A/V cabinet cooling


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Old 11-13-16, 06:16 PM
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A/V cabinet cooling

My basement is being finished right now, and I've built a screen wall with a couple feet of space behind it for all my networking equipment, as well as easy access to the theater wall for wiring purposes. See here for the whole wall. As you can see, on one side of the wall, I'm using the space to build an in-wall AV cabinet. Here it is pretty much finished, just needs paint, which will be done after the basement is complete:



The back of the cabinet is removeable, held on by simple hooks and rings. And you can see the hole on the bottom which is just for the cables to route down and out the back. Each of the shelves is abou 3/4" short so there is a gap in the back for all the cables to just go down and out the bottom hole. But while I planned the crap out of this thing, I didn't really plan my cooling all that well. I kind of just planned on putting some fans in the top, or just cutting some holes in the top for passive heat escape. But now I am trying to decide how to do it.

My plan was to get a set of these cooling fans and install them on the top of the cabinet to pull the warm air out the top. But now I'm not entirely sure how much good they'd do. My doubt comes from the fact that the entire front of the cabinet is going to be open, no door on it, so there will be no pressure in the cabinet. With no pressure, will those fans really do a good job of pulling the warm air out ? I was hoping that the 3/4" gap between the back of the shelves and the back of the cabinet would be enough to let the hot air rise up to the top of the cabinet, so the fans could pull it out up there. Just wanted your 2 cents before I cut another hole in it.

I could also install the fans on the top of the removable back, that would just make it a little more cumbersome when removing the back. Anyway, I'm sure fans would be better than doing nothing, but if they're not going to make much more difference than just cutting some holes in the top, I'd rather not spend the $60 on the fans. They have a $35 set that doesn't include the temp sensor, but I thought the temp sensor would be a nice addition, so the fans wouldn't need to be on ALL the time.

Thanks for your thoughts!
 
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Old 11-14-16, 04:10 AM
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If you are leaving the front open and gaps between shelving, I see no need in the fans. I have been running all my equipment like that for 15 years with no adverse effects. I do have my shelving spaced a little higher than the component to help draw air over the top of them, too. Pardon the junk.

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Old 11-14-16, 05:34 AM
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Ok that's good to know, thanks for the reply. Maybe I'll even cut out a bit bigger divot at the back of the shelves kind of like the one at the bottom of the back that I have.

But should I still cut some sort of opening at the top of the cabinet?
 
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Old 11-14-16, 01:30 PM
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I do have a hole at the top back of the cabinet, but it was by mistake. I meant to cut it at the top of the first shelf, but no harm, as I figure all the hot air will find its way to the highest point and exit.
 
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Old 11-14-16, 01:55 PM
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Yeah I'm thinking I will cut a divot similar to the one at the bottom of the back of the shelf, only on the top of the cabinet. That won't be seen very easily, and will allow warm air to escape out the top. Thanks for your input.
 
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Old 11-14-16, 05:46 PM
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Whenever I have more than two shelves I drill large holes in them. ( where the legs of components wont fall in) Shelves always have a "notch" in the back edge for wires and air to flow between shelves. If in a closet, a metal air conditioning vent in the bottom of the closet door and in the ceiling or upper wall. I don't do "large" home theater but even a 150 watt receiver and a cable box generate considerable heat ....... then throw in a Blu Ray, modem, router and network switch and a few other components and you're running over 100 degrees.

My limit is 100 degrees. I have an Infra red temperature sensing tool and take measurement after setup and always make provisions for adding fans if required later, letting the client know that it's a possible "add on" if necessary.

If you are investing in a home theater you may as well protect it. Think about power line conditioners with battery backup too. An expense, to be sure but it only takes one surge to kill an expensive amp or TV set.
 
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Old 11-14-16, 06:16 PM
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Originally Posted by Jimmiee
Whenever I have more than two shelves I drill large holes in them. ( where the legs of components wont fall in) Shelves always have a "notch" in the back edge for wires and air to flow between shelves. If in a closet, a metal air conditioning vent in the bottom of the closet door and in the ceiling or upper wall. I don't do "large" home theater but even a 150 watt receiver and a cable box generate considerable heat ....... then throw in a Blu Ray, modem, router and network switch and a few other components and you're running over 100 degrees.

My limit is 100 degrees. I have an Infra red temperature sensing tool and take measurement after setup and always make provisions for adding fans if required later, letting the client know that it's a possible "add on" if necessary.

If you are investing in a home theater you may as well protect it. Think about power line conditioners with battery backup too. An expense, to be sure but it only takes one surge to kill an expensive amp or TV set.
Yeah, I was thinking of cutting some more U shapes out of the back of each shelf to allow for more air to pass up, as well as a U shape on the top of the cabinet. And then I will do as you mention, monitor the temps in there, and if they get too hot, I can always add one of those fan assemblies later. Not too hard to cut out and add those in.

And while you're talking about power conditioners and battery backups, can I ask you a couple questions about those? Will a power conditioner like this one do a good job of surge protection as well? Just wanted to see if that would be good enough to protect all my equipment.

And if I have a decent power conditioner/surge protector, a battery backup, is simply to keep the equipment up and running during brown outs and blackouts, right? Is it more for convenience, or will they protect the equipment from being fried as well? What would be a decent battery backup you could recommend that won't break the bank?

Edit: or do I just get one of these to take care of both in one shot?
APC Battery Backup & Surge Protector (BE550G) - 550VA 8-outlet Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0019804U8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ScOkyb72G7Q52
 

Last edited by paqman; 11-14-16 at 07:29 PM.
 

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