Cooling of AV Receiver in closed cabinet?

[Steve Mackay]

I found a local deal on a Denon AVR-2807 receiver and the instruction manual says that I should not put it in a book case due to over heating concerns. It also suggests leaving plenty of room around it for ventilation.

We are having a built in entertainment cabinet built by a local cabinet maker and the wife wants all the componets hidden behind a closed door. I'm worried about the receiver + DVR over heating.

How much space to I have to give around the receiver to ensure proper venting?
Is there some kind of (really quiet) fan I can install in the cabinet to help?
What other solutions might there be?

Cheers

Steve

 

[Warpdrv]

I would suggest a set of cooling fans at the back of the cabinet...

usually consists of PC fans, setup with a powersupply... 120mm fans will offer the quietest solution while moving the most amount of air.... there are some companies that offer expensive units, but you can easily go the DIY route for something like this...

checkout ebay here... http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&catref=C6&from=R10&satitle=Home+theater+cooling+fan&sacat=-1&catref=C6&sargn=-1&saslc=2&sadis=200&fpos=53092&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1&fsoo=1

also check this site out for idea's http://www.activethermal.com/

good luck...

 

[majorloser]

Cooling Fans

There are also rack mounted cooling fan units available that are use with computer server racks and there is a company that make cooling fan units that are meant to be placed under your audio components.

http://www.cool-components.com/31.html?sm=16241

You can also find a 120V 5" cooling fan that could be mounted in the back of your component rack and then plugged into the switched outlet on your receiver (if it has one).

But if you have a couple of inches surrounding the receiver and the exterior of the unit never gets so hot you can't place your hand on it you're Okay. No extra cooling should be needed.

 

[jchag]

I purchased two of the cooling fans on Ebay after frying my receiver in an enclosed cabinet. They are both controlled by a thermosate and work fine.

 

[Bassman2]

I don't know if this helps but I put mine in a entertainment center rack and I had to take off the back to fit it. But rather than see the wall and wires behind it, I covered the back with an air conditioner filter cut to fit and mounted with Velcro.

If I'm just listening to background music I keep the front door closed and the filter material (the thin black kind) allows the amp to breath AND filters out dust that would otherwise collect inside the receiver. When I crank the volume I leave the door ajar.

Door a jar?...

 

[solomr2]

A couple of different ways you can do this, either natural airflow or artificially moving the air;

For natural airflow you basically leave the backside of the cabinet open as much as possible, so heat has a way to evacuate the cabinet. If that is not possible then maybe have the cabinet doors made with a big opening and cover it with some fabric.

The second option is to move the air artificially with cooling fans. There are many types of fans and configurations. The most elegant ones only take an up an inch of two, mounted to the cabinet above the receiver and exhaust out front, back or sides. But this option can tend to create some unwanted noise, and it requires power to keep them running.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Heat is the number one killer of A/V components in my experience.

Cabinetmakers are also completely clueless of this as a reality... in my experience (not opinion).

WAF aside, you must take very serious personal action and involvement about the cooling of gear in your furniture... If you are paying your $$$ for this and you care about your $$$ then it may cost a bit more to do it right, but the final results can be excellent.

The advice above was dead on, but remember that if you can't go with fabric or an open back then fans must be used - and they must lead to open spaces. You can't feed from one uncirculating environment to another environment and hope for much. You have to have open passages of airflow and a fair amount of additional consideration..

ie: Heat rises, and airflow will follow the path of least resistance.

The first part people get, but it means that you want ventilation holes and pathways at or near the very top of where the equipment will be housed.

The second part is more interesting because it means that you must feed air through the rack in a way that encourages all air to go up and out of the rack. If, for example, you put two holes at the TOP of your rack - one for pushing air in, the other for pulling air out... Well, you would put a couple of fans in, and instead of circulating the air, it would push the air straight across the top of the rack and effectively trap all the hot air in the rack itself.

Take a look here:
http://www.middleatlantic.com/rackac/cooling/qcool.htm