Show me your RACK - Page 57

Originally Posted by holyindian 

Neurorad, thanks!!

I think the MA ERK is a very solid and sturdy rack. I know its the side walls are non-removable, but i dont see any real life value to removable sides, Chris at CustomAVRacks felt the same, in fact i think it gives a very solid strong hold to the entire frame structure. I was able to use velcro and zipties attached to the inner wall for cable management as well, looks really neat. will post pics of cabling as well.
We plan to live in this current house for two more years hence the rack will be sitting in the living room, after that we move to our new home with dedicated theater in the basement, then I will be adding another rack along with this for home automation controllers and holding 5 other amplifiers (Emotiva).

Yes the LCD Monitor is a Belkin Titan 17" Dual-Rail LCD Rack (model no. F1DC101C-US)
It has dual rails, one for the keyboard and another for the lcd, either can be slided in an out as per requirement, one of the pictures show the keyboard and lcd slide out togather, and another shows the keyboard slide in with just only the lcd out, this way i can use an on screen monitoring for security cams, four view in grid works like a charm.
The main intent of this onboard lcd monitor was for controlling the SuperMicro 24Bay 72TB Windows Home Server machine for updates and maintainence of the media server, but now i am making use of it in multiple ways. I think its a must add on.

Originally Posted by tential 

Did I read that correctly? You have 24 3TB Hds?

Originally Posted by OPPIZ 

Now that's a masterpiece! I've been wanting to see how the new Denon receivers look racked. DIY layout & install?
Are the media shelving & rack open or can they be concealed by some kind of door? If open, might I suggest adding these( http://www.customavrack.com/Products/1160-middle-atlantic-ta-black-brushed-and-anodized-trim-strip.aspx ). Are you using something like this( http://www.customavrack.com/category/247-middle-atlantic-duct-cool-exhaust-duct.aspx ), for ventilation? Once again, congrats on the rack & thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by landshark1 

Here's mine.

Originally Posted by landshark1 

Here's mine.

Originally Posted by Helheim 

Are those cooling units under each amp? If so which ones? Thanks.

Originally Posted by DrZaus 

What size is that rack?

Originally Posted by Helheim 

Are those cooling units under each amp? If so which ones? Thanks.

Originally Posted by Done Deal DR 

My question is this: Where should I install the temperature probe(s) for the fans at? At the top of the rack? In the middle of the rack? What makes the most sense?

Originally Posted by wkearney99 

Presumably you're trying to cool the equipment that's most likely to be harmed by heat. Or perhaps the largest generator of heat. The question you have to ask is whether or not the airflow can be managed to accomplish that goal. You could crank up the fan all you like but if the air isn't being circulated such that it pulls heat away from the desired source then it won't matter.

So I'm guessing you've got some experimenting to do, and it's likely you'd want to start a new message thread for this, not post here in the 'show me' thread. A separate post might also garner more reads.

Originally Posted by Done Deal DR 

Understood, I only posted here because it's 57 pages of primarily people that own and have experience with racks

Originally Posted by wkearney99 

True, but then it gets lost in 57 other pages of things unrelated to it. Not being pedantic here, just suggesting a thread on it's own might help get a more focused conversation going on it. Especially if someone later comes searching on terms that match what's in the thread. Otherwise they end up wading through 57 pages (or more) of stuff unrelated to it.

Given that it's difficult to 'spot treat' ventilation I think a lot of installations focus more on having basic convection channeling associated with the equipment itself and then treat the whole space. As in, make sure the vents on the gear is left clear and placed to avoid being placed excessively close to heat generating units. As in, don't rack the disc player tight above the amp, etc. While I've had some stuff that really cranks out heat (24 drive NAS) I usually focus on just getting the air in/out of it and fall back on a thermostat integrated with the nearby occupied space to handle the load.

Now, this assumes sufficient air flow both back AND front. Given we're hoping to integrate a glass door in the new setup then things may change. We will probably have to integrate something that actively promotes air flow INTO the front cavity between the door and the equipment. This to enable the device's own air flow paths to do their thing and not be starved for air by a closed door. But since the door will be on the front then the air probably won't be able to come in from that side. This complicates the flow path along with finding a source for it. Otherwise it'd just be recirculating the nearby air, which would probably be better than nothing but not worth buying fans if that's all that happened.

Given what those units cost compared to traditional in-line fans like those from Fantech I'd really have to KNOW they'd do the job. Otherwise I'd go with HVAC treatments instead.

