cooling enclosed equipment

[Jeff1]

I have a denon avr and directv r10 dvr inside of an entertainment center behind a glass door. The dvr runs constantly at 43 degrees C (normal) when the denon is not on. When both are on, however, it gets pretty warm inside. I have one approx. 2" hole in the rear for wiring now. I am thinking about adding a fan to the rear for exhaust. I have a swithed AC outlet on the denon, and a USB port on the dvr. I could power a fan either way, but I would probably need a thermostat if I went with usb power since it really doesn't need to run constantly. Also I would prefer a quiet fan. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[bikezappa]

Connect a quiet fan to the switched outlet and let it run/cool when ever the Denon is on.

[Shizelbs]

Connect a quiet fan to the switched outlet and let it run/cool when ever the Denon is on.

Can you point out a specific one?

[bikezappa]

Not sure. Radio Shack? Google whisper quiet fan.

[hockeyboy]

You probably need to allow more room to vent back there. If you only have a couple of inches that wont be enough room to let the heat escape. If you can cut a vent near the top of the cabinet on the back that might help.

[WilliamM2]

Can you point out a specific one?

I run a normal 12 volt 60mm computer fan in my rack, but I use a multi-voltage power supply. I can set it from 3 volts to 12 volts. 5 volts is the minimum needed to start the fan, and at that setting I can't even hear it from 2 feet away. Keeps everything very cool.

[phipiper10]

I bought a couple of fans from this guy a few years ago off ebay.

http://www.windywilly.com/

My stuff is all in an enclosed rack with glass front (kids). The amp fan is always on and the Receiver fan is triggered.

They have done a good job.

[polkatese]

I use a couple of this brand:

Papst 8412N/2GMLE (http://www.hardware.info/en-UK/productdb/bGNkbJiSmJrK/viewproduct/Papst_8412N2GMLE/)

link is for descriptions only. I am sure you can find one etailer who carry it around here.

so far, the quietest of the bunch that I tested (vantech is one of them).

[treitz3]

Why don't you just increase the opening to allow for ventilation and call it a day? 2" is ridiculous, for ventilation and ease of hookup.

[Jeff1]

O.K., I found an old pc fan (12v), and a transformer that I had. I cut another hole (3" for the diameter of my fan) and mounted the fan to exhaust the heat. The fan is pretty loud and didn't drop the temp as the dvr says it is 49 degrees Celsius with the denon on with or without the fan on. My other dvr, an hr20-700 runs around 129F (53.9C) with much better ventilation in it's location. So...I suppose it's O.K., but it sure seems too warm to me. Would reversing the fan make a difference?

[thuchien]

I put 2 computer fan run by a 12 dc apdapter on top of my amplifier.

[MattN03]

I bought a couple of fans from this guy a few years ago off ebay.

http://www.windywilly.com/

My stuff is all in an enclosed rack with glass front (kids). The amp fan is always on and the Receiver fan is triggered.

They have done a good job.

Any problems with these fans? How loud are they? Did you notice any electrical interference with the fans? I have a glass enclosed rack also, and I believe the heat is getting to my DVR. I was thinking about buying the temperature sensing model.

[wingnut4772]

I used a Parasound ZBreeze and I liked it a lot.

ZBreeze (http://www.parasound.com/zcustom/zbreeze.php)

[MattN03]

I used a Parasound ZBreeze and I liked it a lot.

ZBreeze (http://www.parasound.com/zcustom/zbreeze.php)

Any pics of how you mounted it?

[wingnut4772]

Any pics of how you mounted it?

I just sat it on top of my Anthem D2. I didn't have a rack really. It has little feet also.

[Lasareath]

Any problems with these fans? How loud are they? Did you notice any electrical interference with the fans? I have a glass enclosed rack also, and I believe the heat is getting to my DVR. I was thinking about buying the temperature sensing model.

I have on of these windy willy 120mm fans ontop of my onkyo reciever, it works very well. my Onkyo stays cool now. It has an adjustable voltage selector on the power supply and that increases or decreases the speed of the fan.

The fan also has rubber feet. It does make noise and I can hear it with nothing on. but once I play music or tv I can't hear it anymore.

Sal

[MattN03]

I got one of Windy Willy's (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200171345747&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching) dual temperature sensing fans off Ebay last night. Maybe this will help keep the DVR cooler. I already had most of the rear cabinet cut out, but I think it was still getting too hot.

