Reply With Quoteyup no issues. amps dont care what orientation they are in just so long as the heatsinks are not covered or fans blocked.
Thats my question to all of the audio guru's. I just got a Alpine MRV-F545 (an upgrade in power from the MRV-F345 that I have)and I also have a MRD-605. (quick back story) I work at a reading truck bodies and we fab-up bodies using sheet metal. So I'd like to fab-up a new deck lid probably outta aluminum with reinforcing. So with that said i'd like to get these amps off the floor so I have more room in the hatch. My original plan was to mount the amps up side down but some people have told me that you cant. Input?
yup no issues. amps dont care what orientation they are in just so long as the heatsinks are not covered or fans blocked.
samething i was going to say... so long as it ca breathe it will function properlyOriginally Posted by james04si
thats what I was thinking because it doesnt say that I can't in the manual
Heatsinks are made to dissipate heat.
Most companies plan on people installing the amp normal, meaning it's heatsink is upwards.
By flipping the amp over, the heat will stay inside the amp, not allowing it to cool properly.
Can you do it?
Yes. But, take a few precautions and make sure there is a fan or two moving air across them.
so what your saying is that you cant mount an amp upright either right? I mean its not allowing the heat to escape from the one side. Seriously orientation means nothing to a heatsink. the fets are mounted to the bottom side of the heatsink not the actual fins half the time. All that matters is that the heat is dissapated to the aluminum fins which then has airspace or the fans in the amp that blow over them to cool them. theres no need to nickpick on a couple degrees of possible lost cooling. if that were true all amps mounted in trunks would die prematurly because the heat of the trunk is greater than inside the car.
Not a great idea to mount passively cooled amps upside down, will it work? probably.... For the reasons stated earlier here, hot air rises from the passive heat sinks and therefore moves air across them. If the amp is mounted in such a way as to prevent the flow of air (such as the top of your trunk) it would be at risk of thermal damage. Perhaps mounting it sideways is an option.
I agree that were probably talking about maybe 10 degrees, but he asked if it would cause any issues. Vegas's statment is correct.... The amp would be running hotter.
For all I care you can mount the amp under shag carpet with a dead pony laying on it.
It's odd, next time you buy an amp, read that piece of paper you normally throw away. It's called an "owner's manual". You'd be surprised at all the crazy stuff they have to say. I mean hell, they MIGHT know what they are talking about.
Mounting ANY amp in any position other than "flat and horizontal" will result in higher operating temperatures. Period. Any other position, it's reccomended to add fans or other means of airflow.
Will it kill the amp to mount it vertically?.....no.
Will fans help?...yes.
my amp has a fan built in. Handy little feature.
Ed~
Shit, make sure the new Aluminum deck lid is completely isolated from chassis, slather heatsink grease on it and make the whole damn deck lid a heatsink :D
LOL
You may notice that any amp typically has the fins on the sides not the top or the bottom. thats because the heat producing cirucitry is mounted to the back side of those fins. So if there are no fins on the top or very few the cooling capacity of that area is much less than the areas where there are fins. and for the matter of this whole conversation almost all modern amps if not all of them come with overheat circuitry to prevent it from running too hot. The only time I have ever had an amp shut down was in my jeep where the amps are under plexiglass and I had no top on in a 100+ degree day. I dont think the manual said anything about that as an issue.
There is a very good reason not to mount or install your expensive electronics incorrectly. The fact that you have an experience where you mounted an amp in a sealed area and it shut off because it was hot leads me to believe you should not be giving advise on mounting locations and heat sink design.
Passive heatsinks rely on the hot air moving across them and rising thus carrying it away, then drawing cooler air from around the amp kind of like a pump. An amp that is mounted upside down in an enclosed space will not force hot air away from it too draw in cool because hot air is not carried away. In fact it builds up and will eventually cause either thermal overload or a failure. The cause of the failure is not due to amp orientation but because the amp is mounted to the high point.
Good advise is to stay away from mounting your passively cooled electronics in such a way as to defeat their design.
Last edited by MR.Pizza; 08-18-2008 at 10:03 AM.
Maybe you missed my comment. The amp was in a jeep with no shade from the sun at over 100 degrees. the internal temp of the space was well over 120 degrees even with the fans a blowing( they are on a thermostat and relay that turns on any time the chamber gets above 90 degrees. Black heatsink+direct sunlight+over 100 degrees=hot ass amp no matter what you do. why do you think on a very hot day if you touch your black car its hot as hell? My point in that statement is that there is thermal protection to prevent damage. I dont really care anymore about convincing someone that is dead set against doing it, because they have never tried and always followed what the manufacturer recomends for everything. thank god I have a logical mind and can think for myself on amp placement and what is acceptable. Because without people who can think for themselves there would be no good ideas or space saving ideas like the first person was asking about. God forbid yes there is additonal risk of damage but when you take in the minimal risk an additional 1% or so its well worth it to save some space, its not like saying if you mount it upside down it will not work or its going to die within x amount of days. I bet your one of the people who say you cant mount an amp to the speaker box too.
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