Hallsy's Home Cinema - cabinet mods & wall mount

Hallsy

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Well, a little while back I was all set to sort out my TV and get it up on the wall, but after a few discussions with SWMBO it never happened:
http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-cinema-diy/856417-my-little-project-starts-weekend-advice.html

Anyway, apart from that, I needed to do a little bit of modding to my AV cabinet.

So, a while ago I switched from an open, glass AV rack to an enclosed one, mainly for aesthetics, wanted my kit hidden, wires hidden, etc.

Anyway, with that in mind, cooling and IR extension was something I had to sort. Up until yesterday, the back was always off, and the doors open when in use.

Here's what I started with:

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To take care of the cooling I decided to mount a pair of 120mm exhaust fans, controlled by a temp controller. I already had the temp controller and PT100, so I just needed a couple of fans. Looked around and got a pair of Xilence Red Wing's fairly cheap from ebay. | XILENCE |

First off was to remove the shelves and 'perforate' them :)

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Not the neatest of jobs, but hey, it won't be seen.

Then I had to mod the back panels to take the fans, allow for cable exits, and also, as my amp is fairly deep, I had to cut out a section for that to get to the rear connections. So a little while later, and a bit of sawing, I had this:

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Then I needed to mount the temp controller & PT100, and wire them up. The controller I used could be powered from 12V, so I bought a cheap 230/12V 1.0A adaptor and used this to power the controller, and supply the fans via the relay out. You'll also noticed the white temperature probe on the left, more on that later:

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So, after a bit of hoovering & cleaning, I put all my kit back inside. Also added the little IR 'eyes' onto the DVD player & amp. I have one more but I'd forgotten to drill a hole through to pass it onto the 360. Not a great deal anyway as I'll just use the RF. I need to save it for the forthcoming HTPC anyway ;)

I used this extender kit from ebay, nice & cheap, does the job: Infra Red Remote Control Extender for TV/VCR/DVD NEW on eBay, also, Remote Controls, TV Accessories, Consumer Electronics (end time 26-Jun-09 15:04:30 BST)

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And with the doors all shut up:

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All in all, not a bad job - if a little anal & geeky (as the missus said!!), but it needed to be done, it gets fairly toasty in there with all the kit on!

Back to the white temp probe, this was something my other half was given one year by a sales rep. It's a clock with room temperature, and has an external temperature probe & display. So I use this one on the amp side of the rack, and the controllers PT100 is on the 360's side.

So I've always got the cabinet temp in front of me :cool:

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I haven't had chance to fully test it yet as I just put all the stuff back last night, watched a bit of cliffhanger and went to bed!!

Main issue I can see so far is that the amp side gets very hot, but I'm not sure how qucikly this will soak across to the PT100, to kick the fans in, I may have to drill some holes throught the centre section, either that or mount the PT100 across both sides.

Second issue, is that the fans aren't quite so quiet now they are mounted. Not as loud as the xbox, but I can still hear them. I might experiement running them slower.

Main thing now is deciding what temp to try to keep the cabinet at. Obviosuly trying to keep it at 20'C won't happen with just circulation, I'm thinking maybe 30'C?

Anyway, onto the next job today (hopefully), and that's getting the screen on the wall. Now we're happy, it's the re-locating of the radiator that puts the missus off :rolleyes: It needs doing as since I've had this unit the centre has been made redundant. As soon as the TV is wall mounted, the centre can go back in :)

Sorry if this post is a little geeky, but I know there's a few on here who will appreciate it :thumbs:
 
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Very clever stuff mate :thumbsup:. My kits getting very hot lately and it's not even enclosed so I'd say you had no choice but to do it - geeky or not :D. It beats killing your kit!

Sam
 
Nice job, might nick this one for my amp housing when it's done and I've had chance to see if it gets hot or not. :smashin:

Quick question...if the fans kick in when the heating is on, won't they just pull more hot air in off the radiator?
 
Thanks chaps :)

Norty Mart - the radiator is switched off at the mo, and is going to be relocated this weekend to allow the TV to go on the wall - watch this space!

The fans are exhausting anyway, i.e. sucking the hot air out.

I have had all of my kit turned on this morning, and left my 360 streaming mp3's all morning.

I watched the temps up to 35'C but as I was going out with the dog and wanted to leave it all on I set the fan controller to 35'C.

Got home and it was maintaining this fine, set it to 30'C and it holds this fine also. At the moment with 1'C hysterisis, it takes ~1m10s to rise from 30'C to 31'C, then ~1m25s for the fans to pull it back down to 30'C.

