Cool it!


Greetings to All,
How do you cool your hot amp?
Do you fan air in or away?
From the top or the bottom.
Is proper ventilation enough to keep the amp cool and healthy?
What is the science and your experiences behind this practice? 

Long Live HiFi!
Thank you
tomavodka
One time at a party the heat sink fins were getting hot to the touch. Like you did not want to leave your hand on there hot. Well this was winter so we put some snow in a plastic bag in between the heat sinks. 

Another time at a party suddenly no music. When I go to investigate there's a bunch of guys scratching their heads, trying to reassure the poor owner, nobody really knowing what to do. I said it got hot, protective relay, put it out on the deck and in ten minutes the winter air will have cooled it down and we can party on, Garth. 

Which we did. So scientifically speaking its best to do your hard rocking amplifier over-heating in the winter time.
Ideal would be the fan that forces air from bottom to the top of the heatsinks.  Any air speed would be much better than cooling by convection only.  There are very quiet slow fans available, but positioning them might be difficult.  My amplifier runs only warm, but lowering temperature always extends life of electrolytic capacitors.  Some of the laptop coolers are advertised as quiet, but it might be still audible while fans are likely positioned in wrong places.  I'm thinking about building 1-2" tall base with quiet fans in the proper location and side air intakes.   Good, easy home project.
 I had Krell KSA 50mk 2years ago it is still a great amp even by todays standards.Enjoy!!
I have a Parasound 5 channel amp in my home theater system. There are only a few inches between the amp and the shelf above. I use one of these with front exhaust. It works great and is very quiet. They also have models with top and rear exhaust.

https://www.acinfinity.com/component-cooling/component-fan-systems/aircom-s10-receiver-and-av-component-cooling-blower-system-front-exhaust-17/
Running 3 4"dia. ’puter fans atop my SS amp, ’blowing in’ the grate.

Have only triggered the ’fail safe’ once.....and I was being pretty enthusiastic.

12vdc with a wall wart, leave it on 24/7/365.25. Keeps the dust away as well...cheap insurance.

If it has a grate, it gets ’fanned’. I don’t understand why tube amps don’t come with them. If those heat sinks get hot, they’d benifit as well.

'Ell, my 'puter has 4.  Power supply, CPU, and case (of course), but also one on the graphics card that cools the audio card as well.  And I'm considering adding an exterior pair as well.  Gotta stay 'chill'...

"I love the smell of hot electronics....NOT." ;)