amp mounting.....

[dafirebird]

This may be something else to post in the myth sticky,

Some time ago, I was told by a system installer to never, ever mount an amp in any other direction than flat, i.e., not sideways or upsidedown. This is for heat dissipation through the top. Otherwise it could melt solder connections inside the housing. But on this site, I see alot of amps mounted sideways. Is what he told me true? Or does it not matter?

[Meatyshells]

Re: amp mounting.....

i think mayb he ment was as long as it's mounted up to something thats flat. Dont mount it upside down on it's face, or mount it standing on it's side. Not sure if that makes sence

[LETZRIDE]

Re: amp mounting.....

yea...as long as nothing is touching the face or sides....mine is mounted sideways right up against my spare tire behind that plastic...I havent had any problems what so ever

[96firebird311]

Re: amp mounting.....

Some time ago, I was told by a system installer to never, ever mount an amp in any other direction than flat

This is because almost every amp's cover, doubles as a heatsink. This is why you frequently see amp's with "fin" shaped amp covers. The more surface area, the better. Heat rises. So you want the heat evenly across the top of the amp, so it will be dissipated across the heatsink. The underside of the amp is almost always a thin flat piece of metal. If the amp was mounted upside-down, the heat would rise into that. This obviously will not dissipate heat as well and thereby may cause the amp to kick into thermal protection.

But remember that every amp is different. Some amps may play fine even with the increase in heat. It also depends on how hard you're pushing the amp. If you have a 1-ohm stable amp wiried for 2-ohms, it's obviously going to create less heat and therefore may be ok with being mounted sideways or even upside down.

In any event.... there is no way you're melting any solder on the PCB. Any amp now-a-days has thermal protection features. Yes.... it is ALWAYS best to mount them facing the sky. However, creativity often wins over.

[squisher]

Re: amp mounting.....

Meh, heat rises yes, but in an application like that, it just radiates, up or down doesn't affect it near as much as people might have you believe, otherwise why don't computer CPUs melt down, since 99% of them sit sideways. The biggest thing to make sure you don't crowd it. A couple inches on each side, and not in a tightly enclosed space so that air can naturally flow around it (doesn't even have to be forced flow, heat in air will cause enough thermal air movement).

So, heat "rising" is more prevalent in fluids and gases (water and air if you will). With solids (e.g. Aluminum heat sinks on an amp or computer chip) the heat will just radiate. If you're really worried about it, make sure the underside of the amplifier is mounted to a metal surface (more heat sink) instead of through carpet or a wooden board. Or if you must mount to a carpeted or non-metal surface, use spacers to allow some airspace underneath. Even 1/4" will help.

As long as there is some airspace around your amp, I don't think you'll have any problems. My setup had the amplifier mounted upside down in the trunk of my old car for several years, and I didn't have a single problem with it.

[flyboy367]

Re: amp mounting.....

i have done flat and standing up. either way i have the amp on wood or metal so air can flow all around it and a computer fan on each amp for a little extra. never had a problem