Once I've finished messing around I'll probably set the hysterisis higher to something like 2-3'C so that the relay isn't actuating as often.

One thing I have noticed is that the fans are being a little strangled, if I put a bit of paper behind one when running, then open the door the airflow increases, suggesting there is not quite enough ventilation.

As it is cooling OK at the moment, I don't see the need for an intake fan, but I think I will add some vent holes to lower part of the rear panels.

As an example with the doors a jar, it only takes around 40s for the fans to pull the temp down by 1'C so it will be worthwhile. I'll use some filter material over the vents to help keep the dust issues down.

I'm also going to try using some silicone gaskets to cut out fan vibration and lower the noise a fraction. They aren't at all loud, but it's another measure to get them even quieter.
 
Thanks chaps :)

Norty Mart - the radiator is switched off at the mo, and is going to be relocated this weekend to allow the TV to go on the wall - watch this space!

The fans are exhausting anyway, i.e. sucking the hot air out.

Ah, sorry, wasn't thinking...makes sense now! :blush:

Good luck with the rad, I'm doing 2 myself now I've run out of things to do to put it off.
 
Awesome Idea, need to replicate this in my unit, any good suppliers?

For the fans it's a good idea to get some 'silent' PC ones, from somehwere like Scan:

Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online - Scan.co.uk

The Akasa ones, AK-191, was a consideration, they are quieter than what I have but not sure if the bearings are as good. I got my Xilence Red Wings from ebay, they were 'used' but had only been used briefly so as new. They are only obtrusive with quiet TV/music - but I am going to use some silicone gaskets to hopefully dampen some of the vibration.

For the temperature/fan controller, there are various off the shelf fan controllers I believe, but I used a Carel temperature controller. Similar items can be found from RS. Same with the PT100 (temperature probe).

For the supply I bought a cheap 1A 230/12V DC adaptor from ebay to power the controller & the fans through the relay out.

Anyway, I got some more work done this afternoon/evening - but I don't have time now to get any pics up.

Will get some up tomorrow :)
 
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Just a very quick one this morning.

After fitting my wall mount yesterday into a breeze block wall, I have since been reading a few threads suggesting specialist fittings should be used?

I am unsure what type of blocks they are, they are groundfloor, between living room & integral garage, rendered & skimmed, 1960's house.

My instructions said not be to used with cinder blocks, which I presume are the ones that are hollow, these were solid.

I had no real reservations until I read a few more threads about using resin plugs.

I used the lag bolts and anchors that came with it, 6 of them. They were M10 iirc, had to drill a 12mm hole.

I could tighten the bolts up with moderate force without spinning, but didn't go mad in case they did spin. The blocks needed hammer action to get through them, so I don't believe them to be the really lightweight thermalite ones.

The mount seems solid, but I don't want it to fall out at a later date!!

Does it sound like the anchor bolts are OK? I doubt I'd be able to get them out easilly to replace them anyway, unless I added a couple more of different type for good measure?

One thing to note is that the same wall previously used to hold a radiator using 4 smaller M8 lag bolts, and that rad was a 1400x600 double convector, which weighed a damn site more than the 32" LCD!!!
 
So, back on track....

Sunday I got some more work done. Excuse the crappy photos, they were quick snapshots really.

I modded the cabinet a little more, added some extra vents down low to help air flow. The fans were being strangled a little, so the extra vents should make it easier for them to draw air out. I also drilled some holes in the centre section to hopefully let the temps from both sides mix and so even out the temperature read at the PT100.

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I also made up a couple of rubber gaskets to help dampen any vibrations:

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Anyway, I then got the go-ahead to take the radiator off the wall and get my mount up :D Unfortunately the mount I bought wasn't quite right for me. I bought one for 32-60" (just to be on the safe side!), well it fitted OK, but the bracket was so wide it came out of the ends!! So I cut the ends down a little and folded the edges back up as it was originally. It's quite sturdy so I'd very much doubt it would have any effect unless I actually went ahead and fitted a 60" screen!!

So, with rad removed and mount up, I then cut some 40mm holes through to the garage, I lined these with 40mm waste pipe, which also ran down the other side of the wall to contain the cables.

In hindsight there probably wasn't much in it between doing it this was, and just chasing a large channel straight down using one bit of pipe, although there would have been more making good to be done:

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And then after a little filling and touching up (not a perfect match :( ):

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After a trial fit of the screen, we agreed on height, etc and all seemed OK. So I got to work on mounting the radiator in it's new position. Just need piping up now:

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And so that how it was until this morning when I got chance to wire it all back up and give it a test. All good :)

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Quite happy with it, although it would be great to have a bigger screen, that will have to wait a while!!

