Ok first off, this project will be a slow moving one, as I don't have a ton of money to put into it and I want to take my time to decide what mods to do. However, I do plan on updating it when I can and with many pictures. The story behind the item is that I bought my house about 1.5 years ago, and just this past spring I decided to clear some stuff from the attic above the garage. When I bought the house I had gone up there to see what the previous owners left behind and noticed this big old wooden item. I had no idea what it was and it seemed too heavy for one person to bring it down on a ladder. So this spring I decided it was time to bring it along with more stuff down. Well the big old wooden item is what this modding project is based around. The big old wooden item turned out to be an old humidifier. Looks to be from the 70s or about, and instead of being made of wood, it's plastic made to look like wood. At first I tried to give it away at a garage sale, and then earlier this week I was going to throw it out with the trash. Something stopped me, as I looked at it and had the feeling it would make a sweet case mod, and I had to atleast attempt to try and mod it. So without further ado, I give you the project.... It has a nice flip-up lid, and the vents in the lid will be nice for ventilation I wasn't sure what this vent on the back was... ...until I removed the cover and found a nice big exhaust fan. Bonus! Looking inside from the top it looks like there is alot of stuff to remove and gut A few screws from the top proves that its just a simple filter screen, and there is a lot of nice space inside Small hole at the bottom, designed for draining water from the unit. Could be utilized for various things (water cooling, cable passthrough, etc) Perhaps I'm the only one that sees a potential case mod from this thing, or maybe I'm underestimating things and others wish they happened upon one also. Either way, I feel lucky to have stumbled onto it and can't wait to see what can be done with it. Nothing is set in stone, but my first thought is to use the rear exhaust fan that it has as the cases actual exhaust fan. It's 120V 2amp, and has its own fan controller built right into the unit. I haven't had a chance to test the fan yet, so it might not be useable. The other idea I had was to put a monitor into the front of it (I have a 17" LCD sitting around unused). I would probably stealth it in some way though, as just sitting there seems like it would ruin the look. Oh, and it won't likely stay the natural wood color. Not sure what color, but black has crossed my mind with a red or blue CCFL lighting up the vents in the lid. I'm open to all suggestions, comments, etc. I've done a few case mods, but I do not consider myself to be a great case modder, so I'm all ears.
I practically see 6 or so rack-mount servers in there. I have a similar project I'm working on that involves an old radio that I've hollowed out that I plan to put shelves or racks in and mount my stereo/video equipment in. You could practically use this thing as a desk itself too, maybe make a hidden keyboard/mouse tray and a pop-up monitor (instead of mounted on the front). Possibilities seem endless here, especially since there is a lot of room to work with.
I haven't seen one of those in years! You totally gave me a nostalgia bomb today. That's perfect for a case. It even has a rail to slide a rack frame into.
Thanks guys, glad what I've found happens to be a good choice for modding among others Krog_Mog - The pop-up monitor would be a good idea, especially considering it has the rail/slots as Cheapskate mentioned. I'm going to look into that one, thanks. Desk-wise, its a decent height, but the plastic's strength wouldn't be ideal. Definitely would be a cool idea if it could, infact I started picturing it in my mind as I read that. BTW, have you started a project log on that radio? Would be interested to see that. Cheapskate - Glad to have provided the walk down memory lane. I had never seen one before, and figured I wouldn't likely find another person who has. And I didn't think about using those rails/slots until you mentioned that. I always noticed them, but never thought about a use for them. Thanks man. I got to looking at the unit some more today and decided to test the fan. Amazingly the fan works quite well. It pushes a lot of air, even at low speed. Measuring the fan, its about 260mm in size. The one problem is that it pulls air in from the back and out through the top vent. Since heat rises thats not a bad direction for air to flow, but then anything on top or over it will get blown around (it moved my ceiling fan). Turning it around is possible, but then it sticks out the back a couple inches more than whats already there. I thought about reversing the pos/neg leads to reverse the motor, but the fan blades are designed for pushing air a certain direction (as most are). I'll have to test what reversed direction would do for air. Otherwise, here are 2 options I'm considering: 1) Using 1 of these 250mm fans - Rexus Rexflo 250mm fan w/ red LED 2) Using 4 of these 127mm fans in a square formation (would make a 254mm fan essentially) - Delta EFB1324HHE 127mm fan The first option is a single fan solution with red lighting that runs about 800rpm and pushes ~125cfm. Not bad and would be quiet too. The second option would push around 135cfm per fan (at max speed, which is around 3800rpm. I'd tune them down to like 1200rpm so they are quieter, so more like ~75cfm), but would require more power and cost more. Plus the single 250mm fan would look nicer.
