adding a fan to an enclosed cabinet


Hello. I recently bought a cabinet to house my stereo equipment and sit my TV on top of it. I never had any real issues before with my amp getting too hot when I had it sitting on a rack that was not enclosed. Both my amp (Bryston) and HD cable box (Scientific Atlantic 8300?) get way too hot. What is the best solution for this other than leaving the cabinet doors open? My one thought was to add an exhaust fan (the type that would go on a computer case) to the back of the cabinet. Would I want to add an intake fan to circulate the air even more? The only ventilation that it has now is 3 1.5" wide openings running the height of the cabinet. Thanks!
vanderstephen
Sounds like many of us have gone through a similar exercise. A few years ago I had a cabinet custom made to house (most of) my equipment. The rear wall of the cabinet is 3" closer to the front than the top and both sides. This allowed me plenty of room for all the cables to be run behind the cabinet and out of sight. Heat however, was still a problem. I first mounted a small fan against the back wall, but it was too noisy even though it was the quietest I could find at the time. I ended up buying a cheap flexable cloths-dryer exhaust hose that I attached to the rear of the cabinet where I made the whole for the fan, and the other end to the fan which sits on the floor behind the cabinet. The result; very quiet operation and a great deal of air movement.
Hope this helps! Ken
Kgproperties, very cool implementation of a ventilation system. Depending on one's situation, the fan could actually be mounted in a basement, if the hose can be run through the wall and/or floor. By placing the cabinet openings at the bottom, sizing them appropriately for the air flow, and mounting the hose at the top of the cabinet, a bottom to top flow pattern should exhaust warmer air and allow an intake of cooler air.
I'd put the quietest fan with the highest cfm at the top and draw air from the door opening depending on door lip style,if an overlay door is used then either leave the door open slightly or cut an air intake at the bottom.