are small cooling fans recommended?? (1 Viewer)

[Benny G]

Are small cooling fans recommended for HT equipment that may heat up quite a bit?? I just built an equipment rack, and I want to be sure my equipment won't overheat. I have about 4" of free space above both my amp and my receiver. (equipment on other shelves will obviously not heat as much, but still have plenty of air space)

The entire rack is placed in a corner of the room. (Two faces are completely open to room, one face directly against a wall, one face has 10" breathing room)

Should I get a small fan?? If so, where can I get one designed for this??

 

[Bob_L]

Heat is the enemy of electronics. Therefore, the less heat your components have to endure, the less deterioration they will experience over the long haul.

I just have a little clip-on house fan attached to the back of my rack that blows into the area where my Class A Aragon amp is. The same kind of fan you get at OfficeMax or any home store. El Cheapo. The Aragon is VERY NOTICEABLY less warm when this little fan circulates the air around the top of the amp.

If your rack components are getting more than just a little warm to the touch, I'd recommend putting a fan in there to help circulate the air. I put mine behind the rack which further helps hide what little noise the fan makes.

 

[Chuck Paskovics]

I too build my own rack. I used a computer fan and spiced it together with a dc power supply. I then mounted it to the underside of the top of my rack (which is above the receiver) and plugged it into the switched outlet on my receiver. With venting on the front and back of the rack that now gives a nice crossflow of air.

Is it needed? Who knows, but my pioneer elite 36tx gets pretty got, and I'm with Bob, better safe than sorry.

I'm sure you could do the same with any computer fan you can find at compusa or best buy. The computer fans are nice because they are very small and don't take up any room in the rack, plus they can be mounted inside.

 

[Boka]

My experience is with computers and small consumer electronics. As previously stated, heat is the enemy. A small amount of airflow can make a HUGE difference in the temperature of a component. To keep the noise low I recommend a good fan (think papst) and you may even want to halve the voltage to reduce the RPM (and noise).

 

[Chuck Paskovics]

Mine fan is a 24V hooked to an 18v power supply. You never know it is on. Very quiet.