Rackmount temperatures?

Question

Hi!

Just to make sure. Is it safe to use Paca rackmounted with only <5cm ventilation space above it?

I have been building a case where I have my Paca together with Metric Halo MIO2882, TC Impact Twin, Asus Router and a rack powerstrip all permanently connected. The three interfaces seem to generate a lot of heat and I have now tested it for a week or so with no problems.

The Paca's Led-display DSP status is showing stable "51@" (I assume it's °C?) as the case temperature when I have things running on Kyma. Is this safe on the long run, and can I trust the unit to shut down itself if it gets too hot?

Answer 1

51° C is a little on the warm side for the case (we like to see it below 45), but the Paca(rana) will automatically shut down if the processors inside get too hot.

One thing you could try would be to put the Paca at the bottom of the rack with ventilation space above the Paca and the other electronics in the top part of the rack. Since heat rises, this would prevent the heat generated by the other devices from warming up the Paca too.

Comments

Thanks for the reply. I'll move the Paca to the bottom and consider adding a case fan.

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I've got a TC Konnect24D and it seems to run pretty hot. If I sit it on top of the Paca they both get really toasty. Do TC interfaces run particularly hot or are others similar?

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It's best not to set anything on top of the Paca (since that will block the ventilation holes).  Even if rack-mounted, the Paca(rana) should have some airspace above it for the heat to escape.  You could put the Paca on top of the TC; that would allow the Paca to dissipate heat (not sure whether TC would like that though?)

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I'll make some spacer blobs to put under the TC so it has an air gap below it. Would 10mm do it?

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My TC Impact Twin runs a lot hotter than my Metric Halo 2882. It is smaller in design though, but less preamps and such. The Konnect24D is about the same size as Impact Twin so it should go nicely underneath the Paca. That's how I was using them before assembling the rack. By the way my case temperature is now down to less than 45°C and as an added bonus I can see the Paca's display without bending over :D