CoolJoe, that's a sweet find! I think you've got a great modding base there! I love this kind of stuff. Needs a bit of cleaning and a new paint job, but that could be pretty cool. You could build a basic frame to hold the main parts of the pc and slide it into the rails as needed. It'd be great to reuse the existing fan, since it works, but a nice lit 250mm might be good too. You'll probably have to make your own mounting plate. The filter itself could be useful to keep dust out, though it may need serious cleaning.
Since it deals less with computers and more with woodworking I didn't think it would be appropriate in the project logs, but now that you mention it maybe I should at least make a log of what I'm doing.. especially considering that I would like to eventually incorporate an HTPC in it. Hmm.. that settles it; I'll do it, but i wouldn't expect it any time soon. I'll be super busy with work untill the end of September. Good luck on this project though.. this looks like it'll be a fun project to watch.
Very cool! I love found case mods. If the case is big enough, you might want to consider getting a slide in MB tray or make the back removable. Working on anything down in the case will be a PIA. I speak from experience...http://forums.bit-tech.net/showpost.php?p=2049909&postcount=135 Also, give some long thought to how the wiring will be routed. It'll be ok the first time but when you have to take it all apart for the 5th time to reconnect the power plug, you'll be less than happy. Definitely watch out for mounting things that are meant to be upgraded in a place you can't get to them. I can't tell if the lid is latching but a momentary switch mounted so a press down on the lid turns it on the PC could be fun. On the paint, does this have fake wood grain in the plastic? If so, consider simulating a wood tint instead of covering up the grain. Your neighborhood DIY will have wood chips in the stain aisle that show examples if you don't know what I mean. Whatever you wind up doing, I'll be enjoying watching where you take this one. Good find! and good luck!
Sushi Warrior - One cool feature about the unit is that it has a fan speed controller. Its hard to see, but the pictures showing the control panel (2 knobs), the left one is for the fan. The other was meant to control how often it turned on, but its stuck in an always on position. If I keep the A/C fan (which isn't looking likely right now), I'm going to keep that controller and just use the right knob as more of a button to control on/off. ModMinded - Thanks . Yeah I plan to do some cleaning of the unit today. Probably going to go with a black color scheme with red lighting. The rails will definitely be used, although not sure if I want it for the LCD display or the PC internals. Leaning toward the PC internals for ease of removal and maintenance. And yeah, I'm leaning towards using the 250mm red LED fan I linked. Just need to fabricate a mounting bracket. Krog_Mod - Thanks, and I can't wait to see how your mod turns out. Sucks you can't do much until the end of September, but I can understand. Work, money, life, etc. is why I say this mod will be a slow one. Mach - Thanks . Slide in MB tray is where I'm leaning, as it has some nice rails that are perfect for it. And yeah, way easier for maintenance when its easily accessible. BTW, the Cobra Matic mod is sweet! Very clean. The plastic is a fake wood grain, as in etched into the surface to replicate a wood look. By the looks of it, staining or painting would both work. I'm aiming for a black wood look (gotta keep the wood look, its a nice detail of the unit). I've been contemplating a way to mount the PC internals that makes them easy to maintain, yet not just dropped/placed into the case so it can't be shown off. I'll have to get some 3D modeling software installed and mock up some ideas. So far I have 2 ideas kicking around. 1) MB tray on the built-in rails, that can slide up and lock into the "up" position, and then have the MB tray rotate so it sits flat (and of course lock into this position). Would only have to disconnect ATX power cable, as I can make the front panel cables (power LED, HDD LED, etc.) longer and move with it. Or I could find an ATX power cable extension so that I could slide it up and rotate it flat while its turned on. 2) Scrap front monitor idea and mount MB tray on rails facing the front of the case. Install plexiglass window on front of case to show off the internals, but have it stay black until a light from the inside turns on (the light-up revealing window has been done before, but its a cool trick). 2.1) Same as #2, except change the front wood panel that is already there into dual doors, that open to reveal the window. And when they open, it could trigger the internal light to show off the internals. Lots of ideas popping into my head, but these are 3 that stand out. EDIT: Just after hitting post I thought to combine the slide-up and rotate tray idea with the 2nd idea. That way it has a cool way to be shown off, and be maintained.
Got a chance to visit a hardware store and grab some goodies... New cutting kit for the dremel. Was looking for something better for cutting aluminum stock and found this. Has nice bigger cutting wheels meant for metal (and 3 for plastic, which will come in handy) and its in the cool EZ-Lock style: Drawer sliders for the MB tray setup. These will be mounted vertically so the tray can be slide up and out of the top, yet stay attached to the case. These are heavy duty ones so a bit heavier than I'd want, but they were the only ones with the proper style. Misc screws to mount some U-channel aluminum stock (to fit into the rails of the case) and hinges to allow the MB tray to rotate from a vertical to horizontal position while in the slid-out position. Still trying to get a 3D model created of this idea to show what I mean.
