Cabinet exhaust?

[Josh]

I seem to be having a problem ventilating my equipment.

Right now I have my MH ballast, controller, ATO, chiller, and Ca reactor in an armoire next to my tank. I had planned to put all of the heat releasing equipment in one place and pump the air out into an exhaust right next to it.

The armoire can be closed tightly and the only areas where air will get in is where holes are cut for pipes and cables, very close to the ballast and the chiller. I would like to be able to close the door tightly and have the temperature remain at a reasonable level, so I minimize the heat released into my apartment.

Right now, I have an 8" square hole cut in the side of the armoire, there is a 3" gap and then there is hole in the wall where a bathroom exhaust fan sucks the air into a ventilation pipe. I "sealed" the space between the hole in the armoire and the wall with 3" thick futon foam. It is sealed all the way around.

I have a temp probe inside the armoire, near where the chiller is, and the temp says 104.

Can anyone recommend a better solution for cooling off this equipment by pulling the air out of the apartment?

Thanks!

 

[tosiek]

Is that fan constantly on? There is no better way unless your cooling that air inside.

Anyways, try to increase the intake for the cabinet, its going to make the air flow pull from the fan better and cool the cabinet better. Your not going to be getting much though, maybe 4-5 degrees. But fan off or on the pull is going to be better.

 

[Josh]

So add more holes to the cabinet?

I have the exhaust fan as well as 2 small fans inside the cabinet pulling the air from the back of the chiller to the hole in the wall.

 

[Imbarrie]

You may be restricting air flow. You could just prop the door open slightly and see if the temp drops before drilling more holes.
Is there air flow over the components? Or are you just evacuating the air in the space?
The best way to cool everything would be to channel the air flow so it flows over the components then vents outside.


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[Sumbub]

There has to be cool air going in for the hot air to be going out. If all you have is the fan pulling out the air inside without fresh air going in, it's not going to cool the air within the armoire easily. Crack the door open slightly to see if it'll help. And you'd be probably better off with a bigger exhaust fan than the bath fan.

 

[TRIGGERMAN]

I agree with Barrie..with your cabinet sealed up there is definitely not enough air flow and having small fans inside will only generate more heat. I would say either you need to run ac in that room or if the armoire is movable/near a window get a large boxfan blowing out the window. A pic would help also I am interested.

 

[rkaragozler]

Is there any way of drilling a 3" hole in the back of the cabinet, furthest point from the 8" hole , and as low down as you can. This would pull in cool air and exhaust the hot air out, the 3" hole would have a lot of cfm moving thru it, and would cause the air inside to circulate.