Originally Posted by Pain Infliction 

Dude chill out.

Originally Posted by Pain Infliction 

To the question.......I have temp sensor fan system in my rack and I put the sensor at the top where the rack is the hottest. I do not have any vents in the front of my rack and all the cool air come from the bottom of the rack. This way there is natural convection and when the temps gets to 85 of above the fan system kicks in. I have been using the setup for a while and have not had any issues. My temp never ever reaches 86. I hope this helps

Originally Posted by wkearney99 

You read it wrong, it's not a chill out. It's just a suggestion. It's a conversation that certainly bears drawing more posts. Otherwise why bother even having threads under their own posts? Why not just one huge thread? I'm joking, of course.

Thanks!

This is what logic was telling me, put the sensor at the top where all of the hot air will rise to so that the fan can exhaust it if needed. It appears I'm doing something similar to yours, where I will have no openings in any of the rack spaces between the top and bottom fans, that is also what the thermal white papers stated to do. As of right now I only have the top exhaust fan and am still shopping for decent price on my intake fan, so for the time being I have an EVT2 vented blank for the bottom to help pull in cool air if needed... I'm wondering where I should put that sensor? Probably at the top as well.

I hope to have everything roughed in by this weekend, and get it drywalled and everything within a few weeks after that and I'll get some pictures up.

Also, regarding posting in this thread... I've read through this entire thread multiple times. There's been plenty of chatter which is why I felt okay posting in it. If it was 100% pictures and no talking then I wouldn't have posted here.ReplyQuote Multi 0

Originally Posted by Pain Infliction 

I would put both sensors at the top or run both fans in parallel from one thermostat switch. Don't worry about the other guys comments. There are plenty of people on here that will help you out. Besides....at least you are not asking questions that you have not researched first like he was earlier in this thread. Are those white papers you are talking about the ones from the Middle atlantic website? If they are, those are good to go by and are informative. If they are not, go check them out. The other comment that I disagree with that I read from somebody else was "most people use hvac in the av closet". This is not true either. Most people on here do not have hvac going to their racks.

Originally Posted by landshark1 

Originally Posted by landshark1 

Here's mine.

Originally Posted by mn_hokie 

Where'd you get the trim strips from? I'm guessing they work with any standard rails?

Originally Posted by jautor 

Geez, that stack looks really familiar... Landshark, take a look back in the thread, I have a before-and-after shot with the trim strips installed. I was surprised at how much better it really does look...

http://www.avsforum.com/t/788074/show-me-your-rack/1320#post_21848689

(I also swapped out the Emotiva silver plates by the time I took the "after" shot as well)

Jeff

Originally Posted by dvmiller 

Wow, not sure I should follow Gary's masterpiece but, someone has to so here goes!

Two weeks ago my future son-in-law set up my HT and server PC's which inspired me to start working on the equipment racks. With the closet space and no access to the rear of the racks I planned to use drawer guides so the racks can be pulled out for access. I bought guides rated for 100 lbs, some 1x3 & 1x12 pine and Rubbermaid shelving at HD. I started by building the "drawers" and installing the guides on the 2x6 rails.



The rack frames are 55 x 20 1/2 inches with interior width of 19 inches. I settled on drilling 1/2 holes for pins to hold the shelves. Alot of drilling and painting some 240 of them. I went this route because it seemed the least visible. I painted the closet interior flat Mouse Ears Black.



After quite a bit of adjusting and installing the frames and trim they were painted satin Mouse Ears Black. Then I started installing shelves and equipment.



The completed racks are loaded with equipment. I refer to the left one as the HT rack with the PS3, receiver/amps, DVD and CD changers; the right as the IT rack with the networking gear, monitor, HTPC and NAS/server. Only the IT equipment is up and running for now. A couple of items remain to be added: the cable box/HD/DVR and the UPS/surge protector.



I added grills above and below the racks for air flow and am planning to add fans controlled by a thermostat. The racks are fairly heavy so I will build a stand to support them when pulled out.



Dale

Originally Posted by jautor 

Geez, that stack looks really familiar... Landshark, take a look back in the thread, I have a before-and-after shot with the trim strips installed. I was surprised at how much better it really does look...

http://www.avsforum.com/t/788074/show-me-your-rack/1320#post_21848689

(I also swapped out the Emotiva silver plates by the time I took the "after" shot as well)

Jeff