Add Cooling Fan to A/V Cabinet - Page 6

I'm not sure that it makes a big difference as long as the system is closed with a single entrance and exit. Theoretically, pushing air into the cabinet allows you to push more air when the fan has the umph to create higher pressure. However, a fan that powerful is likely to be a noise problem.

Many components have a front to rear airflow. In practice, it often works out better to pull air from the top rear, front to rear. It is convenient to put the fan behind the top most component. Many people do not want to put a fan in front of the bottom most component. Also, whether you are pushing or pulling a lot of air you will probably want an air filter. Of course, the air filter needs to be at the entrance. It is often convenient to have the air filter at the bottom of the cabinet -- usually built into the floor/bottom shelf.

I just don't agree with the engine NA/SC/TC analogy... I'm a car guy first, as well as a boosted car guy




I know in my setup, I can run it with just an exhaust fan. In each opening, there is a shelf in the middle. It seals against the back. As long as a hole/vent is under the shelf and the exhaust fan is above, then it should not suck out nothing but fresh air. In fact, this helps cool components on both shelves.

I made a couple videos showing the difference between the intake and exhaust in an open enclosure. I built the cabinet allowing for a fan at the bottom and I have a screen in the back to allow for ventilation while still blocking out dust. I had to shrink the clips (bad quality) hoping I could upload it, but it's still too large to upload. If someone can host it for me that would be great, or PM your email and I can send the clips. However, I was able to attach a picture of a section of the cabinet. The video will only focus on the temp sensor because you can't read the numbers if I zoom out.

I did 4 tests, the first two where the room temp was controlled at about 70F. There wasn't much of a temp difference between the inner cabinet and the room, so the intake method resulted in a temp drop of 2 degrees while the exhaust method did not drop the temp. I then opened the windows and allowed the temp inside and out of the cabinet to stabilize at the same levels between each test. The intake method resulted in an 8.3F drop while the exhaust was less than half at 3.7F. Results would probably vary if the fan was at the top or back.

Yes, Ative Thermal Management or Middle Atlantic are excellent options for cabinet cooling. Just make sure that a discrete forced path for the air to flow "through" the components is in place. It can get tricky. If possible, hold or suspend within view, a piece of dangling thread at various points along the path to verify it is flowing correctly.

hey guys, i know this is a lot to ask for but if you guys could just help me out, it would be much appreciated. i just bought an onkyo 875 receiver and from what i've been reading, its a beast when it comes to heat output. So right now, my equipment consists of onkyo 875 receiver, toshiba hd a3 hd dvd player, SA 4250 cable box, xbox 360, and a ps3. I need to buy a new stand or rack or whatever since the onkyo weighs around 55 pounds. At the same time, i need to cool my receiver down. I'm figuring the xbox and ps3 should be ok since i plan on putting them both on top shelf vertically. I plan on having the receiver on the bottom. Does anyone have any suggestions on which stand/rack to get? I need a minimum of 8" clearance for the receiver. If you guys could just help me on selecting a stand and a suitable cooling setup (can build it myself if needed, just need the overall idea). And hopefully, it should cost less than $300. Thanks a lot for the help guys.

Hi guys, newer AV geek here, but very techinically inclinded and a DIY'er.

I wanted to add at least one fan to my system to keep my Onkyo 605 cool. It's housed in a retail purchased cabinet with the bottom and top shelf (adjustable) and glass front doors, the rear is solid execpt for a 1.5X4 cable hole at each shelf and a 1x8 hole at the very top. Currently have the Onkyo 605 on the top shelf in the lowest position and it has 5+ inches clearances to top of the cabinet. The 605 does not have a switched outlet and I really want the fan to come on with the AV rec.

Here's what a coworker and I came up with that would be temp controlled.

Industrial supply site- $36-remote thermostat, 25a, 90-105*F +/-5* points
http://www.omega.com/ppt/pptsc.asp?r...100&Nav=temp11
and
any AC powered fan. I have found those from $20-$60.

After reading here I do not think I want this setup as the possible noise could be a problem and no way to adjust fan speed.

Now I want to do this with a DC powered fan. Do you think I could just use the adjustable AC-DC adapter everyone metions at RS and connect that to the thermostat at Omega above to a DC fan like the 80 or 120mm Synth 8db model? Costs on this is around $76+ S&H. Is there another way, cheaper?

tomkat5714,
What I installed and recommend for the least costly, easiest, most reliable and quietest solution is to get one or more of these 800 rpm fans:
http://www.coolerguys.com/sff21.html
and a power supply:
http://www.coolerguys.com/840556029977.html

I installed just one fan at the top back of my cabinet exhausting air by using a 4¼" hole saw. I just leave the fan on all the time since it consumes very little power and it is totally silent. Be sure you get the 800 rpm model. Don't worry about a thermostat or noise. and it should be good for the rated lifetime of more than 17 years.

