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Need to vent tube heat?

We're building a house and I'm planning on a custom cabinet for the main stereo, which will be in the living room. When playing, cabinet doors will be open to display components.

System includes ARC REF 3, CD-7, VS-115 (possibly replaced by REF 110 or 210), SME 20/2, and phono preamp to be determined. These put off considerable heat, which is an issue given that I live in Texas.

Do you recommend that I use a fan/vent system to pull heat out? Would it make enough of a difference, in terms of AC costs, to vent the heat? I suppose it might also help with tube life.

I appreciate any advice.

chucktone
nsgarch's avatar
nsgarch
2,524 posts
 
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 ;-)
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milesd77
25 posts
 
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
nsgarch's avatar
nsgarch
2,524 posts
 
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.
newbee
4,775 posts
 
Nsgarch, Out of curiosity, I looked up the fans you mentioned. The site sez that they have an automatic temp control function that is not only a turn on/off but actually controls the fan speed. Interesting and sounds great! But, there is no mention about how the automatic function is dialed in, something that would seem to me to be important, especially if the fans are placed some distance from the heat source.

Are you aware of how this works in actual use?
nsgarch's avatar
nsgarch
2,524 posts
 
Newbee - leaving no turn un-stoned, I called Vantec on that issue and it was explained that many newer computer motherboards have built-in heat sensors so that the case fans can be turned on/off or their speed adjusted according to the conditions inside the computer enclosure.

I decided (rightly or wrongly) that implementing that capability in my little DIY audio application was probably going to be more trouble than it would be worth - so I put the whole thing out of my mind ;-)

But if you want to pursue it further and find a simple way to implement that feature, PLEASE share it with us!

thanks, -Neil
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