811 Heat Dissipation

[Edge]

Does anyone have their 811 set on it's side? Any heat issues with placing the unit this way? I haven't opened the top, so I'm not sure if there are heat sinks aligned for dissipation of heat through the top of the unit, or if placing one of the sides upward would be sufficient.

I'm interested in placing the box on its side, on the floor, as I'm out of shelf space.

Thanks in advance for the help.

[Jason Nipp]

There are vents on the sides of the 811. The 811 does get warm, I personally do not know anyone doing what you have asked, but personally I don't recommend it. I do not know your exact space constraints, but if you need to put it on the floor I would recommend positioning it in the normal position on smooth surface such as a a piece piece of plywood so air can circulate underneath.

[Ron Barry]

I agree with Jason. Those vent holes are there for a reason and given the 6000 had a fan for cooling, I would lean on the side of caution. You need to have a mechanism for heat to dissipate and closing up half the holes could result in problems immediately or could be the case where over time the unit degrades.

[logray]

I think he might just be asking if it hurts to have it on it's side - not covering up the vents on the top of the unit. Is that correct Edge?

For a test, you could get a $10 garden thermometer from a hardware store that has a wired probe. Just for fun, put the probe inside the unit and take readings with the unit on it's side (with vents uncovered) and readings while resting horizontally (again with vents uncovered).

I would actually recommend against sandwitching the unit in between other components horizontally and not having much breathing room for it's vents versus putting the unit on it's side on the floor with plenty of breathing room around it.

I doubt it makes much of a difference with the unit resting horizontally or vertically as far as heat sink dissipation is concerned - especially as compared with the unit's upper and lower operational temperature limits.

[bavaria72]

I would be surprised if E* designed the 811 for operation on it's side. Personally I would not risk it. There is a reason it has vents on both sides. My 811 does get rather warm (compared to my 501). I would definitely follow Jason's recommendation. He has never steered me wrong (Well, so far... .)

[Edge]

No, I would not be blocking any of the vents on the top of the unit, nor the side that is facing upward. But, obviously the side it would be laying on would be blocked.

I decided to go ahead and try it .. so far, so good. I haven't noticed any lock-ups or any other strange behavior.

I figure this positoin can't be any worse than having another stereo component stacked on top the unit. I'll report back if I have any troubles..

edit: I forgot, I do have a digital temperature probe. I'll do some measurements and see what I come up with. The only problem I forsee is with the heatsink design. Some are omnidirectional though, and allow heat to dissipate when orientated in any direction.

[Grandude]

The only suggestion I would make is that you determine which end of the 811 has the power supply and position it so it is up so the heat it generates would not have to rise over the other components.
If I were doing it I would also set it on something that would allow the air vents on the bottom end to be unobstructed.

[Jason Nipp]

While I agree with the concept of identifying the position of the power supply is useful when determining a major heat source, I can not warn strongly enough that the power supply is no where near the only internal component producing heat-rise. There are vents on both sides so air can convect through the unit. Also remember the laws of physics....Heat rises, if the unit is placed vertically now you have just reduced the vented area that allows heat to escape.

But it's his unit, I still recommend placing it in it's normal position. He may not have an issue doing this, but the potential is certainly there.