PS Get $5 off through Dec 31 with this checkout coupon fiveoff

One more recommendation - get one or two of these fan grills to protect fingers:
http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-24067115...556041153.html
I put one on the outside and one on the inside, but I would at minimum put one on the outside.

I just purchased and installed the Cool Components cabinet vent fans (PK-CV1-BLK) and temp controllers (TC-AC). Cost me $280. My cabinet is split into two sections so I put a fan and a temp controller in each section. The fan is exhausting from the top. The temp controller is mounted along the top in the opposite corner. There is space around the doors to pull air in, but I also made a square cut out in a bottom corner and made a filter for it. I used a switch plate (the kind used for large, flat switches) and a piece of furnace/AC register filter material. Looks good and works great. Very quiet. My only complaint is that the fans don't turn off even when the cabinets are at room temperature if the fans are operated at 12V. With the voltage set to 9V the temp controller works fine, but the fan's top rpm is reduced. I attached a couple of pics.

Today on my way home I got to tinking about the junk in my closet. So tonite after the miss's and little one went to bed, I went digging. I found an light up (red) 80mm case fan I had bought for an unfinished PC mod and I had an old ac-dc selectable adapter. The fan is loud at a full 12V at 7.5v it's not bad and hell you can't beat the price of something you forgot you had.

I had looked at that brand of fans and that website at work today. I will probably get a new quieter fan. I still would like it to come on/off with amp and/or temp. To me it's no sense to run it when it's not needed and I'm too lazy to flick a switch and can't rely on others (wife) to always plug it in or turn it on.

I'm attaching a pic of my system, so all can see my setup.

Hi Tomkat,

For what it's worth I'm doing the same thing at the moment as you, and I have settled on using the mcubed miniNG controller.
There is a very good thread worth reading found in my next post as it will not allow me to post a URL and it has all you will want to know in it. Don't mind my dumb assed questions towards the end of it.

Cheers
John

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=401717 is the link I did try and post. It's from your cousins across the big pond.

Cheers
John

Across the pond, that's funny. My company has a division over in the UK and recently 3 of the guys came over for training. We all had a great time when we took them out for dinner and drinks and then to the horse races. We also have a rep in Melbourne, AUS that visited a while back. I talk with both groups on a weekly bases.I would love to get over there and visit.

I think the controller would be a great. Would this work with the US 110-120VAC power?

I still haven't found much info on having my amp trigger the fans. I never thought about the importance of having a switched outlet on the back of the amp when I bought it.

There's an old saying that applies here I guess. "There's more than one way to skin a cat" I'll figure something out eventually.

Cheers Pal, and have a pint or two for me if you drink.

G'Day Tomkat,

I'm certainly no expert as you could see by my stupid questions, but in regards to the controller working I don't see why not, after all by the time the power gets to the miniNG it is already converted to 12V DC, but hey perhaps someone else may back me up on that one.

I meant to say in my other post to you that I also have an Onkyo amp, but I went for the 875 which pumps out a fair amount of heat by all accounts.

There is a support forum for the Mcubed if you want to post a question, I myself have just asked if you can run four fans of the miniNG using Y cables.
http://www.t-balancer.com/english/support.htm

I too have looked for somewhere in the US to buy this controller as I get far better value for our Aussie dollar than compared to the British Pound, so far I have found nowhere.

I am about to order my Mcubed as I want it shipped here before Xmas so I can have it all up and running by then.

Let us know how you get on.

Cheers
John

I was looking for cooling options for my cabinet, and i found this on Newegg...no one has mentioned it yet and it is a MUCH cheaper solution to these $200 set ups...

SilenX IXA-FCEX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811999167

It is an AC-DC converter w/ 4 pc fan connectors, 1 4pin molex and 3 3pin output lines each with their own speed controller and a blue led to show power for each...If you don't use 3-wire fans the blue power indicator lights will not light up.

It is currently on sale for $5 off..

Good find.

