522 running hot

[Sapient]

I noticed that my 522 feels pretty hot, especially around the vents, in my tightly packed entertainment center. Should I be worried about this? Should I be installing a ventalation fan in my entertainment center? Are those fans very noisy?

Have I revealed my utter ignorance of these sorts of electronics?

 

[ibleedblue]

I've noticed that anytime the temp inside my house gets over 74 degrees, the fan(s?) on the 522 start running like mad! I custom built my entertainment center and have about 4" of clearance above the 522, 1" on both sides and 8" on the back. It still feels very hot when I touch it. Prior to this I had a DVR from Time Warner that was lodged in a space with virtually no clearance. The HD died in about 8 months.

 

[AppliedAggression]

Yeah I'd just make sure it has some room all around the unit. Maybe remove something from your entertainment center and let the 522 breath. Or maybe you could make that your 2nd TV and put the 522 in the other room. Just a few suggestions but DVRs do get hot and I would not recommend having them tightly squeezed in to your shelves.

 

[SimpleSimon]

I've noticed that anytime the temp inside my house gets over 74 degrees, the fan(s?) on the 522 start running like mad! I custom built my entertainment center and have about 4" of clearance above the 522, 1" on both sides and 8" on the back. It still feels very hot when I touch it. Prior to this I had a DVR from Time Warner that was lodged in a space with virtually no clearance. The HD died in about 8 months.

It's not just the clearance, but the airflow and airtemp itself. I think you've identified your own problem. Hot air coming into the 522 means it's got to move more air to extract the heat than if cold air is coming in.

You don't say anything about the rest of the devices in the stack or where their heat is going. Is the front of stack closed in? Maybe you need fans in the stack to keep the hot air from a low device from entering the higher ones, etc., etc. -- you get the idea.

 

[Sapient]

It's not just the clearance, but the airflow and airtemp itself. I think you've identified your own problem. Hot air coming into the 522 means it's got to move more air to extract the heat than if cold air is coming in.

You don't say anything about the rest of the devices in the stack or where their heat is going. Is the front of stack closed in? Maybe you need fans in the stack to keep the hot air from a low device from entering the higher ones, etc., etc. -- you get the idea.

That is exactly my problem. There is very little air flow. I did manage to get a little more breathing room for it, but I don't think it will help much. I think I will looking adding a fan in the back to pull ait through.

 

[SimpleSimon]

You're welcome.

 

[sciocco]

I'm having similar heat issues with my 522. It actually gives me a message that it's running hotter than 125 degrees and won't do anything until I unplug it and let it cool down.

My question is, if I'm stuck with the DVR where it's at (and I am, ask the wife!), where would be a good place to get some fans that would exhaust air out of the back of the cabinet? Are they very loud? Hard to install? I'm decently handy.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!!