[Seano]

I'm curious whether the PS and toroids of a 100w require open air ventilation or whether they can be sealed/semi-sealed inside a chassis.

I'm moving forward with a case design that will be implemented when I find the time to complete my upgrade to N+ standard.  

And I'm considering placing the PS and toroids within a hardwood chassis that will form the spine of the case and hopefully be attractive enough to display through a Lexan lid.  In this arrangement the toroids and PS caps will be largely sealed within wood so they won't have much access to air and therefore ventilation.

Will these components generate enough heat to be of a danger to themselves when they aren't allowed to 'breathe'?

[andyr]

I'm curious whether the PS and toroids of a 100w require open air ventilation or whether they can be sealed/semi-sealed inside a chassis.

...

Seano,

As long as your heatsinks are outside the case you won't have a problem.

I actually have 3 toroids and 3 PS PCBs inside each (semi-sealed - there are a coupla slots) case with absolutely no problem.

Regards,

Andy

[EchiDna]

I've got mine almost air tight in a perspex box in hot'n'humid Singapore. No issues for me... see the pics in my signature

[jules]

Seano,

Echidna has the most massive heat sinks and Andy mentions some slots.  A fully sealed unit might work but it has to be a few degrees warmer inside than something that lets the air out. If the system is fully sealed the only way out for heat is by transferrence into the heat sink and then out through the fins. If there are some small slots or holes at the top of the box it's going to aid convection and let the hot air leak out without having to transfer through the (warm) heat sink. It's a bit like a bath plug ... only needs a little gap to drain the contents quite easily.

Jules

[Lost81]

Echidna has the most massive heat sinks...

And how!

When I saw them, I actually felt a little inadequate  

I may have to resort to attaching some "cosmetic effect heat sinks" to my monoblocks to feel better


-Lost81

[EchiDna]

hehe

hey it's 32 degrees celcius and 95% humidity here everyday

overkill IS my middlename!!  

[Seano]

If you want to go into temperature wars then my place is on the warm side too. Summer time day temps can top 48 degrees C but more commonly around 42.  Humidity is typically less than 10% at the same time.  We can expect these temps from the end of September to the end of April. And we don't have conventional aircon (house is large, old, rambling and weatherboard, it wasn't built with aircon in mind) - we only have evaporative air con which effictively cools the air no more than 10-15 degrees from ambient. And if humidity rises above 15% then drop from ambient reduces to less than 5 degrees. So experiencing 35 degrees C inside the house is not uncommon.  Only choice is to put up with it or retreat to one of two rooms that has small refridgerative aircon. But I love living here

I wasn't concerned about sealing the box or sealing the heatsinks inside a box.

What I was primarily interested was sealing (or near enough to it) the two toroids and the PS caps inside a solid timber chassis.  Basically the toroids would sit inside shaped cavities in two slabs of timber and then sandwiched between them. The PS (particularily the caps) will also be surrounded by timber. All wiring will be contained within this timber chassis too (as much as possible anyway).  The only component that will be on view (thru Lexan windows) will be the amp boards.

I was concerned that the toroids themselves might generate sufficient heat inside an enclosed space to damage either themselves or the timber (although timber -particularily Oz hardwood- is fairly easy to protect from heat). If this was the case then the design will have to be altered slightly to reduce heat stress

The heatsinks and amps will be attached externally to this chassis and the case so they will process heat as per normal.