As anyone thought about this one. It does seem a little noisey but might be liveable for some. Prise is good. Seems like a sheet of air would provide good even coverage.

http://http://www.newegg.com/Product...82E16800887011

I do not think I will go with this but will stick with the standard 12vDC case fan like the S-flex. What I want to do is trigger it from the amp (Onkyo 605= no switched outlet) or will probably wind up doing some sort of temp based control. Just can't decide on temp controler. I thought about getting a PC multi fan controler with temp and then it would have a nice LCD that might show fan speed and temp. I could put the controller in a project type box and wire via the plug adapters at Radioshack and a AC-DC convertor. Thoughts, comments, suggestions?

Well, time was there was nothing more than a vcr and a tape deck in the entertainment cabinet...But I have a 100w x7 receiver/amplifier, an oppo dvd player, a cable box, a tivo series 3hd, an vcr and a Belkin Pure av power center all in my cabinet. It was always scorching when I would open the front door, and the top of the cabinet was always warm to the touch. Soo..i sought a quiet cheap way to cool it all...in comes the SilenX IXA-FCEX External 4 Channel Fan Controller



it controlls up to 4 fans (pc) and has an AC adapter. It is plugged into one of the ac outlets on the receiver so whenever the receiver is on they turn on. I mounted 2ENERMAX UC-12EB 120mm Case Fans that are SOOOO quiet. The controller has speed control, but even on high you cannot hear these fans.



you can see the fans at the top back in the cabinets. I can't stress how quiet they are, and as a result the Receiver is COOL to the touch on the top and the Tivo is the same. It really is amazing, and prob adds a lot of life to the electronics...and my wife was happy b/c it is free heat in the winter

Oh and the stop sign is there so my daughter doesn't continually open and close the dvd player and put different discs in, and turn the receiver up to 99

I use the same SilenX fan PSU/controller on my setup.

Ahhh a VCR! I still keep one in the living room entertainment center but haven't used it in five years. I was thinking about tossing it recently.

I previously had one 80mm Arctic Silencer exhaust fan at the top of my tower, but since adding a PS3 to the cabinet it becomes an oven when it's on. I cut two additional 80mm holes at the different shelves in the cabinet and installed Silenx fans as inputs. All three run continuously. Dropped the Top shelf temp from 98F to 80F with the PS3 at full bore.

I have an expensive custom oak cabinet in my living room and my wife insists on it looking nice and being quiet. I have a fair amount of quality A/V equipment inside that was getting too warm, so I started looking for a long lasting quality solution. I found a professionally made fan system at a large well known online retailer and catalog company (will not mention the name) for just over $500. It did look well made and appeared that it would last a long time, but when I hooked it up I found that it sounded like a bathroom ventilator. This alone was a deal killer. Fortunately, I had the common sense to test it before permanently installing it. I also noticed that whenever the fan cycled, there was some interference in the A/V equipment. Needless to say, I started looking again and sent their poor design back to them. I happened on to a site with what appeared to be a very promising product at less than half the price "cabinetcool.com". After talking with the guy, (I had already been burned once) I got the product and tested it before installing it. Surprise - It didn't sound like a bathroom ventilator and there was circuitry to eliminate the A/V interference. It had it's own thermostat and only ran when the temperature increased above where I set the thermostat. The fan was not anything like the fans that I could get at Radio Shack. This was clearly a very very high quality fan designed to last. I installed the "CabinetCool.com" product and was pleased with the instructions. It's doing a fantastic job and I don't think I will ever have to replace it. I've checked the temperature inside the cabinet and it's doing a great job of keeping the temperature down. Nice insurance for my equipment. My wife is also very pleased with the sound level as am I.

>$250 for a SINGLE FAN???

One good 120mm DC 60cfm 18dba fan (inaudible) = ~$14->$30
One 600ma AC->DC adapter OR the SilenX all-in-1 controller posted above= ~$17->$30
Electricity to run 24/7 for a year = maybe $5

Maybe it's just me....

Since you have to do the hard part which is cutting the hole, in either case, what are you really paying for?...a thermostat???

FWIW:
The controller in your link is nothing more than an attic fan thermostat. You could pick those up on the cheap and couple that with any AC fan. That link is a raping.


What you do with your money is your choice and I sure that solution probably works, but I'm still flabbergasted.

I think I spent all of $50 (shipping included) for 4 Yate Loon fans and the SilenX fan controller/PSU.

I orginally found some "vents to make it look more clean and professional, but then found that they cause noise. I nice perfect circle hole and properly placed fan look good as well. My test fans (Panaflo 120mm fans) were LOUD, but they were left over fans.

I actually can't hear anything and it keeps and Xbox 360 cool with the door closed.

