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Running a fan to cool amplifier any ill effects?

I have two mono blocks....VAC 140's and have installed whisper fans above the transformer(s) housing. The fans aren't directly blowing on the 8 300B tubes...but they will be running cooler as air will be circulating around them. I installed the fans because the metal housing would become hot(125deg+ I would guess)and I personaly would prefer to cool it down. Kevin Hayes says this is normal for that amp. Do tubes need the heat to perform better or is some cooling ok...and have no effect?? on the sound quality. I am looking for some informed opinions....any would be appreciated.

Also the air will not enter the vents so no dust will deposit inside the amplifiers.
wavetrader
chadeffect
586 posts
 
if the tubes run slightly cooler this may extend their life a little.

I would be more concerned about the electrical noise the fans motors could be dumping into the mains. If you have a different circuit for the hifi or conditioning of some sort you could be ok. As long as the fan motors are good quality it may not a problem anyway. Lets face it many amps use fans internally.

Can you hear the fans in your listening room?
macrojack
1,292 posts
 
Unless your amplifiers are in a confined area, you should not have to worry about heat. VAC designs their products with heat dissipation built in and normal air flow around the tubes will provide adequate cooling. Fans are not necessary and may introduce unwanted noise. I think you are fixing something that isn't broken.
wavetrader OP
260 posts
 
Thanks for the responses so far....the fans are on a seperate cicuit than my audio equipment. I checked out the noise level...not a problem. I realise that the amplifiers are well designed units....the transformer housing which is thick heavy metal gets hot enough where I can only heep my hand there for about 3 seconds. So to me I just feel better if the cooling will disipate some of the heat generated. If it extends the life of the tubes....even better...though it might seem unnecessary or overkill.
ozzy's avatar
ozzy
3,650 posts
 
Try to prevent the fans from touching the chassis .
The fans could induce a low level vibration and a subsonic that the Amp will carry. Perhaps making your amp work harder.
If you can, put the fans on a stand blowing on the Amp.
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