Ventilation and overheating of the machines. What me worry??

[slotter]

Looking at my machines, I have to wonder... how come some of the slots have screens and vents, yet some vendors cover up all holes (even the handles where air might get in) with laminate or new wood. Couldn't this cause an overheating problem? :-?

What is surprising is that it is often the most reputable vendors who cover the case leaving no ventilation.

I do not feel excessive heat inside the machines that are covered even after lengthy play, so maybe it really is nothing to worry about? :-?

[TANK]

we have been discussing this in various postings lately. i have carefully opened at the upper vents on my laminated machines useing an e-xacto knife. you could use a router with a laminate cutter just as well. my firedrift & aladdin were both registering approx. 105 after extended run time, but are now down to the low 90s. this cant be bad!!! fighter aircraft electronics are kept below 75 either by a/c on grd. or by allowing cool outside air to bleed in during flight. heck these babys are at least as advanced as any f-16 or f-4 ive worked on!!!

[Tulsa]

I don't know, I have machines that were only painted and they have no opening in the top for heat release. They all seem to have vents in the back at the top. The laminated cases don't cover the back of unit anyway.

So I'm not going to stress over it myself.

[slotter]

But if the backs of the machines are butted up against one another or butted up to a wall, there's going to be no circulation there, either. :-?

Again, I don't notice a whole lot of heat in there... so, maybe it's no big deal?

[luckydog]

if you are leaving your machines on i would say yes.

but, most of us only have them on when playing, so they may only be on 4 or 5 hours max.

i don't worry about it with mine. :lol:

[slotter]

Luckydog, you are probably correct. If the machine were left on 24/7 or near to that, then the electronics might not last as long. But, normally, an hour or two and once in awhile, 5 or 6 hours (party-time!) is about it. The rest of the time, my machines are off. Good point! :lol:

[t8tr]

So what I read here,most of you turn off your machines? I have been leaving mine on,newbie mistakes! :smt075

[TatooedLady]

From what I've heard in person and what I've read in here, if you're going to turn the machine OFF, power off at the power strip, otherwise the transformer is constantly ON. You'll hear the difference easily if you experiment yourself.

[slotter]

I'd suggest plugging into a powerstrip/surge protector and then just using that to turn off the machine when it's not in use. I have several of them I use to turn the various machines off and on! Saves electricity, too. :lol:

[arbycoffee]

I did a pancake fan 110v in a machine. like Tank said I had 113 in without, openning the holes and setting the box on wood 1 by 1s to get air flow up from the bottom. dropped to 92-4, but the pancake on it dropped to 78.
The bad thing is the pancakes I liked the silent 1" thick ones were 23.00 dollars. so I only did one.

[Utopia1dc]

Since these machines were on all day in Japanese Pachinko Parlors, the few hours we have them on each day shouldn't be a big concern. The backs have holes, just don't put them all the way to the wall...leave a couple of inches and we should be fine.

[Czyotto]

Arbycoffee: Where did you get that 1" pancake fan. I have a couple fans in the TV and audio cabinets. But they very loud. My wife can't stand it. She also can't stand the all of the wires in back. So I boxed it in.

[arbycoffee]

i did a google, and looked thru different sites that it hit to find it. I can't find any paper work cause it was last year

[TANK]

they have them at the same price at radio shack

[Lddrizzt]

Most likely the vents were there for the parlor's sake, hunderds of machines back to back on 24/7. that with the addidional lighting, and all the people I bet their air conditioning bill went through the roof. None of us (exept maybe Arby) have enough machines to worry about the heat problem.
Just the voices in my head making themselves heard again.

[arbycoffee]

where I got my machines, I got a 3 ton air conditioner mounted in the front wall, it will keep the whole floor chilly in the sumertime.

[wmas1960]

I Keep learning more every day. It was interesting how one post described reducing the temperature by almost 60 degrees by cutting open some laminate. That has to be beneficial. I can't completely visualize though what was done. Was this a hole cut into the top or the back. One other post countered by saying that the backs are not laminated and do have vent holes in them? Perhaps vents were put in the tops of some machines that were butted up back to back. If positioned in such a way you would benefit from a vent in the TOP.

