Noob question - Where to place rackmount fan

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   Lol this might seem a bit of a noob question as ive been on here a few years now but...
Recently purchased a 1u rackmount fan with 6 fans in it as i thought it would be a good idea to keep my amps cooler, and a 14u rack shockproof with wheels so i can have all my amps in one place instead of lugging around several smaller racks, also can set up my power distro, patch panel etc..
was wondering where in the rack would be best to place the fan?

As obviously it sucks in air from one way and blows it out the other.... do i have it at the bottom unerneath my void infin8 blowing upwards, or at the top blowing downwards, or in the middle or what? do i have to leave a 1u space next to it or either side for it to circulate air efficiently? Clueless when it comes to this!
The amps i have in my rack are (starting from bottom up)

Void Infinite 8 mrk2
Void infinite 6 mrk 2
Behringer inuke6000
Matrix xp3000 H
Crest ca6
Phonix MAX500 (1u amp for comps)
Void digidrive

Cheers guys

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Requiem Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 20 January 2011 Location: Bristol Status: Offline Points: 1808	Post Options Post Reply Quote Requiem Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Noob question - Where to place rackmount fan Posted: 05 August 2013 at 9:15pm
	Lol this might seem a bit of a noob question as ive been on here a few years now but... Recently purchased a 1u rackmount fan with 6 fans in it as i thought it would be a good idea to keep my amps cooler, and a 14u rack shockproof with wheels so i can have all my amps in one place instead of lugging around several smaller racks, also can set up my power distro, patch panel etc.. was wondering where in the rack would be best to place the fan? As obviously it sucks in air from one way and blows it out the other.... do i have it at the bottom unerneath my void infin8 blowing upwards, or at the top blowing downwards, or in the middle or what? do i have to leave a 1u space next to it or either side for it to circulate air efficiently? Clueless when it comes to this! The amps i have in my rack are (starting from bottom up) Void Infinite 8 mrk2 Void infinite 6 mrk 2 Behringer inuke6000 Matrix xp3000 H Crest ca6 Phonix MAX500 (1u amp for comps) Void digidrive Cheers guys
	www.requiem-soundsystem.com Custom Martin Audio WSX, USB & CSG Soundsystem based in Bristol

b grade Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Young Croc Joined: 05 October 2012 Location: Portland OR USA Status: Offline Points: 1333	Post Options Post Reply Quote b grade Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 05 August 2013 at 9:22pm
	I would think putting low and aiming it up would be best so that it is sucking in cooler air. If you put it up high, it will intake the rising warm air from the amps. If you do put it low, make sure it does not end up sucking in dirt and blowing it all over you gear though.

dj scratchy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Young Croc Joined: 06 July 2010 Location: cambridge Status: Offline Points: 1263	Post Options Post Reply Quote dj scratchy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 05 August 2013 at 10:05pm
	heat raises. mount your panel at the top of your rack where the most heat collects to get best results ,ino some may say bottom as thats where most people put there bass amp and generally is the amp that creates the most heat but by putting it there your only aiding the one amp put it at the top let physics do most of the work for you and let the fan do the rest also one has to ask how effective a 1u fan panel will be in a 14 u rack anyway tbh i wouldn't bother unless your rack only has a small hatch in the rear or is patch paneled to , one other point that may be worth some consideration is that it is largely assumed that the cooler an amp is the better it runs well not true in all cases every amp has an optimal running temperature and running to cool could result in lack of performance in much the same way running hot would
	sound, light, trilite, stage decks, complete stage packages indoor and outdoor 07568188104 sl systems sound&light

