How to build a cooling system for your rack.

[7 Dying Trees]

I had this problem where my rivera had no fans to cool the stupid amount of valves all generating heat. It should have had two fans built into it and a metal casing, but alas this was not built into mine which was some custom order for the previous owner's home cinema, so after it did overheat once (and took out the fuses) it became clear that i needed cooling.

The Problem:

Option 1: PC Rack fans. You can buy these at extortionate prices, say 1-200£ or so, and they all come in 1U mounting. Usefull if you have the space, rubbish if you don't.

Option 2: Buy a bunch of PC fans, a 12v adapter, one 3U rack panel with fan holes and get busy!

The fan assembly, 3U rack fan panel + 3 akasa 120mm fans

Next up, the rear view:

ant then, with a bit of clearing up and some tape to tidy the wires a little:

And now (the dull part) how to power it:

Simpkly buy a 12V DC adapter, figure out which of the wires is positive and which is ground(or negative), then wire this up to any PC connecter you have that'll fit the fan's power connector. Use this if you aren't sure which is which:

PC And other lovely pinout connection information

and for the lazy:
Power Supply plug 5.25-inch 4-pin Molex

Pin# Color Function
1 Yellow +12V DC
2 Black Ground
3 Black Ground
4 Red +5V DC

And you'll the after some soldering get this:

Now it just needs to be attached to the rack, and then connected with the adapter. Easy.

And now some gratuitous shots of it all in action and glowing red

frontal shot in the light

now in the dark

and then the rear view, reminds me of something from space

 

[The Dark Wolf]

That's fucking ACE, dude! So simple, and so cool. Nice work. You should be an engineer. Simplicity and function, something they seem to usually overlook.



BTW, that's the rack o' doom. Damn near perfect.

 

[7 Dying Trees]

Blindingly cheap to do as well... There's a whole load of other things you could do such as control fan speed according to temperature etc, but I think i'll just settle with an on/off switch which I haven't done yet.

But overall, it is very very cool! I initially wanted green fans, but akasa don't seem to make them anymore

 

[7 Dying Trees]

Also, akasa PC fans are brushless DC, so they shouldn't interfere with the audio.

Another thing to remember is to make them extraction, so that they suck air out, as blowing air in wouldn't be good for the valves.

Air cooling diagram

And as for the engineering thing, i did do a masters in electrical engineering, have just never really used any of it since i ended up as a programmer

 

[Lozek]

And here endeth the lesson in what Chicken-Pox can do for you

 

[Jongpil Yun]

Your rack is kind of terrifying.

 

[metalfiend666]

So I'm going to have to bring my own stove to fry eggs on at rehearsal now? Good work mate

 

[metalfiend666]

BTW, that's the rack o' doom. Damn near perfect.

It sounds awesome too. Being in a band with James is really bad for GAS. He's the reason I own a UV7PWH and because of him I really fancy a Triaxis and a JSX. Bastard!

 

[Lozek]

Being in a band with James is really when he has GAS.

Fixed

 

[the.godfather]

Looks pretty damn cool to me, especially in the dark!

 

[Michael]

Those fans look so fuckin' cool all lit up like that.

 

[7 Dying Trees]

So I'm going to have to bring my own stove to fry eggs on at rehearsal now? Good work mate

Depends, I've not run it and driven it hard for an extended period yet, although I think the rivera i used to have had a 80mm (single) fan in it, so I'd guess it's probably overkill.

Looks pretty damn cool to me, especially in the dark!

Half the reason for doing it, I could have used normal fans, but where's the fun in that? Still wish I'd found the green ones though, but red'll do

Those fans look so fuckin' cool all lit up like that.

Racks are all about the glowing fairy lights

 

[7 Dying Trees]

Your rack is kind of terrifying.

I think the weight of it is more terrifying than anything else!

 

[Stitch]

Nice! I have one like that for my rack, but yours is much cooler. I'm gonna-a-get me one.

 

[7 Dying Trees]

Nice! I have one like that for my rack, but yours is much cooler. I'm gonna-a-get me one.

Aye And well cheap too! But now the question is, what colour will you get

 

[Stitch]

Indeed! I'm a-gonna-get-me some of them a-green ones, a-hick...

Then I'll swap you my Borg Engine for your X-Wing.

What sort of price, all in all, (if you dont mind me asking?

 

[Regor]

Racks are all about the glowing fairy lights

Damn right it is!!

 

[noodles]

Great idea and nice install.

 

[D-EJ915]

looks good man

 

[7 Dying Trees]

Indeed! I'm a-gonna-get-me some of them a-green ones, a-hick...

Then I'll swap you my Borg Engine for your X-Wing.

What sort of price, all in all, (if you dont mind me asking?

\In total? 13£ on fans, 21£ or so on the rack panel, 10£ on the adapter. If you have a 12V DC adapter or know anyone with one lying around, then you can save on that bit, same with unwanted PC fans... Just have to make sure the adapter can produce enough juice as I think the fans need 300mA each, so you need at least 1A (12VA)

I do actually wish I'd found green fans, but i haven't seen any for ages in that size :/