Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Cooling My A/V Closet

It should work as long as the fan up top is not sucking too hard. If it sucks too hard, it will create an almost direct path from intake to exhaust theeby not cooling the whole space.

I hope it's not too late now but get him to wire in a fan control so that you can experiment with fan speed. Note that you can't just use a light dimmer due to the highly inductive load of the motor.

I think it makes some sense to leave the attic out of the equation.

Would it be possible to have TWO registers IN THE WALL (one at the top and one at the bottom)? Seems to me like you just want to connect the air in the closet to the air in the rest of the house (which - unlike the attic - is probably air conditioned?).

If you paint the registers the same color as the walls or something, you'd probably hardly even notice them. They don't need to be very big.

You could even mount a computer fan or something in the top one. You need the convection out of the closet, but you don't necessarily need to convect the component-heated-air out of the house.

Thanks guys. The electrician is up there installing it now... so I guess we'll have to see how it goes with this setup.

Mojo - good point about sucking the cold air straight out... there are a lot of variables, it looks like to some extent there's no way to anticipate how it's going to work until it's in there.

At least though it's not costing me anything to do it...

Just thought I'd let you all know that in the first test of the new setup tonight, it seems to be working MUCH better. The new fan I installed is not audible at all with the door closed and any sort of audio running in the theater.

More importantly, the PS3 has yet to kick into "jet engine" fan mode (which was audible while watching movies) and the closet it noticeably cooler. So far, so good! The real test will come in the dead of summer and 110 degree heat, but for now, it's a huge improvement.

Thanks to all who responded with suggestions and tips.

Good to hear. So what was your final design?

I have a wireless thermometer system that I got from Radio Shack that has four remote thermometers/transmitters. I use one outside, one in the attic and two in various places among equipment in racks so I can monitor their temp.

It might be interesting to have a base unit in the HT so you can keep an eye on the temp with and without the fan....

Good idea Mark.

Mojo, I'll post some pics this weekend of how the finished system looks. In short, I cut a 10x10 air register vent on the lower right part of the door above, and then put in the active vent on the right side of the closet inside where the wall begins to slope (right at the top of where the equipment rack sits).

Even without the thermometers, the difference is noticeable. The entire closet was easily 90+ degrees before the change. Last night it was barely warmer than the main listening room of the theater. (75-80 degree range)

Glad to hear you were able to come up with a setup that solved the problem. Good job.

Look, everybody, it's Jack! Guess the ambassador's been busy.

Jack who?





Just kidding. Good to see you, Jack!