Need Help w/ Cooling HOT Receiver

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gilga

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jan 26, 2006
Messages
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Good Morning,

My wife and I purchased an Ikea entertainment center which I had assembled last winter.
Needless to say I had no issues with heat as our apartment stayed cold and we rarely ran the heater. With spring / summer approaching temps in our apartment are quickly rising.

Problem:
My Harman Kardon AVR 146 is over heating and when it gets too hot I am unable to adjust its volume when using the remote. If it let it cool off long enough the volume control works
Additionally my blu ray player is sitting above the receiver on a metal shelf ( think of a BBQ grill ) and it gets HOT as well.

Need:
I need to find a good cooling solution to push the hot air coming out the top of the receiver out of the entertainment center.

1. I dont have much space above the receiver and the shelf above it. Approx 1-1/2" to 2"
2. I would prefer a cooling method that does not require me to drill holes in the back of the entertainment center ( wife would prefer I dont butcher the unit )
3. I prefer to find parts locally ( Denver / colorado ) as I want to cool ASAP

I was thinking a cooler master cross flow fan (hooked up to a wall wart) would work as it would push air out, and provide greater coverage over the top of the receiver compared to a standard 80mm or 120mm fan. Problem is that I cannot find a cross flow fan for sale anywhere

Any ideas are greatly appreciated and I will post pics of my setup as soon as I can
 
I had a idea. My TV has a USB port . Could I power a USB fan with this port?
 
I use a USB laptop cooler underneath my digital cable box, because those get hot and my cable box has a usb port.

For a receiver, one of these coolers will be too small.

However, the most significant thing is actual airflow... if your doors are solid and the back of the cabinet is closed where do you expect the heat to go?
I did our cabinet doors in black cloth and I opened the back.... just removed all of the 1/4-inch backing and replaced it with a few 1-inch boards, spaced as needed.

If I had to, I could put exhaust fans in but I've found that with the front and back open convection does an adequate job for all of the equipment except for the cable box.
 
my apologies for any confusion.

The back of the entertainment center is closed and the front is completely open

Im at work and Im having my wife take pics and send them to me.
 
It would be easy to hook up a usb port to a couple of 140mm fans in the space. I would maybe consider tackling the problem at the source. If there is room, maybe open up the receiver and throw in a 80/92mm fan right on the heatsinks.
 
gilga said:
Good Morning,

My wife and I purchased an Ikea entertainment center which I had assembled last winter.
Needless to say I had no issues with heat as our apartment stayed cold and we rarely ran the heater. With spring / summer approaching temps in our apartment are quickly rising.

Problem:
My Harman Kardon AVR 146 is over heating and when it gets too hot I am unable to adjust its volume when using the remote. If it let it cool off long enough the volume control works
Additionally my blu ray player is sitting above the receiver on a metal shelf ( think of a BBQ grill ) and it gets HOT as well.

Need:
I need to find a good cooling solution to push the hot air coming out the top of the receiver out of the entertainment center.

1. I dont have much space above the receiver and the shelf above it. Approx 1-1/2" to 2"
2. I would prefer a cooling method that does not require me to drill holes in the back of the entertainment center ( wife would prefer I dont butcher the unit )
3. I prefer to find parts locally ( Denver / colorado ) as I want to cool ASAP

I was thinking a cooler master cross flow fan (hooked up to a wall wart) would work as it would push air out, and provide greater coverage over the top of the receiver compared to a standard 80mm or 120mm fan. Problem is that I cannot find a cross flow fan for sale anywhere

Any ideas are greatly appreciated and I will post pics of my setup as soon as I can
Click to expand...

I know you are looking at a top mount receiver cooler, however, these tend to be more bling than functional. I also know you don't want to cut the back of the entertainment center, however, a good cooler is permanent and requires only a square hole that is easily cut with a hand saw. You might like this but it is only a suggestion:

Coolerguys have a great programmable LED thermal controller that has four 3-pin fan plugs. You can get it and the AC-DC converter that plugs right in. Here are some links:

Coolerguys Programmable Thermal Fan Controller with LED Display

AC to DC Power Supply Molex Converter/Adapter (5000mA)

They have complete kits as well. I liked the dual 120mm a lot. Here's some picks of mine installed and a link to it as well:

Coolerguys Cabcool 1202-M - Remember to add the LED controller in the drop down option. Total price is 92 bucks.

I also installed an excellent piece of gear from Cooler Guys. They make a dual 120mm fan with an LED thermal controller that you can customize the on and off temps.
dsc03666vn.jpg
 
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