would putting my av stuff under the stairs be safe

legs · 17-06-2009, 5:14 PM

currently planning a total re-furb of the lower floor of my house.
i was thinking of putting all my av stuff (sky, surround sound & server) on a rack under the stairs, would this be safe???????????

i can run trunking to an outside wall, mate that to a bathroom fan, would that keep it cool enough.

my missus thinks it would be a fire hazrad, a bit of me says it might not be ok, but i thought i'd ask the experts.

this is under the stairs

what you think guys

hornydragon · 17-06-2009, 5:17 PM

Properly Loomed Racked and isolated it will be fine you will need to consider cooling etc and it depends on the amount of kit!

Stoatman · 17-06-2009, 5:25 PM

Things dont get that hot do they ! ? Seems little difference in there then say a sealed AV unit , better if anything. Did you say you can get access to outside easily and install a silent extractor fan ?

albriscoe · 17-06-2009, 5:26 PM

If that is your gas central heating boiler I can imagine that with the door shut it gets absolutley boiling in their.

I say this because my boiler in a dedicated boiler room maybe 5-6 times your under stairs area gets very very warm indeed.

If you plan to go AHEAD make certain there is plenty of ventilation and heat extraction,, maybe a fan extractor.

Also consider the extra toil on all the AV kit in general, ie; transformers, power supplies, chips and I DON`T MEAN the eatable kind

.

Mind you, you could end up being able to cook some in there

Having said that if its a beer fridge just leave the door open a bit

Stoatman · 17-06-2009, 5:29 PM

I think its a freezer is it ? ALthough they give out heat dont they. With an extractor though shouldn't it be fine??

Are you keeping it in there ?

legs · 17-06-2009, 5:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by albriscoe

If that is your gas central heating boiler I can imagine that with the door shut it gets absolutley boiling in their.

I say this because my boiler in a dedicated boiler room maybe 5-6 times your under stairs area gets very very warm indeed.

If you plan to go AHEAD make certain there is plenty of ventilation and heat extraction,, maybe a fan extractor.

Also consider the extra toil on all the AV kit in general, ie; transformers, power supplies, chips and I DON`T MEAN the eatable kind

.

Mind you, you could end up being able to cook some in there

Having said that if its a beer fridge just leave the door open a bit

currently have a spare freezer in there, but thats getting tossed.

i could install a fan either to an outside wall, but will need 2.5m of ducting to run through my utility room, or next to the door venting into the hall

Stoatman · 17-06-2009, 5:30 PM

Couldn't you just vent it to the utility room or is it that not recommended ?

legs · 17-06-2009, 5:37 PM

i could vent it easily into the hall mind you, i could put a silent fan in this wall next to the door

hornydragon · 17-06-2009, 5:43 PM

couple of grills in the door perhaps a fan (how much kit and what sort?) AMPs run hot some hotter than others as Do STBs

legs · 17-06-2009, 5:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hornydragon

couple of grills in the door perhaps a fan (how much kit and what sort?) AMPs run hot some hotter than others as Do STBs

eventualy

sky hd
xbox 360
blue-ray or htpc
onkyo or similar amp
internet stuff
home server
possiably more in the future

what you think guys

spocksbeard · 17-06-2009, 6:09 PM

Personally I wouldn't put a 360 in there, from my experience they need to be surrounded by freeflowinng air even when not turned on

(plus it would make changing games a pain)

andy1249 · 17-06-2009, 6:21 PM

Sky Hd , Xbox , HTPC and Onkyos all generate lots of heat and will need to be cooled properly or you can expect problems.

Also , as mentioned already , what about changing discs? And you have the control problems to consider , I would imagine you are looking at a fairly elaborate IR or RF solution so that one remote does all I expect ?

hornydragon · 17-06-2009, 7:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by legs

eventualy

sky hd
xbox 360
blue-ray or htpc
onkyo or similar amp
internet stuff
home server
possiably more in the future

what you think guys

Keep consoles local distributing them is fairly impractical also the AMP may be better local, (you can put it all in cupboard but your going to need a lot more thought on space, location and cooling)

A properly designed and actively cooled rack can be a lot cooler than a normal open AV unti but it needs design.

legs · 18-06-2009, 4:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hornydragon

Keep consoles local distributing them is fairly impractical also the AMP may be better local, (you can put it all in cupboard but your going to need a lot more thought on space, location and cooling)

A properly designed and actively cooled rack can be a lot cooler than a normal open AV unti but it needs design.

i hear what you are saying about the xbox, i suppose i could build this into the side of the false chimney (with the proper vents & cooling), would really like everything else under the stair.
i might go & get a fan & see what the temp would be under there without anything in there