Help with drive temp stability - 20 degree increase over two weeks

[rcmcasper]

This has been something I've been fighting for about a year and I'm finally coming to the forums for help. Over a period of a several weeks, my drive temps will run stable in the low 40s and then climb into the 60s. Powering off and letting her cool down will restart the cycle. Can you help me determine what's causing the persistent temperature climb?

 

HP ProLiant MicroServer Gen8

Unraid v6.12.8

Storage:

• LSI 9207-8i
• 4x 4TB HGST HUS724040ALS640
• 1x 500GB SSD for cache

Cooling:

• replaced stock case fan with Noctua
• added Noctua to stock CPU heatsink
• added Noctua to LSI 9207-8i via 3D printed bracket

Processor: Intel Xeon E3-1265L V2 @ 2.50GHz

RAM: 16GB Kingston ECC 1600MHz @ 1.5V

BIOS: J06 04/04/2019

iLO: 2.82 Feb 06 2023

 

My server is used for file shares only and I connect to them from from another host running Plex and the ARRs. I know someone will say I don't have enough cooling, but I don't understand why she's stable in the low 40s for several weeks before the temps climb and never come back down, even when not under any sort of load. I can shut down the Plex host and my temps will not drop. Thanks for your help!

treasure-diagnostics-20240330-0949.zip

[Squid]

45 minutes ago, rcmcasper said:

• replaced stock case fan with Noctua

Nothing specific, but FYI when replacing fans, most people do it because of the noise level.  One thing to bear in mind however is that especially when you're dealing with drive bays, higher CFM (which your Noctua may or may not have over the stock fans) may actually be worse for cooling.

 

CFM has no bearing on trying to pull the air through the very small cracks in drive bays.   For that you need fans which have high static pressure.  The two ratings do not always conform to each other.  IE: High CFM != high static pressure.  

 

But for specifics, have you cleaned out the little gaps in the bays?  If they're clogged up with dust, then a high CFM but low static pressure won't have a hope of pulling the air through whereas a high static pressure but low CFM will do a better job on clocked gaps.

[rcmcasper]

On 3/30/2024 at 11:48 AM, Squid said:

Nothing specific, but FYI when replacing fans, most people do it because of the noise level.  One thing to bear in mind however is that especially when you're dealing with drive bays, higher CFM (which your Noctua may or may not have over the stock fans) may actually be worse for cooling.

 

CFM has no bearing on trying to pull the air through the very small cracks in drive bays.   For that you need fans which have high static pressure.  The two ratings do not always conform to each other.  IE: High CFM != high static pressure.  

 

But for specifics, have you cleaned out the little gaps in the bays?  If they're clogged up with dust, then a high CFM but low static pressure won't have a hope of pulling the air through whereas a high static pressure but low CFM will do a better job on clocked gaps.

 

Thank you for the reply! The case is spotless and dust was my first thought considering the intermittent nature of my temps.

 

I am using the Noctua NF-A12 and have a Noctua NF-F12 (pressure optimized) on order. I guess what's had me puzzled is that temps will stay cool for weeks and then once they jump, won't come back down without my intervention. It's like a hot spot is forming in the drive bay.

 

Will report back once the case fan has been switched out.

[Frank1940]

Are you spinning the drives down when they are not being used?  This will help drop temperatures significantly. 

 

No being familiar with that case--  Are all fans (except for the CPU one) behind the disks blowing out of the case?  (You want to force as much air as possible over those drives.  The Electronics will stand higher temps much better than HDs!) 

 

Also check that there are not significant openings behind the fans to admit air.  (I have even taped over the openings on the removable brackets to force more air flow over the drives.) 

[rcmcasper]

17 minutes ago, Frank1940 said:

Are you spinning the drives down when they are not being used?

 

I did enable drive spin down for a period of time, but I've got several apps that perform library scans and I couldn't get consistent results. Will revisit this option if replacing the fan doesn't achieve some sort of results.

 

21 minutes ago, Frank1940 said:

No being familiar with that case--  Are all fans (except for the CPU one) behind the disks blowing out of the case?  (You want to force as much air as possible over those drives.  The Electronics will stand higher temps much better than HDs!) 

 

Also check that there are not significant openings behind the fans to admit air.  (I have even taped over the openings on the removable brackets to force more air flow over the drives.) 

 

It's a tiny case with little cooling capabilities: there's one exhaust case fan that cools the entirety. Both the CPU fan and the HBA fans are DIY, it ships with a passive cooling CPU heatsink.

Cutting into the case itself is an option I've explored. I've mocked up a way to add an intake fan, but I want to continue minimizing wattage and noise.

 

Appreciate the consideration!

 

*stolen from the web

[Frank1940]

1 hour ago, rcmcasper said:

Cutting into the case itself is an option I've explored. I've mocked up a way to add an intake fan, but I want to continue minimizing wattage and noise.

 

I looked at a YouTube video and I would be considering doing an 'ulgy' case Mod!  I would cut a opening for a fan in the hinged front panel directly in front of the HDs to mount a fan which would blow air into the case.  I would also look at adhesive form tape around that opening that would force high percentage of the fan's output over the drives.  (Please understand that in a server I value function much more than form and beauty!!!  To accommodate the latter, I would turn the case so one of the side panels was the one must likely to be seen.  This might be a good use for that Noctua NF-A12.)    

[rcmcasper]

Used a 140mm Noctua NF-F12 (the pressure optimized version) as an intake fan and made one hole for the bolt as a temp mounting solution. So far temps are down from high 50s and in to the high 40s. It does look like the exhaust fan could only hold the temps stable and not cool the case if temps rose. Thanks for everyone's responses!