Air Conditioner Vents and Electronics.

delkal

Not sure if this is a warning, a coincidence or just ranting but here goes.............

A few months ago I bought a PS Audio 200C amp. It is 30 years old and I have no idea of its service history (if any) but when I bought it it was dead quiet and sounded great. This thing is is a beast and takes total control of your speakers. You can crank it up till your ears hurt and you still can't see the drivers move. Everything was good until I didn't play it for about a month. Then when I finally turned it on to warm it up there was a loud hiss in one of the channels. It sounded like a ground loop but while troubleshooting I realized I didn't have a ground plug on anything attached to it. I also noticed it got worse after you played it loud for a while. Even after disconnecting everything.

After a little internet searching and still thinking it sounded like a ground loop I opened it up. There were large brass bars for the ground and rails and you could see some white corrosion on everything connected to it. I unscrewed everything (Top and bottom, one at a time) then deoxed or sanded the connections. Hooked everything up again and when I was done and it is dead quiet again.

I was happy that I fixed it but later that night I was reading another forum where someone put an expensive firearm next to an AC vent an it rusted in a couple weeks. Got me thinking and it made sense.......My rack was placed right over an AC vent (with the amp on the bottom). The AC would turn on (a lot lately) and cool the metal below room temperature. But then the AC would turn off and the humid air in the room would condense on it and quicken the corrosion.

Does anyone buy this or was it just a coincidence? Anyone else have this issue?

mlistens03

Makes sense to me. I’ll ask my grandpa tomorrow, he owns an AC business and would know.
Interesting, to say the least. Judging by the fact that both you and the other guy had a metal something rust, I’m gonna guess that it at least has some truth to it.

rpf65

I can see it happening.

People normally keep there homes between 75 and 78. Your amp probably has an interior temp around 100. The air coming out of the duct is around 60. Add in about 50 percent humidity, and I can see metal starting to condensate.

Never really thought about it before. Guess I’ll have to start mentioning it to the few customers I have with floor vents. Can’t really see it as an issue with ceiling vents, which is predominate in the southern area of the U.S.

Tony M

I can see it being the reason for sure. I'm glad you took a look and saw an issue and fixed it.
I'm glad for you!

delkal

I'm sure the amp had a good start on the oxidation after 30 years but I was surprised how it went from silent to buzzing in a month.

Now I have to figure out how to avoid it happening again. The wall I have the system on had a floor vent dead center. Right where I would like to put my rack. Looking back I realize I did have the rack almost on top of the vent and if I move it a few feet away that might be OK. But then the rack is in front of the speakers!

I might have to think about putting the rack on another wall but I don't think that would look as good and I doub't my speaker cables will reach.

tonyb

Maybe a simple solution would be to buy a vent deflector and direct that air away from the rack.

Emlyn

It’s really just not a good idea to locate electronics where a forced air duct blows hot or chilled air directly onto equipment. Dust buildup is another major issue. If there was absolutely no other option I would shut the vent.

Tony M

I use 2 vent deflectors myself...

That is a GREAT IDEA @tonyb!!! I hope @delkal can use these!

Here's what I've been using for 25 years in two rooms.

delkal

Tony M wrote: »

I use 2 vent deflectors myself...

That is a GREAT IDEA @tonyb!!! I hope @delkal can use these!

Here's what I've been using for 25 years in two rooms.

I will have to think about something like this. The only problem is that the vent is in the center of the wall and 6 inches in front of 3 connected windows (with sheers in front of them). It would blow the cold air (and later the heat) under the curtains.

And to make matters worse this is the room that the houses thermostat is in! I can't just block it off.

Not the best setup but I will figure something out............

DaveHo

Access to duct work in the basement? How handy are you? Pretty simple to move it.

mlistens03

My grandpa hasn’t replied yet. When he does I’ll tell you what he says.

tonyb

They make those duct vent reflectors in various configurations to blow the air in different directions.....from what I recall anyway.

ab0tj

I'd think the heat cycling probably contributes to loosening internal connections, too.

tonyb

ab0tj wrote: »

I'd think the heat cycling probably contributes to loosening internal connections, too.

Don't know about that, unless your running a blast furnace.

StantonZ

I would be very worried about the "heat" side of things. I remember those floor vents in our old house in the winter; we don't have those in TX (no basements).

delkal

LissMaker wrote: »

hey, the main trick is to care properly, i don't think your way will be appreciated, as it's ignoring the antibacterial treatment of the radiator-evaporator in the car cabin. This leads to the fact that the air conditioner not only becomes a source of an unacceptable and unpleasant odor, but can also provoke diseases of passengers. Professional antibacterial treatment of the air conditioner is optimal twice a season.

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