[wingnut4772]

Those DVRs are toasters.

[Keiko]

I got one of Windy Willy's (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200171345747&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching) dual temperature sensing fans off Ebay last night. Maybe this will help keep the DVR cooler. I already had most of the rear cabinet cut out, but I think it was still getting too hot.
I use a Windy Willy. I think you'll be happy with it. Does a great job keeping my receiver cool. Low cost and effective.

[MattN03]

Those DVRs are toasters.

DVR + Rotel amp in same cabinet doesn't help :(

[Deadof_knight]

parts express has a couple different version around 60.00 $ a 12 dc plug adapter and 2 small 80mm fans for a computer work great too .Thats what I used all my stuff is stacked on seperate shelves however I ventilated every shelve with 5 , 2 inch holes via hole saw and then sanded smooth .The fans are mounted in the very bottom blowing air into the cabinet venting out the top every piece is like at least 4-5 inches from the next shelf. Everything stays quite cool.

[zingo]

I did this install in an old desk of mine. It had an enclosed area that my computer was in and I just installed a 12v computer fan with a transformer and switch for simple on/off. The whole thing cost me about $10 from PE.
If you are have tougher cooling issues than just a single fan, you might want to add another to suck air in. If you have an inlet fan and an outlet fan, that moves a whole lot more air than just a single fan. Also, make sure that your airflow is going across your electronics, not on top of. Pointing a fan straight at your AVR sounds like a logical idea, but it doesn't move heat as well as if the fan is blowing across it.

[disneyjoe7]

Just for reference my R10 is running 49c normal, and it's usually this warm. For the record on a shelf by itself, with about 3" clearance and a closed back but with 5" behind it. Not ideal, but just something to compare it to.

[bigaudiofanatic]

I would put two fans in one to pull air in and one to push air out. Even in computers its the same ordeal you have to keep air moving or you will just be moving the same hot air around. So that is what i recomend. The fans that I use are super quiet http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999107
After you get 'em go to radio shack and get a 12v av adaptor solder the red wires of the fans to positive and neg to neg. and whala. FYI the reason the dvr's run so hot is because the is not only a hard drive in there but also a prossesor. So It's like a mini computer persay.

[vonnie123]

I bought these fans from this ebay vendor. The fans are fairly inexpensive and were quiet. Service and delivery was prompt.


http://cgi.ebay.com/COOLING-FAN-KIT-FOR-AV-RECEIVER-AMPLIFIER-DUAL-FANS_W0QQitemZ300170488451QQihZ020QQcategoryZ14981 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[MattN03]

I would put two fans in one to pull air in and one to push air out. Even in computers its the same ordeal you have to keep air moving or you will just be moving the same hot air around. So that is what i recomend. The fans that I use are super quiet http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999107
After you get 'em go to radio shack and get a 12v av adaptor solder the red wires of the fans to positive and neg to neg. and whala. FYI the reason the dvr's run so hot is because the is not only a hard drive in there but also a prossesor. So It's like a mini computer persay.

I like the idea of pulling and pushing the air through, but I'm unsure how to do that in my situation. The entertainment center has glass doors on the front and then I cut out sections of the rear trim directly behind the amp & DVR & DVD player. Here are some pics of what I'm working with. I figured I could mount one fan to the rear trim allowing air to be pulled out. Any idea how to push/pull air using two fans? The other side of the entertainment holds the receiver and Panamax 5100.

[disneyjoe7]

You're quickly finding that most entertainment centers are not designed with us in mind. I would either need to replace it, or remove the back board behind your equipment. You only really some back board to support the it. That's what I did when I had something like that. When you are pushing the amp just open the glass door, not prefect but it will work for now. ;)

[MattN03]

You're quickly finding that most entertainment centers are not designed with us in mind. I would either need to replace it, or remove the back board behind your equipment. You only really some back board to support the it. That's what I did when I had something like that. When you are pushing the amp just open the glass door, not prefect but it will work for now. ;)

For now, I'm going to install the cooling fans at the rear of the equipment and see if that pulls enough hot air off. Hopefully, that is all I'll need to do.

[FicmanS]

I got one of Windy Willy's (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200171345747&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching) dual temperature sensing fans off Ebay last night. Maybe this will help keep the DVR cooler. I already had most of the rear cabinet cut out, but I think it was still getting too hot.

Very cool link... I've got to look into these...