the case air out it may be a good idea if you've got hot components in there that need airflow. If not you'll get better cooling by ducting from the outside.

12-02-2002, 06:11 AM	#5
stoff Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Denmark, EU Posts: 10	Thanks for the replies (and sorry about missing the FAQ)! Gonna go home and do some thinking about some case mod'ing! I will make some air duct. Regards, stoff

12-02-2002, 06:56 AM	#6
MadDogMe Thermophile Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Just shut up ;) ... Posts: 1,068	What size rad have you got or are thinking about?. best place is at the bottom front of the case IMO, drawing air in over the rad, and the rad air is used to cool the mobo case as well, IMO it's hardly any warmer for having gone through the rad and is better put to use than venting it straight back out again, a blowhole up top of the case will give it somewhere to go...

12-02-2002, 12:57 PM	#7
Brians256 Pro/Staff Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Klamath Falls, OR Posts: 1,439	I push case air out through my radiator so that my heater core is my fan grill. So, air comes in through the front (hard drive caddies and a grill on the bottom) and exhausts through the heatercore. The temps seem fine with this setup although it would always be better to use "fresh" air for the heater core for lower temps. I would like to use only one set of fans on my case, but it seems that temps really suffer unless I have a parallel output through the PSU. That power supply really pumps out some heat! I think it wastes about 40W of heat (although I really couldn't say for sure). A switching power supply wastes about 10% of it's rated output, so my 400W sparkle probably puts out about 40W of wasted energy as heat.

12-02-2002, 02:07 PM	#8
stoff Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Denmark, EU Posts: 10	Well, I got the InnovaRadi Dual today! The radiator got a heater core at 13.5 mm x 25.5 mm which fits perfect with two 120 mm fans. I just did a quick n' dirty test and it seems that the 'turbulence' noise from air blowing through the radiator is more or less the same whether the fan are pulling or pushing air through it. So far, so good. I’m now thinking about getting a small base case (with air ducts) for the radiator and fans and place the main case on top of it. I don’t know, but I’m fairly obsessed with the idea of only using ‘fresh’ ambient air for cooling. Silly me… Regards, stoff

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