Cooling space for rack gear.

V

vanguard

New member
So I'm reworking my rack and desk set-up. I was wondering how important it is to leave space between pieces of gear for cooling. I've seen others leave space, but never done so myself. I just got the Neve 1073dpd and in the manual, it says I should. I have a bunch of gear, but I rarely run more than 2 or 3 pieces at once.

Anyone have any insight?
 
Gear doesn't like heat. If it's class 'A' stuff (that tends to run pretty hot even without signal) then having a little space here and there is a good thing.
 
+1 for what Massive said.

Plus, because heat rises, it can help to put your most heat-sensitive gear towards the bottom of the rack so that it's not getting the accumulated heat from all the gear rising into it, and your most heat-generating gear towards the top so that it's not heating everything else up. Of course if your hottest gear is also your most heat-sensitive, those ideas kind of cancel each other out.

It always is a good idea to make sure the backside of your rack is open enough and not jammed up against a rear wall so that you have plenty of airflow across the back side of the rack. All the spaces between the gear won't help a whole lot if the air has nowhere to circulate.

G.
 
Make note of which units run hot, and give those extra space around them. In extreme cases you can get a small personal sized fan and clip that to the back of your rack, blowing across the hottest gear.

Some gear runs cool and doesn't need the extra space. But if the manufacturer suggests leaving space around their product, then it is a good idea to follow their recommendation.
 
I'm still on the lookout for these *half* space (vertically) vent panels... I have plenty of full-space (see photo):

db_Right_Rack4.jpg


But I saw a place that had half space - He couldn't tell me where he found them. I'd still use full for tube & very hot class A, but I have a few pieces that just don't need that much flow.
 
Massive Master said:
I'm still on the lookout for these *half* space (vertically) vent panels... I have plenty of full-space (see photo)
Click to expand...
You're talking about 1/2U? Interesting; I've not heard of or seen those.

Just a stab in the dark here, but if you can't find anything from the typical audio sources, you might want to check around some of the suppliers of gear and accessories for corporate IT and data com, where much of their gear is 19" rack mount as well.

G.
 
I did... No go. I even asked the guy (I wish I could remember who it was) if his were "finished" on the top *and* bottom (they curve down, for the uninitiated) or if they were just "chopped" on a band saw or something. They look *exactly* like the ones I'm using, only 1/2 the height. Even the slots are the same size.
 
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