Heat


Hi All,
I have a friend who was telling me how he keeps a fan turned on, facing towards his amplifier, to keep it from getting too hot. I told him that it doesn't matter because the only heat that will affect his amplifier comes from internally. I'm now wondering if I could be wrong. So I'm wondering, if a stereo is in an attic during the summer and it's being played to the point of getting hot, will the temperature in the attic effect the amplifier?
goofyfoot

Showing 1 response by millercarbon

You are right about heat being generated internally. From there it flows into other things such as the heat sinks by a process of conduction. When you put a spoon in a cup of hot tea and the handle starts to get warm this is conduction. So the amp heats the heat sinks and this takes some of the internal heat away. But what if the outside temperature is higher? Then less heat flows out. That's conduction.

Now on the outside some of the heat simply radiates away. If you've ever seen infra-red images that is from this radiation. Some heat also warms the air. Warm air rises being replaced by fresh cool air. This is convection. This is why heat sinks are vertical, to maximize convection. 

Convection can be increased with a cooling fan. The more air the more convection and the greater the cooling. Always depending of course on the temperature of the air. A heat gun is after all blowing heated air. 

So yes your amp will get hot and run hotter in a hot attic. Most all SS amps have thermal cutoff for heat protection. It is best to avoid this. If it does happen however simply let it cool and resume. Then look for a better cooler location for your amp.