AudioCircle
Audio/Video Gear and Systems => The Lab => Topic started by: Ericus Rex on 27 Dec 2023, 02:56 am
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Say I have some metalworking equipment, and some metalworking skill. Also say I don't like off-the-shelf looking DIY stuff (never bought a Hammond chassis...). What are some other ways I can heatsink my Class A diy stuff? I'm thinking re-purposing large heatsinks off of other devices. Devices I don't yet know exist. You folks know where I can get my hands on some cool extrusions for not a lot of dough?
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My two cents are efficient heat sinks must be thin and anodized black for faster heat change. Thick fins dissipate the heat slowly, which makes the transistors hot.
You always can order custom made heat sinks in China at reasonable cost.
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https://sound-au.com/articles/diy-heatsink.htm
https://sound-au.com/heatsinks.htm
https://sound-au.com/articles/heatsink-amp.htm
https://www.heatsinkusa.com/
The 10.080 has deep fins, very popular for DIY class A projects.
https://www.heatsinkusa.com/10-080/
There are some good looking Italian DIY chassis with heatsinks available from diyaudiostore.com
https://diyaudiostore.com/collections/chassis
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I'm curious about the preference for black anodizing. The heat is conducted into the fins from the transistor (or whatever the hot device is) and the fins, having a lot of surface area, conduct heat into the air in contact with them. The air then convects the heat away from the fins (assuming there is enough airflow around the fins to allow that). You can augment the convection with a fan, as well.
With heat moving by conduction and convection, the color of the heatsink wouldn't play a role. Radiative heat exchange into the heatsink might be helped by a black surface, but radiative exchange makes a negligible contribution to the process.
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Black color does radiate heat slightly better (1%) than uncolored white aluminum.
The advantage is useful in extreme cooling applications but for our audio application black heatsink's only benefit is appearance.
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where I can get my hands on some cool extrusions for not a lot of dough?
Dead AV receivers.
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Great info! Thanks all!
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Interesting heatsinks. The Apple eMac had some very interesting heatsinks inside. Butr likely hardish to find. They also copme with a pair of 35mm Foster FRs that are interetsing.
You would be limited to smaller Class A ampls thou.
dave