Need to vent tube heat?

Thanks for the replies. I had not really thought about ease of access to the fan(s).

As to the A/C question, do you think it's a good idea, in terms of energy savings, to vent the heat out? Have any other hot climate audiogoners gone this route? The heat would be vented out of the room, into either the attic or out the side of the house.

Thanks

I live in the Central Valley in California - that may qualify for hot climate unless you live near Pheonix. :-)

I would find the addition of a venting system to the house more limiting than beneficial. Of course you could do it much the same as you would vent a dryer in the laundry room, not a big deal, but you wouldn't be able to move the location of the amp or cabinet much. You would still need the fan(s) and to accomodate the tubing from the cabinet to the wall you'd probably have to all for additional distance for the connecting tube. Oh, also consider, that the closer the fan(s) are to the amps the more efficient thier cooling action will be.

FWIW - I'd keep it as simple as possible and easily reversible.

This is an easier way to do it and requires minimum hassle:
http://members.cox.net/nsgarch/cooling_fans_top.jpg
The fans are Vantec 80mm square "Stealth" computer case fans (they also come in 60mm, 92mm and 120mm sizes) They are 12V but I run them in parallel from a 9V RadioShack wall wart for silent operation. Unlike most fans of this type, these feature roller bearings for extra quiet operation and believe me, they DO make a difference http://www.vantecusa.com/front/product/chg_page/35/-1
This method allows easy access for cleaning and replacement, and allows the "cooling" to follow the equipment, should your component layout change in the future.

PS: I live in Tucson, just a couple degrees less than Phoenix (usually ;-)
.

I found a 120 Volt 5.5 watt fan at www.hometheatercooling.com
It took a while to get here, and its $50, but its decent.

Regards,
Miles

Hi Miles, for what it's worth, and not to bum you out:

I forgot to mention that by using low voltage direct current fans (12V DC) one avoids inadvertantly producing 60Hz AC hum in nearby interconnects or sensitive circuits. The other issue is that if a 120VAC fan is too noisy, it's hard to slow it down except by putting it in series with heat-producing resistors -- which is what Audio Research used to do in their early fan-cooled amplifiers.

I used to think the 120VAC case fans must have better performance compared to the "wimpy" 12VDC versions, but just for the hell of it, I compared the specs for the $12 Vantec Stealth 120mm size fan to the $50 Home Theater PQ fan you mentioned, and lo and behold, the 12 volt DC version has higher CFM airflow and lower dB noise level than the 120 volt AC version, frankly I was quite surprised.