If you're really into DIY, this is an easy problem to solve "on the cheap."

I bought a couple 12V fans from Mouser and built a little speed controller using less than $10 worth of parts. The speed controller is adjustable, but also has a thermocouple that sits on top of the receiver. The hotter the receiver gets, the faster the fans run, automatically. I power it from a "junk box" 12V supply I had laying around that plugs into the switched outlet on the back of my Yamaha RX-V1800.

I have less than 1" of clearance around the receiver in my "rack." The fans are mounted in a door that encloses the back part of the receiver compartment. I bought a cheap ($8) indoor/outdoor digital thermometer from Target and set the outdoor probe on top of the receiver. The highest I've ever seen it get is about 110 degrees F. Usually it runs in the high-90's and low 100's; well below spec for commercial grade components.

It works very well, and I spent less than $50 for the parts. Labor of love, though, it took a full day to put it all together.

In a previous life, I did some work designing rackmount enclosures. They were good sized, like 10U or 12U (some were smaller, some were full cabinets). They were about the size of one of these:

[image courtesy of Grimdeath]

They had their own ac/dc switching power supplies and a big rack of cards and fans for cooling. The fans often had filters. Sometimes just air filters, sometimes emi/rfi honeycomb filters. They always had finger guards.

Pressurized cooling was generally preferred. This means fans on the inlet, blowing air in to the enclosure. This keeps a slight positive pressure inside the enclosure which helps keep dust (and other unwanted stuff) out.

The other thing to consider is where the air will flow. The enclosures had sheet metal ducting to ensure the air would flow over the cards and power supply. It's probably not critical to have ducting in a TV stand (just getting any airflow through there will probably make enough difference to keep the components happy), but if you can keep it in mind, it can make your cooling even more effective.

From another hobby where we want to keep things cool and keep the dust out, if you have the fans blowing in and have a filter on the back side, you will keep almost all dust out of your enclosure.

Hi there I used two variable speed 120mm Silverstone fans purchased at Tiger Direct for $16.00 each. These fans are very quiet and installed in simple wood mount(silicone pads). I made this to sit on top of my Anthem D2 and blends in perfect with the cabinet. These fans have washable foam screens mounted on top to prevent dirt from blowing in on my Anthem.

Hi there here is different view

Thanks
Bruce

Here's my DIY fan project... Very inexpensive, but requires some soldering and construction skills.

I built a variable voltage regulator using an LM317. Here's the schematic (courtesy of National Semiconductor):


This is fed with a 12 volt "wall wart" power supply I had laying around (doesn't everyone have a box full of these?).

This was assembled on a small piece of 1/8" aluminum plate. There is a thermal washer between the voltage regulator and the plate just to keep any power off the aluminum. The aluminum acts as a heat sink, too, but it doesn't really get hot. The little potentiometer is glued down with hot glue.


The plate was drilled to fit a tiny plastic box. A hole in the box allows access to the "speed control."


Here it is, mounted in place with the 12 volt DC fans. This is the back panel for the receiver compartment on a rack I built out of 3/4" plywood. It's hinged and has a friction latch, so I can just "open the door" for access.


One modification I made to the circuit: The fixed resistor was replaced with a thermistor on an 18" wire. This is why you see two wires coming out of the control box. One is for power and the other goes to the thermistor. The thermistor lead sits on top of the receiver and as the receiver heats up, the fans run faster. So, I adjust the fans "cold" using the pot (6-7V seems good for these fans) and they'll speed up as things heat up. The power supply is plugged into the switched outlet on the back of the receiver, so it makes for a "no thinking required" installation once it's set up. I originally designed this for four fans (which is why they aren't spread out more). Turns out, two is enough.

Total cost for the parts, under $30 not including shipping, but keep in mind that I didn't buy a power supply. I might re-do this at some point in the future just to get quieter fans. The fans I used were the quietest "cheap" fans I could find and I can hear them when the receiver is turned down low. Any volume at all drowns them out.

Well I am confused. Great arguments for pushing in the cool air and for pulling out the warm. I see some folks that appear to have both. I too will have a wood door enclosure running IR remote to cable box and a sony gd910. Also have a PS3.

I found this fan with thermostadt. Not sure that is neccessary. Any opinions?
http://arcticstreamcooling.com/catal...products_id=30


Don't suppose we have a concensus?

My fans come on with my components... No need for me to have a t-stat. I also wanted to stay cheap since fans are cheap and other companies rape you on they price...