Requiem Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 20 January 2011 Location: Bristol Status: Offline Points: 1808	Post Options Post Reply Quote Requiem Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 05 August 2013 at 10:18pm
	Another thing to consider tho is that only the Void infinite 8 will be running on heavy sub duty... the infinite 6 is always used on kick and occasionally the inuke is also used on sub when i take out my entire rig, although not every gig as most dont require the whole stack. the matrix, crest and phonic amp are all used on mid tops (kick, mid and top sections ) and i highly doubt these will heat up as much as the void so wouldnt it benefit using the fan panel to just cool the void, at the bottom as as you say it wouldnt be very effective cooling the whole rack down? The entire front and back come off my rack, and i think all the amps have the fans at the back although the back will be partially blocked by my patch panel and rackmount power distro. But yeah if as you say theres not really much point in putting it in then i wont bother, i only really got it for the gigs when my system is going to be ran flat out for a long period of time
	www.requiem-soundsystem.com Custom Martin Audio WSX, USB & CSG Soundsystem based in Bristol

ceharden Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List The 10,000 Points Club Joined: 05 June 2005 Location: Southampton Status: Offline Points: 11851	Post Options Post Reply Quote ceharden Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 05 August 2013 at 10:28pm
	Those kinds of rackmount fans are designed more for installed racks where they can be used to suck hot air out of the top. To be useful it needs to be positioned somewhere it can suck in hot air and remove it from the rack. You might be able to acheive this by blocking parts of the rack up, using vented panels in the right place. In general though, almost all amps are designed for cooling from front to back or vice versa and shouldn't give out so much heat into the rack itself. An exception to this is the Crown Macrotechs which vent hot air out of the sides, into the rack and heating everything else up. In that case, additional fans are useful to remove that air from inside the rack. If you think your rack is getting too hot, you would probably be better off with fans mounted in blanking panels to help move cold air into the back of the rack (if your amps blow that way) or remove it (if they exhaust out the back). I'm afraid the 1U fan trays are much harder to do anything useful with in ampracks.

dj scratchy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Young Croc Joined: 06 July 2010 Location: cambridge Status: Offline Points: 1263	Post Options Post Reply Quote dj scratchy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 05 August 2013 at 10:37pm
	if your worried about the void then there is no harm in putting it in and having it there just encase but i personally would not bother as alot of them cause a buzzing noise that is rather annoying and you have to think have you run the void flat out before did it survive i tend to go down the "if it aint broke dont fix it " path you say fans are at the back, position tends not to matter when it comes to direction if you install this fan make sure you know what way your amps blow and install said fan panel accordingly otherwise your void will melt
	sound, light, trilite, stage decks, complete stage packages indoor and outdoor 07568188104 sl systems sound&light

Requiem Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 20 January 2011 Location: Bristol Status: Offline Points: 1808	Post Options Post Reply Quote Requiem Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 05 August 2013 at 10:43pm
	ok thanks guys, looks like that was a bit of a duff buy then! I shall continue using it in my bedroom while the weathers hot , to keep me cool instead of the amps And yeah scratchy i havnt had any problems with the void, just noticed at the end of some gigs when being flat out it can be quite warm to the touch, thought the fan would be a useful buy
	www.requiem-soundsystem.com Custom Martin Audio WSX, USB & CSG Soundsystem based in Bristol

ceharden Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List The 10,000 Points Club Joined: 05 June 2005 Location: Southampton Status: Offline Points: 11851	Post Options Post Reply Quote ceharden Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 05 August 2013 at 10:47pm
	Perfectly normal for amps to get hot in use. In fact they should often still be fine even when getting a little uncomfortable to touch. Old Mosfet amps especially don't have their thermal cut-outs til over 100degC! Just make sure that the amps can suck in cool, clean air and that the hot air isn't getting stuck in the rack or worse, being sucked back in by other amps.

Dub Specialist Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 30 December 2011 Location: Smethwick Status: Offline Points: 3235	Post Options Post Reply Quote Dub Specialist Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 05 August 2013 at 10:52pm
	true that is ceharden if you got some crowns and even old v800 side fan coolings and orther amps ect in your rack you need the fans to remove the warm air, orther wise it just circulates the warm air around your amp rack. not good! get one of these bad boys