Just need to do a little more with the cable management behind the unit, and need a longer extension lead with some extra sockets. Something like an 8-way Belkin Surgemaster should do it. Then I need to sort out some new cabling for the rears and run those through the wall and under the floorboards upstairs (currently just draped up the walls!!).

Next up, the HTPC, but that will be a little while yet!
 
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Depending on how the shelves mount to the mid section of the unit, you could try cutting a section out of the middle, so you have 2 columns, 1 at the front & 1 at the back to attach the shelving to then give better air flow by reversing 1 of the fans ....which sounds like a good idea.... in my head!
 
I think I get what you're saying, but ideally you would want your intake fan at the front & low down.

I did actually have one of the fans in the wrong way around when I first put it back together, and as it was high up it made things worse as the heat on that side couldn't really escape.

One I twigged and turned it around it's been totally fine. It can hold 25'C easilly whilst playing on the 360.

Only thing I might have to do is use two PT100's and average, or mount the one I have through the centre section so it is averaging between the two sides.

With just the amp on, that side can get up to 30'C before the other side even reaches 24'C.
 
The cabinet cooling you have done is fantastic. I have the exact same cabinet except on the wall. All my gear is getting hot and i want to do the same as you (except put the fans on the sides of the cabinet not back)
Could you be kind enough to put a shopping list on here. I have had a look on the web but i'm not 100% sure what i'm buying.
I think i need 2 fans, power converter, temperature gage/controller and wiring?
Any help would be really appreciated.
Thanks
 
No problem,

first off you will need two 120mm fans. I used some Xilence Red Wing fans, but, once mounted in the case they do resonate a little (possibly due to the slightly flimsy rear panel), it could be a different story mounting them on something solid. I am also going to try using some rubber isolation mounts, otherwise I will just run them a little slower using a manual fan controller.

So:

2 x 120mm Xilence RedWing Fan
Silicone Fan Mounts or some M4 bolts if these are not suitable
Zalman Fanmate or similar if you want to control the speed

For the PSU I used a 230/12V adaptor, something like this will be fine, 1A is plenty.

You'll need some PVC terminal block for the wiring connections, just go with the smallest stuff you can get in your local hardware store (5A?). Also some small wire for making connections.

And something to mount the controller in, I used a small PVC box.

For the fan controller I used a carel one that I had spare, this one and a PT100, like this. However, that is just stuff I had spare and is a little on the expensive and accurate side for some AV cabinet control.

For a cheaper option I would consider using an NTC sensor such as this with a cheaper NTC controller such as this.

Only thing is, from that link I can't tell for sure if it has both normally open & normally closed relay contacts, it is not clear from the pdf. Only reason that would matter as it looks like these thermostats are single action, i.e. they either heat or cool, so for our application we want them to cool, so if the temperature goes above setpoint the output comes on. With the more expensive ones you can change they way they act (direct or reverse). But, if you have both contacts on the relay, it doesn't matter which way it works, you would just wire to the suitable contact.

The supply from the 12V adaptor can be used to supply the thermostat (need to cut plug off and use terminal blocks) and also fed through the relay to be used as a switched supply to the fans, then connect the 0V side of the fans to the 0V from 12V adaptor.

If you are not clear on any of the wiring when you come to do this, please PM me, better safe than sorry :) I'm an electrical engineer by trade but still make my fair share of cock ups!
 
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hi is the back panel glued in or is it just in loose as this could be the cause of your noise from the fans.

ian
 
Nice job, although the fact that you have Jeremy Kyle on means you have lost some credentials :smashin: :rotfl:
 
wow, I really liked that fan cooling project. Also making holes on the tray is so brilliant and giving me idea as well.

Congs and thanks bro.
 
hi is the back panel glued in or is it just in loose as this could be the cause of your noise from the fans.

ian

It is loose but quite a tight fit, I may try to use some foam or packing to wedge it tighter, but don't want to glue it incase I want to take it out again.

Nice job, although the fact that you have Jeremy Kyle on means you have lost some credentials :smashin: :rotfl:

Haha, I know - bad timing!!
 
Great work. You cant beat wall mounted TV's I done mine when refurbed the house. They look fantastic floating on the wall.
 
its from ikea, besta is the name, ive got it too, very nice they are, you can build all sorts of different configurations and heights

heres mine to see how you can build on it
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was after the Infra Red Remote Control Extender
now has double the price....
does anyonte know others sellers? online since i am not from UK

also good job great ideas
very tide
 

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