I bought this fan to cool the air around my valve hi-fi amplifier. Even though it sits on an open shelf, heat was clearly building up, especially on the shelf above where another device sits. I built a simple wooden frame for the fans so that I could suspend them from the shelf above and drag the hot air from the valves out to the side of the equipment. At the back would be better, if you can. It wasn't practical in my case. Normally these fans would be mounted in a more solid cabinet. I just used 1 piece of 26mm by 17mm by 600mm cut for 2 sides and 2 widths to make a clamp over the shelf. Wood-stained the frame and used 4 metal angle brackets and some screws.
The thermostat controller has a wired temperature sensor that can be placed wherever you want to test. I attached it to the shelf above with Blu-tak (the hi-fi owners friend) so it reads the temperature right above the valves. The controller is powered by the supplied transformer plug. This is a US product but I got in the UK with a UK 3-pin plug. The controller has a number of modes, including setting the fans to 3 different speeds all of the time, or what they call smart mode. This is what I use. I selected 35 degrees Celsius as the temperature I want it to try not go over. If the temperature gets to that, it will run the fans at full tilt. 2 degrees below that and the fans go to mid-power to keep the noise down, and 3 degrees below the fans spin up to low speed. Below that and the fans stop, which means there's no noise and no wasted power. The controller displays in Celsius or Fahrenheit, by the way.
There is also a spare USB socket to run another single or pair of fans, which you can buy separately, and they will all be controlled from the one controller unit. I currently run a USB desk fan from this in order to push the air away on the other side. I also screwed the controller to a couple of short bits of wood (same as the frame, above) to make a stand, where again it might be built into a cabinet.
In the cooler months the fans can keep the temperature at 35 degrees, but with a summer ambient temperature in the room of 28 degrees C it tops out nearer 40 degrees C. The controller does have an alarm if the temperature gets too high, I think it flashes the backlight of the display. I've not seen that happen. Normally the controller displays the actual temperature of the sensor and the threshold that has been set, in smart mode. There are only a couple of buttons on the front of the controller that you need to use to set up your preferred mode and temperature, after that it's hands-off.
I'm very pleased with this unit. The finish and build quality appear good, and it should last me 30 years. It's an expandable system and the fans run pretty quietly.
| Manufacturer | AC Infinity |
|---|---|
| Part Number | AI-APT7 |
| Product Dimensions | 29.69 x 3.3 x 16 cm; 1.04 kg |
| Item model number | AI-APT7 |
| Colour | Black |
| Material | Aluminum |
| Voltage | 240 Volts |
| Wattage | 12 watts |
| Item Package Quantity | 1 |
| Sound level | 19 dB |
| Batteries included? | No |
| Batteries Required? | No |
| Item Weight | 1.04 kg |
