What's a good way to keep an amp cool?
 

My amp is floor mounted with lots of space to breathe but it overheats after 1 hr or so of playing for about 20 minutes then it cycles around. I was thinking on getting about 2 computer fans. two for the side vents making that one on each side. That may be too much but it's getting hotter and I love my bass. I felt it yesterday after playing for about 20 minutes and it was hot to the touch. That was the first time I played it for the day. I might get one of those laptop cooling fans and mount that above the amp by about 2 or 3 inches. Sounds like a good plan?

That'll work. Here's an idea though... what type of box do you have, and which direction is it firing?

My brother in law kept having a overheating problem in his Grand am. I turned the box so the vent fired over the amp, and that kept it cool enough. Plus, it ended up sounding deeper.

im looking at getting a couple of fans off ebay myself, allthough never over heats, my JL 500 gets hot too the touch...after pounding the bass... i might get some of the gay neon fans for under my cover...but ebay is loaded with them and usually pretty cheap...7 bucks shipped i think is the one im lookin at....

Another thing you could do if you wanted to waste the money is buy a liquid cooling system that is used for computers and hook it up underneath the amp. Something I was considering since it gets above 120 degrees in the summer. The fans would work too.

Stinger makes a fan around 6 inches long I think thats specifically designed for cooling amps. They run for about 30 bucks on ebay. I have one on the amp under my seat and does what its supposed to.

what does the fan hook upto? the positive and negative. does it hook up to where the the amp gets power from the battery?

put ice packs on it.

I was having the same issue with one of my amps. Below are two pics. I cut the end off the fitting for a computer fan that I bought at CompUSA and ran the black to the ground and the power lead to the remote turn-on for the amp. That way it turns on & off with the amp. It's probably not the best way to cure the problem, but my amp hasn't cut off since ( over a year now ).

These pics were taken while I was testing everything. Wires are hidden now.

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...47_98_full.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...47_99_full.jpg

Just keep in mind that using the remote for power 'could' damage the remote lead- you asking a very thin wire meant for a turn on signal to turn on a few amplifiers and now run a few accesories(fans) off its power with no fuse inline to boot to protect you from a hazard. I've ran neons this way before, no problems but you never know....I'd look into another source of power, w/ a relay if you plan on running multiple fans.
This type of scenario is good to take into account when buying amplifiers in the future- look for high grade thermal contruction- good heatsink design and/or built in fans and power supplies that use 105 degree capacitors to better withstand automotive trunklife...

The best way to run the fans from the remote lead would be to use a relay.

I was gonna use my stock bose amp power line since it has no use anymore.