[kenp2600]

When I redo my HT room, I was thinking about building an in-wall rack for my components. The front would probably be open (or plexiglass) into the HT Room, and the back would be accessible via a full size door in the next room to make wiring easy.

In a setup like this, how do you guys manage the heat put off by your components? Are there quite fans that can be installed that won't interfere or generate too much noise?

[Joseph DeMartino]

There's basically a whole industry devoted to this very issue. The first applications were in rack-mounted data systems, which tended to produce even more heat than av systems. As AV systems became more elaborate and rack-mounting more common, the data systems were adapted to the new application. (The primary issue was making the fans quieter. Noise tends not to be an issue in a server room, it is in a living room. ) The basic solution was to run more fans at lower speed, thus maintaining airflow while reducing noice. You'll find there are many options. The links below are just a basic starting point. (I just did a Google search on "av rackmount cooling")

Cool Components, Inc

Cooler Guys

Parasound Zbreeze

Sanus Audio Component Rack

Regards,

Joe

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Hi Ken,

Joseph sent you in the right direction. Basically, an exhaust fan at the top of the rack will get the job done (seeing as hot air rises). Since you're going to have a door on the front with rear access from a back room, you could just exhaust to that back room and it shouldn't be hard to keep things quiet.

The only problem is that anytime you move air, dust comes with it. So you might want to find a way to seal the front door and include an inlet with some sort of filtering. The inlet should be at the bottom of the rack.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

[kenp2600]

That's a great idea: putting a filtered inlet at the bottom. I wouldn't have thought of that. Maybe I'll just build an opening that will fit a standard furnace filter. They'd be cheap to replace and easy to find.

[Bob McElfresh]

They also make computer muffin fans with foam filters that can be snapped on/off. For computers - someone pointed out that laundry room dryer sheets once used (to remove the soap) make dandy filters for fans. They let lots of air flow, but do filter dust/dirt.

[Jasen Chandler]

I really like the products by Active Thermal Management. Heat control is all about air replacement and circulation. Satellite and Cable boxes are the biggest producers of heat, you may want to get a product that targets them specifically.

Oh, and those inexpensive laptop coolers, work great for components . . .

[Raymond lee Leggs]

large bow fans