Cooling my receiver

[hemiram]

I used to have a fan set up like this when I had my stuff in a Sauder rack that was too close on the top and sides to let the receiver and external amp vent very well. I got a friend to cut slots in all the shelves about a foot long each every 1.5", running from front to back and under the top shelf, I used a 115v fan to "push" the hot air out. The amount of warm air that came out surprised me, I didn't think it would be nearly as much as it was.

This worked great, but every six months or so, I had to use a vaccuum cleaner inside the receiver to get all the cat hair out. I couldn't believe how much got inside it! The temp on the amp's heat sinks went down over 50 degrees by doing it. The whole deal cost me like 20 bucks.

 

[rtcp]

Oh, it's not a good idea to clean out electronics with a vacuum. It's best to use canned air so there's no risk of a static discharge.

 

[nasachusetts]

Could you blow the dust out without opening the receiver and voiding the warranty?

 

[majorloser]

Could you blow the dust out without opening the receiver and voiding the warranty?

I wouldn't recommend it. Compressed air can be damaging to delecate electronics. Besides, you want to remove the dust and dirt from the case, not drive it in deeper. Usually there's only a couple of screws to remove and there is no way the manufacturer will know unless there is some sort of tamper-proof tape or label. You can use those "cans of air" that contain no moisture, but a small vacuum and a soft paint brush work best.

Just be safe and unplug the unit first

 

[rtcp]

Compressed air can be damaging to delecate electronics.

So can static discharge from the end of a vacuum cleaner. Besides, circuit boards aren't really all that delicate. Not when they're being bombarded with air, anyway. Having a few thousand volts run through them is a different story.

You'd have to take the cover off your receiver to clean it with canned air, though, but it's really not a good idea to bring the end of a vacuum cleaner near electronics.

 

[nasachusetts]

OK just finished cutting and drilling the cabinet, here is the pics.
http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/7264/imgp00470fy.jpg
http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/3729/imgp00548je.jpg

I think just having air getting through is helping out tremendously, though it still gets a little hot, it is not as bad as before. Still working on a fan solution.

 

[hemiram]

Oh, it's not a good idea to clean out electronics with a vacuum. It's best to use canned air so there's no risk of a static discharge.

I've been doing this for over 30 years without any problems. I don't go actually open up the case unless I have to for some other reason, and then I use a small attachment I made out of an aluminum tube to fit on the vacuum cleaner hose that actually has a ground wire on it, with a plug that is only connected to ground so it can be plugged in the wall to drain any charge off.

I found a hunk of alum tubing in a dumpster at work, and it just fits inside the vacuum hose and I spun it in a lathe and filed two grooves and glued an o-ring to each one, and it's a perfect seal. I partially crushed the end in a vise, and cut it off at 45 degrees to make a "nozzle".

It works, because the cat and dog hair just falls off the hose, instead of being stuck to it electrostatically. This may be overkill, as I went without this and just used the vac until about 2 years or so ago with no problems.

 

[hemiram]

OK just finished cutting and drilling the cabinet, here is the pics.
http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/7264/imgp00470fy.jpg
http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/3729/imgp00548je.jpg

I think just having air getting through is helping out tremendously, though it still gets a little hot, it is not as bad as before. Still working on a fan solution.

What you might want to do is drill some more holes above the receiver on both sides to let the heat out better.

Or, you might want to go to the hardware store and buy a hole saw that goes on your drill, and make a couple of holes above the receiver on each side, these would be the size of an average fan, like 3", and then put two fans on each side of the receiver, pulling air up through the side vents, and out the top. If you want to get cheap, just use one per side, it would be enough.

 

[rtcp]

I've been doing this for over 30 years without any problems. I don't go actually open up the case unless I have to for some other reason, and then I use a small attachment I made out of an aluminum tube to fit on the vacuum cleaner hose that actually has a ground wire on it, with a plug that is only connected to ground so it can be plugged in the wall to drain any charge off.

I found a hunk of alum tubing in a dumpster at work, and it just fits inside the vacuum hose and I spun it in a lathe and filed two grooves and glued an o-ring to each one, and it's a perfect seal. I partially crushed the end in a vise, and cut it off at 45 degrees to make a "nozzle".

It works, because the cat and dog hair just falls off the hose, instead of being stuck to it electrostatically. This may be overkill, as I went without this and just used the vac until about 2 years or so ago with no problems.

Well obviously that's quite safe. But most people won't take those precautions.