I wasn't going to bother posting this, but it turns out to be surprisingly effective, so…
Since realizing that my Seagate 'cuda IV would be a lot quieter if I decoupled it from the case, I also discovered that it was running a lot hotter. As it was now installed in a spare CD bay, with DIY silent-blocs, it was no longer able to transfer any heat away through direct metal-metal contact. In fact, at one time it got to 52°, so I had to leave the cover off that slot to allow fresh air in, but this was also letting (some) sound out
So I thought maybe it would benefit from some water cooling
My spec was that the design should be:
- Cheap and simple to make (KISS)
- Have minimal flow resistance
- Mountable in the CD bay, with silent-blocs or foam, etc
- Able to keep one or possibly two hard drives below say 35°C
OK, so it isn't up to MMZ standards
, but it only took an afternoon to put together and most importantly, it works! (drive temp now maxes out to 3-4 °C above water temp)