AV Cabinet Venting

[TWINCAMSAM]

I am concerned about the heat build up in the AV cabinet. I believe this heat led to the failure of my Sat rec box. I leave the louvered door closed only while traveling. The cabinet’s back is screen like material. There is about 6” between it and the windshield. Has anyone out there added powered venting like in a PC?
It seems to me that a couple fans mounted between the screen and the windshield drawing coach air through the louvres and across all the electronics would help.

[imgoin4it]

A friend did exactly that. He installed two whisper fans in the space to move the sir

[JC2]

Originally Posted by imgoin4it

A friend did exactly that. He installed two whisper fans in the space to move the sir

Prior to leaving our dealer last month after trading for listed MH, we had the dealer mount a 4 inch computer case fan, with a small on/off switch, to the back of the cabinet which holds our receiver. It was getting a little warmish in there causing the receiving to occasionally shut down from the heat buildup. No problems since.

[Dutch Star Don]

A couple of things….If you're using a DirecTV box, they vent out the bottom. I added 1" tall rubber feet to the four corners (glued on) which increases the air flow.

I installed the computer fans in my previous coach, two of them, and they really are not up to the task of cooling equipment in a front cap entertainment cabinet. They just don't draw/push enough air.

Since you don't always need cooling, I went with a 6" 110volt clip on desk fan. It came with a removable base that is held on by the large clip. I removed the base and I clip the fan to the driver's side window valance. I plug it into an outlet in the entertainment cabinet. It pushes a LOT of air and since it's out in the room, under the A/C unit, it pulls in cool air.


It only takes a minute to clip and plug in and is only really needed during the summer months. I'm glad to see that Newmar moved the entertainment equipment out of the front cap on my new coach.

[ByeTheWay]

I added a muffin fan on a thermostat. Works well

[Darrell-Ruth]

We had the same issue. Fried our Sat Finder box twice. Still under warranty and while at Newmar complained about what I felt was clearly a design misstep and had them install a computer fan at the rear and provide me a louvered front wood door to match the colour of our other cabinet doors. I keep the door open when using the AV equipment even with the fan on just in case but my sat finder has never failed since these mods were made.

[redbaron73]

I heavily modified my 2013 av cabinet, and added a lot of equipment. It had my DirecTv dvr, stereo, PC computer, external hard drive, network switch, matrix switch, Wii-U, cellular hot spot, and wifiRanger. With all this equipment running, it could get very hot.

I installed this variable speed fan at the back of the cabinet, pulling air from the front.

Coolerguys Pre-Set Thermal Controlled Cooling Kits for Cabinets, AV, and Components (Triple 120mm, Thermal Plastic) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001BETHGM..._8W.NBbVPGXX07

The fans are variable speed, and only run when needed. At full run, they are noticable, but usually only at full run when driving and no magnashade on the windshield.

For 2019, the av cabinet is in a different spot, but in will use the same fan as it did great in my 5 year torture test.

[Winepress]

Hopefully your DVR is without power as you travel. The bumping and jarring is not good for a spinning hard drive.

[rlott2k]

If this is the compartment above the driver, I just leave the door open. Yes our heats up a lot if closed and sat box and dvr boxes are on.

[redbaron73]

Originally Posted by Winepress

Hopefully your DVR is without power as you travel. The bumping and jarring is not good for a spinning hard drive.

never worried about it. Hard drives take a lot of abuse without a problem. I never turn my Dvr off while driving, as it is in constant use by the family for their entertainment purpose, and sometimes if there is a football game on, I will record it while driving, and watch when i arrive. Been doing this for 10+ years, and never had a hard drive fail.

[Winepress]

Originally Posted by redbaron73

never worried about it. Hard drives take a lot of abuse without a problem. I never turn my Dvr off while driving, as it is in constant use by the family for their entertainment purpose, and sometimes if there is a football game on, I will record it while driving, and watch when i arrive. Been doing this for 10+ years, and never had a hard drive fail.

It doesn’t take much of an impact to kill a hard drive. Your hard drive spins from 5400 to more than 10000 RPM as it reads and writes. To perform necessary tasks, heads are situated three nanometers above the disk inside the drive. The smallest impact is enough to cause the heads to crash against the disk. The worst damage usually occurs if a shock happens while the drive is spinning. This can create a bad sector. Newer drives will record that and bypass that sector. Result is a slower drive, or eventually the drive dies. This is all a non issue when the drive is un powered.

[redbaron73]

Originally Posted by Winepress

It doesn’t take much of an impact to kill a hard drive. Your hard drive spins from 5400 to more than 10000 RPM as it reads and writes. To perform necessary tasks, heads are situated three nanometers above the disk inside the drive. The smallest impact is enough to cause the heads to crash against the disk. The worst damage usually occurs if a shock happens while the drive is spinning. This can create a bad sector. Newer drives will record that and bypass that sector. Result is a slower drive, or eventually the drive dies. This is all a non issue when the drive is un powered.

Ya I know the technical side, but the practical side says screw Jr and just use it for comfort. Drives are cheap and easily replaced if necessary, although I never have had.

In motion satellites are there for comfort as is my dvr. I run a plex media center with external hard drive, 2 directv dvrs, and several laptops are in constant use while driving. The laptops are usually on the table.

My first motorhome was a non-tag Fleetwood. That did produce enough shock force to cause my body to ache, so I am sure it caused damage to the drives. Used it for 5 years, 53k miles and then bought the 2013 dsdp with tag and active air. 5 years, 50k miles and the DirecTV is still going.
The dsdp with active air produces very few shocks, never have spilled my milk while driving.

I am getting new dvrs now, because those are quite old, but they still work.

My point, dont worry about damage to hard drives and enjoy the luxury of allowing your passengers to use it, or to record your favorite shows for when you park.

[Sneelock]

Originally Posted by redbaron73

Ya I know the technical side, but the practical side says screw Jr and just use it for comfort. Drives are cheap and easily replaced if necessary, although I never have had.

In motion satellites are there for comfort as is my dvr. I run a plex media center with external hard drive, 2 directv dvrs, and several laptops are in constant use while driving. The laptops are usually on the table.

My first motorhome was a non-tag Fleetwood. That did produce enough shock force to cause my body to ache, so I am sure it caused damage to the drives. Used it for 5 years, 53k miles and then bought the 2013 dsdp with tag and active air. 5 years, 50k miles and the DirecTV is still going.
The dsdp with active air produces very few shocks, never have spilled my milk while driving.

I am getting new dvrs now, because those are quite old, but they still work.

My point, dont worry about damage to hard drives and enjoy the luxury of allowing your passengers to use it, or to record your favorite shows for when you park.

I added a single 40mm thermostatically controlled variable speed fan and a separate vent to get air moving through the cabinet. It's pretty quiet and seems to do the job.

[Sneelock]

Sorry, meant to reply to OP.