From reading this, perhaps common sense would suffice in most situations. Keep some air space between machines that are back to back and keep the machines out away from any other wall or obstruction. If there are air vents or holes in the back they are, probably, intended to be for such ventilation and by considering the placement of your machine, you probably don't have to worry. If you are going to place a machine in a cabinet with little air space around for circulation than some considerations might be beneficial. Like putting a fan in the cabinet to generate some circulation and air flow. My understanding is that one would keep the machine on most of the time. Part of the charm of having these machines, in my opinion. Therefore, another consideration to think of with your machines. If not leaving on all the time than don't worry. If you are leaving on long periods of time than you might need some improved circulation or ventilation.

I remember, growing up, we built an addition on our house. Part of the design of our new family room was a built in cabinet to house our TV and Stereo. This was at a time when such components, mainly the TV, still contained some tubes.... The stereo and TV(even though it was only 19") were both quite large and produced a large amount of heat when running. It was determined that a cooling fan needed to be installed inside the cabinet, especially for the TV. We have a 27" SONY XBR tv now. It is smaller than the old 19" and has a lot more air space around it. Was talking to a service guy who had to come out and fix it once. He said that they still had big problems caused by heat and poor circulation. He said that the process of heating and cooling and the temps generated over long periods was causing cracks in circuit boards. That in most cases, he had to find the problem circuit and run some fresh solder over the connections and tracks. Solder points frequently crack when heat isn't ventilated away and the life of a unit can be severely reduced. Or subjected to repairs that would exceed the value of the set. In our case, the TV was a premium model that was worthy of repair.

Being in Video Production, I use some professional grade electronics. (VCRs etc.) These items, even today, often come with a cooling fan in the back. One model that I have is virtually identical to a consumer model by the same manufacturer. Differences are the cabinet on the consumer marchine being plastic and the professional machine being metal. Warranty is greater on the professional machine. The professional machine also has a cooling fan installed. Otherwise the machines are identical with identical features... Is the inclusion of the fan due to a difference in the electronics? Or, an understanding that a consumer will probably have their machine off 90% of the time while a professional might have their machine ON 60 or 70% of the time.

So, when it comes down to it, most of us, probably, don't have anything to worry about. However, it couldn't hurt to make sure there is a sufficient amount of air flow around the machine and venting in the machine. It also couldn't hurt to have a cooling fan installed into the machine, over such a vent, especially if you intend to leave it on for long or extended periods.

Also, these machines are largely, as I understand, computers. Computer chips, from my understanding, can be adversely effected by heat. Keeping the temp down would not only help prolong the life of your circuits and solder points.... but also might improve the performance of the computer??? Some people who have reported odd behavior in their machines might be experiencing such problems and might want to look into circulation and ventilation issues.

To close, like I haven't gone on too long already.... :-D , A few questions here. Is there a convenient place in a machine to install a fan into the top or back? Also, how would you wire a fan? Would you wire it internally into the machines power supply or have a second power cord for the fan? Lastly, would you have the fan sucking air out of the machine? or drawing air in? My guess is sucking warm air out.

[TANK]

WOW!!! DID YOU REMEMBER TO BREATH DURING THAT?
I REMOVED THE LAMINATE THAT HAD BEEN APPLIED OVER 2 EXISTING VENT HOLES (each approx. 3x5 ins.) ON THE TOP(THEY WERE SCREENED AND THE LAMINATE WAS APPLYED DIRECTLY OVER THE SCREENING)
FANS: IF YOU GO THE ROUTE OF SWITCHING THE MACHINE OFF BY THE POWERSTRIP RATHER THAN OPENING THE MACHINE ALL THE TIME ,YOU CAN WIRE IT IN PRIOR TO THE TRANSFORMER THEN IT WILL BE SWITCHED ON/OFF WITH THE MACHINE(up side is it leaves more room on the power strip so you can buy more machines!!!!!) I WOULD MOUNT IT HIGH ,IF POSSIBLE, TO BLOW HOT AIR OUT AND AWAY FROM THE PLAYER (NOT INTO THE MACHINE BEHIND IT)
LASTLY: REMEMBER WE ARE HERE FOR THE FUN OF IT SO NEVER TAKE ANY OF US (EXCEPT FOR ARBY) TOO SERIOUSLY. AND WELCOME!!!!

[slotter]

I hope Luckydog doesn't read this thread today. He'll need to go outside and have a cigarette after reading those long posts. :-P

Just kidding and welcome, wmas1960! :lol:

[luckydog]

i'm too old to read that much all at the same time :oops: :oops:

i may need a nap now :roll: :roll: :roll: