How do I keep my A/V receiver frrom overheating? (1 Viewer)

[6-Speed]

Hi folks,


So I just ended up picking up a Pioneer Elite VSX-33 receiver, and have stumbled across a problem that I, well, never considered prior to buying any receiver. Doh. The location I want to put this receiver is not large enough to keep it from overheating. There is enough room on the front, back, and top, but there isn't enough room on the sides. What can I do? Is it possible to buy quiet, small, cooling fans? what would I plug them into? Am I just hooped? Should I even be concerned?

 

[gene c]

Are you sure you have an over-heating problem? If you have enough room on the top then that's half the battle. There are small cooling fans you can get powered either by 120 v or a USB port. I've never used or researched them but I've heard about others using them.


Also, in my experience Pioneers are the coolest running receivers on the market. I have a 94txh and had a vsx-32 for a while and neither of them hardly get warm let alone hot.

 

[6-Speed]

I haven't overheated it yet, but at the same time, I don't want to have it happen either. I'm trying to be proactive on this one, lol. I've seen the USB fans, but the problem is I have nothing to plug them into other than my tv, but all my TVcables are running through my wall and I don't want a single cable hanging down. The problem with the regular outlet fans is having to turn on the fan everytime. I actually found a decent, albeit expensive solution:


http://www.coolcomponents.com/HiFlo-Vent-System_p_214.html


The nice thing about this fan is that it turns on and off on it's own, by sensing the surrounding air temperature. Apparently quiet too. Hope this is what I'm looking for.

 

[gene c]

You could also get something like this http://www.hometheatercooling.com/PQFan.html . Plug it into a cheap power strip to use as an on/off button and turn it on when you feel it's needed. But I think you're worrying about a problem that won't materialize. I've had my 94 turned on for about two hours now and it's barely warm. It's mounted in a 24" x 10" x 22 1/2" cubby hole in my home-built entertainment center. If you had an Onkyo/Harman Kardon/Integra/Marantz/Denon then maybe I'd worry. But not with a Pioneer.

 

[Al.Anderson]

Funny I was going to suggest almost the same thing: http://www.amazon.com/Achla-Designs-Room-Minuteman-Doorway/dp/B001FXVJ1U/ref=pd_sxp_grid_pt_0_2. I just got one of these to move air from under my desk for my computer. (The one from Amazon is $13 cheaper. It's very quiet.)

 

[6-Speed]

okay, slight potential change in plans...


the receiver dimensions are as follows: 16.54" x 17.05" x 6.81" (w x d x h)


I want to put it into a cabinet with dimensions: 17.50" x 18.00" x 13.50" (w x d x h)


As you can see, not a lot of room to spare. I could be wrong, but I'm thinking that in an enclosure that small, cooling will be required. So, do you think this would suffice for cooling purposes? It only moves 8cfm of air, each.

http://www.middleatlantic.com/pdf/COMP-COOL_sellsheet_toprint.pdf

 

[Cees Alons]

Adam,


Adding a fan will also add audible noise. Try to avoid it.


Is the cabinet closed at the backside? If it would be open (also need to put cables through), it would probably be OK. The space at the sides of the receiver are not as important as the ones at the front and back, and especially the room above it. Hot air goes up.


Just make sure the air above the receiver can get out of the cabinet (e.g. through an opening in the back), and fresh air can enter.



Cees

 

[6-Speed]

The majority of the back will be sealed, although, there is a 1" slit at the back top of the cabinet which will allow some hot air out, but I'm concerned it may not be enough. I know the fan(s) will add noise, but it seems that the 19db at one meter away is not going to be very noticable for a single fan. The cabinet I am building is pretty much what you see below, minus the upper shelves above the mantle. I want the receiver to sit on the right, upper slot just under the mantle. As already stated, there will be a 1" vent at the back of the cabinet that extends upwards through the mantle and into the open air.


I am not concerned with heat coming from the fireplace, as there is a hefty sized partition between the shelf and fireplace. Plus the fireplace is more for looks than anything. It will rarely ever be used. I have also maxed out the dimensions of what the shelves can be, and that is 17.5" on each side.






any thoughts?

 

[Al.Anderson]

The fan I pointed you to would seem to fit (3.75" x 3.75" x 1.75"), and is quiet.

 

[gene c]

I'd be more concerned with getting the heat out of the cabinet rather than out of the receiver. You have 6 1/2" of clearance on the top which is more than enough for a Pioneer. I would cut a slot, maybe 14" x 6", near the back of the shelf on top of the receiver to allow the heat to escape and be done with it. But I realize many people might not want to take a saw to an expensive shelving unit.


But I still think you're worrying about a problem that will never materialize . I have put Harman Kardon receivers (which put out much more heat than a Pioneer) in a cubby hole about the same size as yours for many years without a problem. With an Onkyo/Integra I'd be concerned. An Integra 8.9 I have puts out more heat in Standby than either Pioneer did/does while powering 5 speakers, including 4 ohm models. In fact, the 8.9 put out so much heat in Standby that I turned off the surge protector when it was not in use.


Nice living room btw. Looks like a picture from Sunset Magazine.

 

[6-Speed]

haha, that's not my living room. Just a show home. But, I am in the process of having my home built and it will look similar to the one pictured. I will also be custom building the shelves, mantle and fireplace into the room. The TV will be going above the fireplace where the painting is in the photo, the top shelves I am not building in. all wires are run through the walls/ceiling as well. Rather than have a lounging fireplace room, I am doing my hometheatre setup there instead.


I am attaching a very crude drawing of what the shelving will look like. as you can see, there is a cutout, the length of the shelf, on each shelf, that will allow for me to run the cables through the back. Note at the top, there is a port, or slit, that will allow some warm air out. The receiver will sit on the top shelf, so warm air will have the ability to make it's way out fairly readily. The only problem I have is that I dont want to make the port too large, as it will continue through to the top of my mantle. The mantle drawings are not included in this sketch, but you kind of get the point. All lines in red are not visible, just incase you are wondering. I sketched this up on Microsoft Paint (lol), and am now drawing scaled drawings in Autocad before I start building. Some items are still being tweaked, so this is not the final model that will be built. Note, this drawing is NOT to scale at all.


Regardless, you have made me feel much more confident that I wont be destroying the receiver. I think i will still buy a single fan for the "just in case" purpose. If the 19db is too loud for me, i'll simply unhook it.

 

[CB750]

Thanks for the picture as you have just identified a second more important problem in your home theater installation. Mounting your TV over a fireplace is the worst possible place to put your TV. Based on the picture I would estimate the bottom of your TV will be over 4 feet or more off the floor. This is far to high and is going to result in you getting very stiff neck every time you watch TV. The effect will be even worse if you position your furniture as it is in the picture. You need to find a different location for your TV which I assume will also change the location of your receiver and other equipment.


The only place you see TV's mounted over the fireplace is on Home and Garden TV. The ideal height is the center of the TV screen should be at eye level when seated in your prime seating location.

 

[william2]

Hi

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