Heat Buildup and Your AV Components

mike c

mike c

Audioholic Warlord
Heat Buildup and Your AV Components
by Bo Dragsdahl

If you want to ensure that your expensive electronic components enjoy a long and full product life cycle, you must make sure to keep them operating at a comfortable, cool temperature. The number one factor that kills electronic components is overheating. Even short of an outright meltdown, excessive heat causes electronic components to function less reliably and reduces their overall life span. ...

Read the full article here:
http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/home-wiring-construction/heat-buildup-and-your-components


______
Mike C
Janitor In Chief
Audioholics
 
mike c

mike c

Audioholic Warlord
btw Clint, the link of that page is still misfiring.
 
E

edmcanuck

Audioholic
As you use your entertainment system to watch movies or play music, most of the components convert 100% of the power they consume into heat.
That statement would, of course, violate the universal law of conservation of energy. If 100% of the energy is being converted to heat, then absolutely nothing else could be done by the component as there is zero energy to do it. In reality, the most inefficient Class-A amplifiers convert about 80% of their energy to heat which is a long cry from 100%. When you're talking about a Class-D amplifier, some manufacturers have limited the energy converted to heat to as low as 4% of the energy in the system.

Ever since Audioholics format change recently, there has been some really questionable information popping up in these front-page stories. Is nobody reviewing content for accuracy?

However, audio/video cabinet enclosures, such as StudioTech’s Ultra cabinets, are becoming increasingly popular... Special thanks to StudioTech for this information.
The site's credibility seems to me to be getting hurt by recent articles focus on marketing the author's products. This article is no exception.
 
dave1490

dave1490

Audioholic
That statement would, of course, violate the universal law of conservation of energy. If 100% of the energy is being converted to heat, then absolutely nothing else could be done by the component as there is zero energy to do it. In reality, the most inefficient Class-A amplifiers convert about 80% of their energy to heat which is a long cry from 100%. When you're talking about a Class-D amplifier, some manufacturers have limited the energy converted to heat to as low as 4% of the energy in the system.

Ever since Audioholics format change recently, there has been some really questionable information popping up in these front-page stories. Is nobody reviewing content for accuracy?


The site's credibility seems to me to be getting hurt by recent articles focus on marketing the author's products. This article is no exception.
ya if 100% was converted you would have a toaster:rolleyes:
 
obscbyclouds

obscbyclouds

Senior Audioholic
I think my XBOX 360 converts 110% of its power into heat :D.
 
That IS a funny statement, and the idea was that much of the energy is converted into heat. I'll tone back the exuberance of the phrasing. Toaster indeed - even a toaster doesn't covert 100% of its energy into heat.
 
S

Scott R. Foster

Junior Audioholic
Odd... I guess mine is broken... it converts energy into toast.

:)
 

Theweatherman

Audiophyte
AV Cooler

Have you tried using the AV Cooler offered by Antec ?
It's cool and really get's the job done ! I had continous problems with my Home Theatre Amplifyer shutting down due to over heating, however once I added this cooler into my cabinet all problems were solved.


I believe you can score at Fry's electronics for about $69
 
T

Tunup

Audiophyte
Heat Buildup and Your AV Components Reply to Thread

I know more people should take heed to the heat build-up,this is why some a/v equipment gets refurbished and sold at a lower price. I bought a Oak entertainment center my first one when CD were new. The EC would only fit a 27'' tv,had a beatiful stack cabinet 8 shelves,glass door on one end and the other end held 300 vhs tapes 5 shelves wooden door opens up to them . TV fit in the middle. Back at that time only Sony made a 40'' TV and then they started to make bigger EC's. Well I didn't buy one ,but scab mine to fit a 40'' HDTV took off the VHS shelves to hold a bigger tv but on the A/V end I left on the glass door took out the backing and drilled holes for breathing. The shelves were adjustable in height. It worked because I have upgraded 3 times and this time I went really big I got some Denon furnaces (receivers) and a Pace Cable box with all the bells and whistles on it DVR etc which also throws out heat. This is a fine point you made because there are a lot of people that don't realize this . It is a major ,major point you have made. I am looking after 20 years for something exact to stack,keep dust free and look nice and that means some money. If you saw what I did you would not know it was all jigsawed up. I was shocked at the heat the cable box throws out with that sata HD in it. One more thing about the components in how they are stacked -Keep the amps or rec's on top. I was really glad to read what you pointed out for others. I just signed on to Audioholics since I just joined the Blu-ray world and upgraded tv ,rec,cable box with dvr and a blu-ray player
 
MidnightSensi

MidnightSensi

Audioholic Samurai
I'm pretending to work, so I have to core dump this quick:

The greater the temperature differential between the rack and the room, the less fans are needed.

Generally wider racks are better for the chimney effect. One of the reasons a wide rack runs better than a thin one, or a shelf setup, is because of the 'chimneys' on both sides of the rack. If you do have to use a closed wood shelf system, have the outsides of the shelves cut out along the interior walls.

The other thing that I see a lot which is a bad idea is installing vented panels between front intake equipment. This causes the air to come out the back and have a path of recirculating to the front. Shelf setups are very bad with this, because their backs are blocked and the only way for the hot air to escape is through the front of the shelf, leaving it to get recirculated into the equipment.

Rear intake equipment (front exhaust) should be separated from front intake equipment with a panel.

On shelves, often times a blower is a better selection than a fan, because blowers are capable of 'sucking' at higher static pressures like would be developed in a wood shelf with gear that is front to back cooled.

Also, always run a bit more intake fans than exhaust fans, because it keeps the pressure positive, which makes dust tend to move away from your equipment rather than into it.

Keep intakes away from exhaust.


Now back to work for me.:D
 
C

chalkeroochy

Audiophyte
My Onkyo 805 (which are known to get fairly hot) is cooled by a 2 speed Antec AV cooler, the cabinet has tinted glass doors and an open back. The antec sits directly on it.
Cools very well and very quietly on low speed. I couldn't do without it.
 
A

A14u4IA

Audiophyte
Yeah after mine cooked my dvr I mounted it in the fireplace with my xbox. Too bad we want to use our real fireplace in the new place. Between the Xbox and the 1800 watt receiver I know where I will be in this drafty old house come winter.
Seriously though, it is just sitting in the open now, not near the thermostat, joy a real den, the room gets nearly 10 degrees warmer than the rest of the house. ×=:% youtube playing through Xbox not my old vizio tv app now. Tempted to vent into the attic, the heat has to go somewhere else. Guess a chromecast dongle might help a bit for youtube vids, but will be in the same boat for memorizing Nuremburg on Forza. Think the rec cooks at 400 watts just being on, I suspect the old Xbox is almost as bad. Any ideas of where to put the heat, chimmney effect is great but where does it the heat go? Anyone tried the piezo cooling cells? Should I put a cheap goldfish tank on top to soak up the heat? Is there anything that can be done without tearing into this old plaster house for another chimney?
 
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