Does this seem cool?

[philwsailz]

I think I'll wire my blowers on sep, that way if I'm not bumping really hard I can save power and not run them. Get some of those rc heat sink monitors mounted to the amps, and then run the LCD display to my dash so I could see them. Find out what the shut down temp is, and just keep it under that.

DOM-

I think your switch is an excellent idea! Hey, would you want to consider putting that switch IN SERIES with a relay that was triggered by the amp turn-on lead? You maintain the ability to turn the fans off if operating at a low level, but when you turn the stereo off, the fans would ALWAYS turn off, regardless whether you were running or parked. It might prevent an accidental batt drain(?)

[Domsz06]

yeah I'll have to work on that.

[Domsz06]

DOM-

I think your switch is an excellent idea! Hey, would you want to consider putting that switch IN SERIES with a relay that was triggered by the amp turn-on lead? You maintain the ability to turn the fans off if operating at a low level, but when you turn the stereo off, the fans would ALWAYS turn off, regardless whether you were running or parked. It might prevent an accidental batt drain(?)

Very good idea!!! and sure, why not do it. I really like that idea.

[NICKYPOO]

I have a couple of questions. The first one being why? Are your amps really getting that hot? Does it ever really get "hot" in Minneapolis. I've never had an issue with my amps heating up to the point of damage and I live in the desert and have them in the observers compartment with tons of stuff. Sure they get warm, but they are amps, they do that. Are you just getting tired of waiting around for the "hot" weather and need something to do? Just seems like a lot of scheming for something that isn't even needed. Know what I mean?

[Domsz06]

Nicky,

in answer to your question for me, yes. I live in the desert, and my amps, ppi, will get so hot you can't touch them. They are known for that, so I have to get cooling on them, otherwise they thermal shut down.

[jleger98]

I know you might find this hard to believe, but we do get days in the 90's and low 100's here. Couple that with the fact that my amps are going into a sealed compartment and I think I'll need ventilation.

That said, I have serious cabin fever and could possibly be over thinking all of this

[Domsz06]

jleger,

It all depends on the amps. lots of amps run cool, and all you would need is some fresh air to get in. But as far as im' concerned, you might as well make it over designed as then you don't risk melting your amps and that could be a fire

[jleger98]

jleger,

It all depends on the amps. lots of amps run cool, and all you would need is some fresh air to get in. But as far as im' concerned, you might as well make it over designed as then you don't risk melting your amps and that could be a fire

Thats what I'm thinkin. Also, this way when I add more amps in the future, I'm covered.

[Domsz06]

good call JL

[jleger98]

I'm a firm believer in over designing. You could park a truck on my back deck

[spharis]

Guys.....you are getting too carried away over nothing really.....let's talk about what we know.

Amps cool through conductive cooling (the energy travels to the cooler part of the metal).

The rate at which a material cools or heats will be fairly constant at the temperatures we are discussing (the rate would increase somewhat with cooler air, but not by much; or with a better conductor of heat...like water). Hotter or cooler air is not going to have any large advantage in the heat transfer when you are talking about a few degrees. Considering the object we are referring to is air, it is at a huge disadvantage (think water cooling for engines and cpus as way more efficient due to the rate of heat transfer) so the temp is not really a factor, as long as it is cooler than the exchanger. The air would be cooling the amp by radiant cooling, which it is a poor method of.

In order for radiant cooling to work the temperature of the air surrounding the heat exchanger needs to be cooler than the temperature of the exchanger.

The amps are going to be heating the fins to over 120 degrees.

The amps are indirectly heated externally (no sunlight pounding on them introducing heating by radiation).

As long as you replace the air nearest the heat sink with air that is cooler, the heat sink will be able to cool properly, and there will be an increase in the rate of cooling due to better radiant temp differences, and the addition of convection cooling effect (where hot air is replaced by cool air).

The air in the compartment will almost always be cooler than the heat of the heat exchangers.

With all that said, all you need to do is have a continual flow of air over the fins of the exchanger with air that is slightly cooler (although still hot) to have the heat transfer take place.

Buy a fan, mount it over the sink, relay to the remote on, call it done, and watch this thread unfolds and countless hours are wasted on figuring out a way to port cooler air onto a heat sink for an increase cooling coefficient so low it is hardly worth it.

[jleger98]

Guys.....you are getting too carried away over nothing really.....let's talk about what we know.

Amps cool through conductive cooling (the energy travels to the cooler part of the metal).

The rate at which a material cools or heats will be fairly constant at the temperatures we are discussing (the rate would increase somewhat with cooler air, but not by much; or with a better conductor of heat...like water). Hotter or cooler air is not going to have any large advantage in the heat transfer when you are talking about a few degrees. Considering the object we are referring to is air, it is at a huge disadvantage (think water cooling for engines and cpus as way more efficient due to the rate of heat transfer) so the temp is not really a factor, as long as it is cooler than the exchanger. The air would be cooling the amp by radiant cooling, which it is a poor method of.

In order for radiant cooling to work the temperature of the air surrounding the heat exchanger needs to be cooler than the temperature of the exchanger.

The amps are going to be heating the fins to over 120 degrees.

The amps are indirectly heated externally (no sunlight pounding on them introducing heating by radiation).

As long as you replace the air nearest the heat sink with air that is cooler, the heat sink will be able to cool properly, and there will be an increase in the rate of cooling due to better radiant temp differences, and the addition of convection cooling effect (where hot air is replaced by cool air).

The air in the compartment will almost always be cooler than the heat of the heat exchangers.

With all that said, all you need to do is have a continual flow of air over the fins of the exchanger with air that is slightly cooler (although still hot) to have the heat transfer take place.

Buy a fan, mount it over the sink, relay to the remote on, call it done, and watch this thread unfolds and countless hours are wasted on figuring out a way to port cooler air onto a heat sink for an increase cooling coefficient so low it is hardly worth it.

Well put, but for those of us who are bored at work, and have cabin fever, its a fun thing to try to over-engineer.

That said, do you agree that the hotter the air is in the compartment, the hotter the blades can get? So if at room temperature, the blades get to 120F, at 100F would it be rational to expect the blades could reach 150F?

[spharis]

No. If you had the amps in water or against metal getting that hot, then yes. Air is not a great conductor of heat energy, so it isn't going to increase the temperature of the metal that much. The metal will almost always have more heat energy than the surrounding air, so it will always be radiating heat out. You might notice a slight difference. The most important thing in the hot compartment is to just have the air flowing.

[jleger98]

No. If you had the amps in water or against metal getting that hot, then yes. Air is not a great conductor or heat energy, so it isn't going to increase the temperature of the metal that much. You might notice a slight difference. The most important thing in the hot compartment is to just have the air flowing.

So if I understand this correctly, it doesn't matter if the temp in the compartment is 70F or 120F?

[spharis]

That large of a spread yes, but in the temperatures where you actually need to fan running, no. Also if the compartment were airtight, then yes...but the compartments are not airtight, and the temps are hot outside.

We are talking about the temps outside being 95+....bringing in air 95+ isn't going to benefit the amps much more than the temp inside being 110. Now if you know a way to get 72 degree air into the compartment on a day when it is 110 out without refridgerant, then you have a multmillion idea my man!


On another note....if you guys are having a problem with your amps going into protect mode, or overheating....you may want to double check your gains are adjusted correctly using a multimeter and some math. I live where there is no such thing as evaporative cooling, and where it is so hot the trees mirage, and I do not have issues with amps overheating.