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Good ideas for cooling this unit with a receiver inside (Bradshaw console, Onkyo SR-607)?

post #1 of 8
6/7/12 at 12:00pm
Thread Starter 
Hey all, hope this is in the right forum,

I have a question for the best solution for adding cooling fans to an existing piece of furniture.

I have this piece - Bradshaw console, from Rooms to Go - http://www.roomstogo.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=showItem&ipac_id=37237

And an Onkyo SR-607. It has maybe 3mm of clearance on the top shelf open area that the tv would sit over, but plenty or room on the shelving inside the glass cabinet. Since its convection cooled, I really need either more headroom or active airflow to keep it from cooking itself. I can't do anything about the top shelf headroom, so I figure the Onkyo has to go inside. But, in an enclosed space I imagine it will quickly overheat as there is no real venting, so I am looking for good air circulation ideas.

Currently I'm thinking of buying a dual fan set up like the one from Coolerguys - http://www.coolerguys.com/840556095309.html

And mounting it vertically on the back of the console. I'm thinking of having the lower fan blow air in (lower shelf) and the upper fan pull air out (upper shelf) of the cabinet.

A couple questions - is the design sound? Are dual 80mm fans enough?

It would be the only electronic piece inside the glass other than a DVR, but that doesn't put off much heat.

Thanks in advance,
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post #2 of 8
6/10/12 at 8:25am
Thread Starter 
Anyoby with any input?
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post #3 of 8
6/12/12 at 1:26pm
That link doesn't show the furniture for me, so this will be a very generic advice.

The 607 gets REALLY hot, even sitting on a top shelf in the open like I have mine. I have a 200mm fan sitting on top of it to pull air out of the top. Eventually I plan on making a hole in the shelf below it to blow air up through it...

...basically what I'd say is that you want the biggest fan you can fit. Bigger fans move more air and are quieter, and since they move so much air you can slow them down. What noise they do make is lower pitched and thus harder to hear.

If you have the space, I'd put in a 200mm fan like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835146004

If not, a 120mm fan like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200021

...the latter comes with a speed controller so you can dial it down to a speed that you can't hear from your seat.

Below 120mm the noise-to-airflow ratio gets worse. I'd use two 120mm fans for the 607, and take note of where the most heat comes out of it (the right side, I think) and concentrate airflow there.

Wire this all up to a 12v 'wall wart', perhaps cannibalized from an old cell phone or something. Or if you don't have any of those you can get a universal adaptor. Switching it to lower voltages will also slow down the fan if you want it quieter.
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post #4 of 8
6/12/12 at 2:49pm
If you wanted to spend a good chunk of change you could look into liquid cooling :-)
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post #5 of 8
6/12/12 at 3:32pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the feedback!

Liquid cooling is probably more than I'm ready to get into, but based on your feedback, I will go with two 120s directly behind the unit to pull air out.

Thanks again,
Edited by Sayansti - 6/13/12 at 5:39am
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post #6 of 8
7/19/12 at 6:06am
Thread Starter 
Just an update - I installed the dual 120 mm fans (http://www.coolerguys.com/840556095279.html) in the back of the enclosed cabinet and so far everything seems to work perfectly. I ended up installing them horizontally behind where the receiver would sit and to pull air out of the cabinet, so cool air will be pulled in around the cracks of the doors.

The fans are blowing air once it reaches the 84° threashold and the air never seems to get very warm even with the cabinet doors closed. Also, you can't hear them at all.

Also, the Rooms to Go Bradshaw console looks significant, but the back is two thin pieces of MDF with a veneer that sandwich a cardboard accordian that gives it the thick 2.5" depth. In other words, cutting through it was extremely easy.
Edited by Sayansti - 7/19/12 at 6:20am
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post #7 of 8
7/19/12 at 6:15am
Quick thoughts. Probably not as important to blow are into the cabinet as to draw air out. Make sure that the air going into the cabinet is filtering out dust etc.
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post #8 of 8
7/19/12 at 6:23am
Thread Starter 
Thanks - I figure that by forcing air to enter via relative vacuum in the cabinet, it will come in around the door and away from the electronics. The fans are pulling the hot air from the upper shelf away from the unit, so it should be good for keeping dust from getting directly into the receiver.
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