Cabinet Cooling / Ventilation Advice

[halfnormalled]

Hi folks,

We’ve just got a nice new cabinet for our gear. (next upgrade will be a bigger TV, mounted on the wall)

I want to get all my gear inside—the Rotel, Apple TV, Raspberry PI, PS4, Switch, and occasionally some other older consoles when they come out in rotation. I’ve read loads of threads on here about cabinet cooling and ventilation and have a rough idea of what I need to do. But I was hoping for some wisdom specific to my situation.

The doors open to a nice big space: 400 mm x 1150 mm x 500 mm (DWH), separated by a shelf.

The shelf is set back from the doors by about 40mm, so there will be some airflow from the lower shelf to the top shelf.

My current thinking is to have the hot gear on the bottom shelf. I’ll get a pair of AC Infinity S7 fans.

Amazon product

These would be powered by the amp so they are always on whenever the amp is on. I would mount these on the back board—one behind the amp and one at the other side, blowing into the cabinet so they are creating positive pressure. Then I’d have two vent holes in the back of the top shelf to give the air somewhere to escape. Here’s a rough sketch.

Does this seem reasonable? I’m not sure if I need fans on the top shelf to move the air out or if the vents will be enough. If I get two more fans for the top shelf, I’m not sure how I would drive them, as the bottom two would be powered from the amp’s rear USB port. I don’t want to have to manually switch them on or off.

I suppose I could get the T7 kit with the temperate controller, so I could power it from the mains and it will only run when necessary. Then I could chain two more fans off that if I need to. But I was hoping to avoid that due to the cost of these AC infinity things in the UK… £147 right now!

Amazon product

Alternatively, does anyone know of any other AC Infinity alternatives? The fans will be on the back of the cabinet so I don't need the fancy enclosures on the Airplates.

Any advice will be very much appreciated.

 

[halfnormalled]

I have just seen that for almost the same price as Amazon, I can get the T8 and two S3s direct from AC Infinity...

Two intake fans on the lower level with all the hot gear, and two exhaust fans on the top. Maybe I should just do that and stop overthinking it!

 

[Jester1066]

I have just seen that for almost the same price as Amazon, I can get the T8 and two S3s direct from AC Infinity...

View attachment 1564880

Two intake fans on the lower level with all the hot gear, and two exhaust fans on the top. Maybe I should just do that and stop overthinking it!

Agreed but I'd just start with the T8 kit. Those fans move a lot of air. You can always add the S7's later if needed. Put your cabinet dimensions in this calculator:

Cabinet Cooling and Ventilation

www.acinfinity.com

Near bottom of page.

 

[halfnormalled]

Agreed but I'd just start with the T8 kit. Those fans move a lot of air. You can always add the S7's later if needed. Put your cabinet dimensions in this calculator:

Cabinet Cooling and Ventilation

www.acinfinity.com

Near bottom of page.

Thanks, I had a look at that calculator. I get 25. The T8 says it moves 105. So you’re right, it looks like plenty with just the two.

I suppose I was concerned that I wouldn’t get enough flow up the small gap in front of the shelf. But yes. I could just try and see. Thanks!

 

[Jester1066]

Job big is your cabinet? Mine is approx 1200mm long.

 

[halfnormalled]

Cabinet is 1800 mm wide. But the cupboard area is 400 mm x 1150 mm x 500 mm (DWH).

 

[Jester1066]

Cabinet is 1800 mm wide. But the cupboard area is 400 mm x 1150 mm x 500 mm (DWH).

Definitely go with just the T8, oriented so one fan pulls cold air in (bottom of cabinet) and the other exhausts hot air out (top of cabinet). It's just a simple case of rotating the fan (if needed). There's instructions on the AC Infinity site how to do this.

 

[halfnormalled]

Thanks, I'll give it a go. Do you think one top and bottom will be enough? I was worried if I put them top and bottom at the left, then the right side might not get much air flow. And if I put one bottom left, and one top right, then the top left and bottom right might not get much movement. I figure if I have the two fans at the bottom pushing air in, then two vents at the top, it might encourage more flow? Or the other way around, two fans at the top exhausting, and two vents at the bottom.

Is your 1200 wide cabinet one big single space?

 

[Jester1066]

My cabinet is actually 2750mm wide (as it's being custom made), but like you the bit where all the amps are is 1178mm wide (to be precise!)... But split into 2 halves by a devider panel.

Most of my amps that get hottest are to be housed in a slide out rotating 19inch rack - that will sit in one half (or side) of the 1178mm part. I'll have one fan in the base of that half of the cabinet (drawing air in), with the other at the back high up (expelling the warm air). In the kick board/plinth of the cabinet both sides will be a passive grille/vent to allow cold air in the bottom. I also plan on putting a passive vent in the deviding panel of the amp cabinet so it also passively cools (to some extent), the non - fan side

If I need to fan the other half of the cabinet I'll add 2 additional S7's in the same configuration as the T8 kit and link them to the same thermostatic controller.

The beauty of the T8 being thermostatically controlled is that the fans will (well should) only turn on if the temperature goes above the (custom) preset figure. Then turn off again once the temperature drops sufficiently.