Overheating issue with Coolsat 8000 HD no more

[pjcl]

Guys, I had to share this with the "family". I was having some overheating issues with my CS 8000 HD, given the location of the unit, not much space all around. To make things worse, the STB is sitting on top of other heat-producing equipment. As a result, the box turned off on my a few times, as it would be extremely hot to the touch.

Well, I decided to install a 12v fan from an old PC behind it. I am fortunate to have a closet behind the built-in entertainment center [which I was already using as "the cable room" (see all the cables on the pics), since the original owners had an indent there so that their TV would fit in the entertainment center].

Anyway, I got an old AC/DC 12v output converter and wired it to the fan. Plugged it in to the back of the AV receiver (fan now comes on when I turn on that receiver, which I need to watch TV) and placed the fan right behind the CS, blowing air into the closet. Had to cut a little bit more of cabinet behind the units, hoping wife won't find out about until a few weeks from now, lol.

The whole time I'm working on this, and then later putting away all the tools and cleaning the inside of the cabinet (fan already in place blowing hot hair onto my face inside the closet), I'm listening to some radio station out of Galaxy 3C 95W. When I finish, I touch the top of the CS, and... lo and behold, it's ALMOST COLD!!!! I mean, the difference was so stunning that I thought: "Maybe it's because I was listening to sat. radio, and not TV, and so the unit doesn't get as hot". So, I turned on to a TV station and waited. Still cold. 30 minutes later, still cold. "Can't be - I thought - maybe I made some change I am unaware of and the CS is no longer over-heating". So I unplugged the fan to see what would happen, and in 5 minutes, the temperature had already risen tremendously! Turned it back on, and a few minutes later I could tell the difference just by touching the top of the Coolsat. Unbelievable...

Moral of the story - don't underestimate the power of a cooling fan!

 

[Ironsides]

nice

Nice mod and cool idea.... I use an Intercooler on my receivers, it's push&pull with air flow and it has a temp sensor so it only runs when it needs too...takes about 5 minutes to mod the clips and it's popped on the receiver vents, has its own power supply too so no taking anything from the receiver..

 

[Anole]

I'm a big pro-fan reptile.
They will do a dandy job.
I like the 120mm fans, 'cause they turn slower and are quieter, yet still move a good draft.

On some of my normally hot hard drives, I used to install extruded aluminum dual fan kits.
The temperature change was as you described - unbelievable. -
Only problem was, the fans were cheap, and died after a couple of years of 24/7 service.
(The lube solidified - makes you wonder what they used in China!) -

 

[eurosport]

Oh yeah, those lil' computer fans make a BIG difference!
I have one sitting on the shelf of my sat equipment rack,
blowing on the sides of my Coolsat 8000 and Pansat 9200...
(they sit one atop the other but only one is powered up at a time)
-and the cases stay very cool to the touch! :up

 

[pjcl]

I'm a big pro-fan reptile.
They will do a dandy job.
I like the 120mm fans, 'cause they turn slower and are quieter, yet still move a good draft.

On some of my normally hot hard drives, I used to install extruded aluminum dual fan kits.
The temperature change was as you described - unbelievable. -
Only problem was, the fans were cheap, and died after a couple of years of 24/7 service.
(The lube solidified - makes you wonder what they used in China!) -

No problem, I can live with 10 bucks every couple of years...

 

[pjcl]

Nice mod and cool idea.... I use an Intercooler on my receivers, it's push&pull with air flow and it has a temp sensor so it only runs when it needs too...takes about 5 minutes to mod the clips and it's popped on the receiver vents, has its own power supply too so no taking anything from the receiver..

Yeah, this one (I wasn't aware of this) runs faster when it senses higher temps. So, when cold, it's much more silent... when I put it in place, it started getting a little louder as it sensed higher temps off the back of those units (STB was almost too hot to the touch!)... nothing that bothers me, though (the noise).

 

[guapoharry]

Does the fan draw air from the receiver and blow into the closet?

 

[pjcl]

Does the fan draw air from the receiver and blow into the closet?

Yep, and the closet is large enough to dissipate all the heat.

 

[pro96]

I cool mine with a laptop usb fan, works excellent and quiet and most importantly COOL.

 

[B.J.]

My first 8100 (the 8100s come with a tiny fan inside) didn't overheat, but it's fan was noisy. By 2nd (after the 1st one was taken out by lightning) had a very quiet fan (thanks to the fact that I don't think it was even turning), and it overheated badly, and the thing started doing all sorts of rebooting and freezing stuff. I also got one of those computer fans, wired it up with an external power supply, and simply sat it right on top of the 8100, right above the holes over the front of the motherboard. This kept it pretty cool. Since then, I pulled the little fan out of the 1st dead 8100, and replaced the bad one in the new one, and it too has kept fairly cool. It still will reboot occasionally, but the newest factory firmware had kept the thing from rebooting very much.
If I ever start using the 8100 again ( I stopped using it when I got the Azbox), I think I'll go back to the computer fan again, something like the above. That plus the new software might completely eliminate the rebooting.