9 replies to this topic

[IneptHenchman]

Hey everyone!
Im currently working on my cabinet and have a question about fan. Ive placed 2 large 4 inch fans at the top of the back of the backbox and I have 4 three inch holes for airflow where the backbox connects to the cabinet.

My question is if I should also have 2 fans on the back of the cabinet or if the two existing fans in the backbox are enough for airflow?
I do plan on adding air flow holes to the bottom front of the cabinet and think I may put fans their too.

Thoughts?

[DDH69]

If your backbox has flow from your cabinet body then that should be OK.  Having said that I have two entry and 6 exit fans in my cabinet and back box.  I believe in lots of airflow provided by plenty of fans running slowly to keep noise to a minimum.

 

Another part of the answer is about what you are running in the cabinet / backbox.  How much heat is it creating and what is the heat of the ambient environment you are running in.  Fans are all about providing enough air movement to keep critical components within a safe thermal range when running.

[IneptHenchman]

Thanks, at the moment its basically just the computer and the computer in the cab and then the monitors.

[barneyrfd]

Fans definitly needed for the playfield cabinet as well as exhaust holes for good air flow, once the graphics card and monitor get heated up it gets hot in there...

[Breadbox64]

It is crucial that you have a sufficiently large opening between the cabinet and the backbox to allow enough air to flow through. Additionally, you need sufficiently large openings in the cabinet so that the same amount of air that is blown out of the top of the backbox can re-enter from the bottom. If these conditions are met, fans in the backbox for exhausting air or fans in the cabinet for supplying air are entirely sufficient. The amount of air flowing in will always equal the amount of air leaving the unit; it’s an inevitable cycle. I’ve set it up differently myself: I installed a large fan inside the cabinet that blows fresh air into the unit, which rises due to thermal convection and exits the unit through holes at the top of the backbox.

[Tesla]

I installed a large fan inside the cabinet that blows fresh air into the unit, which rises due to thermal convection and exits the unit through holes at the top of the backbox.

 

That is pretty-much my solution also, except for now ... mine is all just passively-cooled. I just recently added some vent holes in top of backbox's back cover.

 

But one thing I learned when cooling my (expensive) amps and AVRs ... it's really just about ventilation. So, if OP is wondering if current cooling is sufficient ... just feel the parts (including their backs) ... or point a laser-thermometer at them ... recently after playing a table. 

[Itchigo]

I have a 120mm fan in the speaker opening under the cab to pull air in. Then I have a 10" clip fan 110v fan behind the coinbox that blows air across the pc. I haven't had any overheating problems with just those 2 fans.

[rickh]

For my mini cabinet (24" table play)  I have a louver in the bottom front of the cabinet where air is drawn in.  On the top rear of the main cabinet I mounted an axial 80mm fan that forces the air up into the back box.   The rear of the back box is louvered at the top to allow the air to exit.  This makes the machine very quiet.  However, this limited volume of air is not suited for a high performance PC. 

It would be interesting to increase the depth of the back box neck to accommodate a couple of larger 120mm PWM fans for a full size cabinet. 

[Breadbox64]

 

I installed a large fan inside the cabinet that blows fresh air into the unit, which rises due to thermal convection and exits the unit through holes at the top of the backbox.

 

That is pretty-much my solution also, except for now ... mine is all just passively-cooled. I just recently added some vent holes in top of backbox's back cover.

 

But one thing I learned when cooling my (expensive) amps and AVRs ... it's really just about ventilation. So, if OP is wondering if current cooling is sufficient ... just feel the parts (including their backs) ... or point a laser-thermometer at them ... recently after playing a table. 

 

Almost all real pinball machines are cooled purely passively; the only exceptions I can recall are *Revenge from Mars* and *A.G. Soccer Ball*. The RFM because of the CRT and the computer, and the A.G. because it’s just a cabinet without a backbox, so the hot air has to be forced out through openings on the bottom. And real pinball machines also generate a lot of heat with all the lamps, the transformer, the displays, the thyristors, transistors, and coils. So it might be enough for some VPs but a little extra active cooling certainly can't hurt. That said, most devices these days come with built-in overheating protection, so nothing serious should happen—the monitors or the computer will simply shut down. 

[Tesla]

Almost all real pinball machines are cooled purely passively;  So it might be enough for some VPs but a little extra active cooling certainly can't hurt. 

 

 

Interesting.

 

I was thinking I get away with it because my gaming computer is still in it's tower-case, hidden under the cabinet itself.