Can I mount an amp sideways?

jwl

Hello,

I have an Adcom GFA-535 (on order). Is there any issue with moutning it on its side?

I thinking about strapping it to a desk to give me easy access to it and improve cabling options.

J

Clipdat

I wouldn't do it. It's been thermally engineered for the heat to rise off it's heatsinks and up & out of the chassis. Mounting it vertical would throw this off and it might run too hot in that case.

mhardy6647

Yup, as long as adequate air circulation is provided it should be fine; the issue broached in the previous post is certainly possible but would (to my mind) reflect awfully-close tolerances in the design if the amp were designed only to run in one orientation. THe best advice would be to check the manual and/or with the manufacturer to be sure.

In the old days, it was very common to mount amps in different configurations (e.g., face up) in consoles and cabinets; the instructions would address the acceptability of this and then simply say "ensure adequate air circulation"... and we're talkin' about vacuum tube hardware that produces huge amounts of heat.

For completeness, I'll mention that there are some earlier vacuum tube designs (e.g., some early power triodes with direct-heated cathodes and some rectifiers) which have design limitations in terms of their acceptable orientation for use, but that's pretty esoteric in the context of this question.

F1nut

That is an extremely bad idea for the reasons Clipdat stated.

gdb

I had an old Datsun 2000 roadster with it's radio stood up on it's side......looked stupid as Hell !

jwl

Actually got through to Adcom directly. Clipdat is 100% correct.

zingo

I wouldn't do it without forced cooling, which would be more noise and hassle than it's worth; so no.

Blownrx7

Only if you want to shorten the life of the components should you mount in an orientation other than what it was designed for.
Agree with Clipdat said.

Clipdat

Case closed! :twisted:

Keep that bad boy horizontal! :biggrin:

nhhiep

it would be OK if you don't push it all the time. as long as it won't go into Protect mode, you're OK. Protect mode is there for a reason. this is still better than many who put their equipments on top of each other

gdb

You could also cut some vents/ louvers in the side that faces upwards.

leftwinger57

Well nowI do stack my gear w/ no ill effects whatsoever.My Adcom 555 for whatever reason is running cold to warm all day long.
In the manual it does say something about heat dispersion and the topography within.I did have a rack and my Yammah 665 clipped
from overheating so out w/ the rack and up w/ the stack for now..

crouse

The first 3 series BMW sold in America had its stereo mounted that way. I can imagine a lot of dirt got into the cassette player.

steveinaz

Clipdat wrote: »

I wouldn't do it. It's been thermally engineered for the heat to rise off it's heatsinks and up & out of the chassis. Mounting it vertical would throw this off and it might run too hot in that case.

Precisely. If it's a class A, or A/B, I wouldn't recommend it.

20hz

the 535 is a class A/B but it runs cool ( lots of heat sincs VS power ) I have not heard of one running warm but if you want the amp to run some 12" full range speakers for a summer party you may have problems .
I would TRY it and feel the cage for heat if it gets really warm after a few minutes go set it flat .
but running some small speakers at talking volume I would be surprised if it got warm within a few hours .

Monster Jam

I wouldn't do it either, but not for cooling purposes, but for structural integrity reasons. Some of the devices within the amp are heavy. Changing the weight the weight is supported internally could cause structural failure and damage the amplifier.

squeeb

Can I mount an amp sideways?

I wouldn't recommend it. But, if you do, make sure you let it cool down, unplug it, and you still may want to use protection. You don't know everyone who has turned it on before you. :redface:

Sorry, just couldn't resist.

Monster Jam

squeeb wrote: »

Sorry, just couldn't resist.

Well played, sir!

Syndil

Have to agree with mhardy on this one. The response from Adcom was probably just a bit of CYA. The 535 was designed to handle low-impedance loads, and it has thermal protection circuitry. Could probably run it upside-down at 8 ohms without issue, and if it did become too hot, it would simply shut down.

F1nut

Your bad advice knows no end.

The heat sinks are designed to allow the air flow to move from bottom to top as heat rises. If you lay the amp on one end the heat cannot escape as designed and will cause that heat sink to become much warmer than the other. Since the heat has to go somewhere, it will heat up the components inside the amp on the downside causing premature failure of the components. This is really elementary stuff.

tonyb

Just turn your head sideways.....problem solved.:biggrin:

Syndil

F1, your physics is sound; your assumption that it would be detrimental to the equipment is not. Yes, it's obviously designed to be run horizontally, as are most amps. Holes on top, vertical fins on the heatsinks... duh. But the GFA-535 is a cool-running amp anyway, and jwl won't be pushing it lower than 8 ohms. Tilting it on its side doesn't suddenly cause it to become a vault either, with all the air trapped inside. It won't convect as efficiently as it would horizontally, but it will still convect. I'll bet it still cools better on its side than it would in a stack of other heat-generating gear, and people do that all the time.

tonyb

Syndil wrote: »

F1, your physics is sound; your assumption that it would be detrimental to the equipment is not. Yes, it's obviously designed to be run horizontally, as are most amps. Holes on top, vertical fins on the heatsinks... duh. But the GFA-535 is a cool-running amp anyway, and jwl won't be pushing it lower than 8 ohms. Tilting it on its side doesn't suddenly cause it to become a vault either, with all the air trapped inside. It won't convect as efficiently as it would horizontally, but it will still convect. I'll bet it still cools better on its side than it would in a stack of other heat-generating gear, and people do that all the time.

The problem with that is heat will still build up and convect to the closest outing. The reason most Adcoms run cool anyway is because of the design. Change the way the design is suppose to work and you change the longevity of the amp. The whole idea is to avoid heat build up to begin with. Heat + electronics = disaster.

Syndil

I understand the theory behind what you guys are saying and it's not wrong, but I don't believe for a minute that vertically mounting the Adcom 535 will have real-world negative effects in this instance. They can and do take much more abuse than that. Improper? Yes. Detrimental? Ridiculous. jwl is not pushing low-efficiency 4-ohm speakers, he's driving a pair of Monitor 40s at PC listening distance.

gdb

Yeah, WTH, it's not like he's gonna' stand an ML or a Krell on it's ear ! This thing is what, a $100-$150 piece ?

tonyb

Doesn't matter what he's pushing, heat is generated when pushing nothing too. Granted not as much as you would think but still. Little heat builds up to big heat when not ventilated properly. I would imagine if the manufacturer even suggested not a good idea that alone should tell you something. Again, his coin to do as he wishes but personally I would think why risk it unless you feel you can run out and buy another lickety split.

Joe08867

I for one wouldn't do it.

1. because the heat sinks were designed to be horizontal.

2. because those transformers look like they would fall over in time if they hung on there sides.

sda2mike

and there you have it: there is something to learn here, everyday