Outdoor enclosure cooling

[georgew]

http://www.realtime.net/~george/cooling_parts.JPG

Parts/tools List with sources:

Hammond EJ1084 box
Frys Thermaltake Smart Case Fan 2 Thermostatically controlled fan A1357 PLU 3436743
Frys 80mm plastic and foam fan filter UPC 7 24580 12142 8 PLU 3423113
Digikey Cable Grip 288-1168-ND
Digikey Cable Grip 288-1169-ND
Home Depot Greenlee chasis punches
Home Depot sheetmetal screws
Home Depot drill press, drill, and bits
Home Depot Fiberglass window screen material (2" by 3")
Home Depot Silicone sealant
Home Depot rain gutter downspout adapter UPC 0 49821 85051 7
Home Depot Duraco window box planter drip tray (cut in half) UPC 0 32832 04168 5
Home Depot Hole saw sized for fan (3" bimetal saw)
Soekris 4521 SBC with StarOS router loaded on 30meg flash card


http://www.realtime.net/~george/cooling_detail.JPG

Cut holes in case, paint it white. I painted the downspout white too. I used a light coat of plastic primer then white epoxy paint.
Attach fan over large hole in door with filter over outside, and finger screen on the inside, with the air blowing inward.
Glue screen material around the hole in the bottom of case.
Cut drip tray to be shorter than hammond case.
Attach tray to case over fan intake, using sheetmetal screws and silicone.
Attach downspout over air exaust hole with screws and silicone.

The air intake is larger than exaust. This keeps air velocity lower where it would suck in rain, and higher where it would blow it out... so the tray providing rain protection over the air intake should not cause enough air velocity to lift large water drops.

http://www.realtime.net/~george/cooling_bottom.JPG

And my helper insisted on being in one of the pictures...
http://www.realtime.net/~george/helper.JPG

[WISP]

Which board is in it?

[georgew]

I've updated the posting with a parts list...

[georgew]

Of course this is the same set-up I use with a WRAP board.

Using the Rflinx amps, I simply glue them to the inside of the door, below the fan... there is room for two easily.

I have a number of these in the elements, and I have had no downtime with any of them over a year.

[aime]

Georges,

I want to know how the fan is powered in the box ? by PoE or another power source ?

Did you buy everything in the same shop ? Any address ?

Approximatively how much to spend for one complete box ?

Thanks in advance

[georgew]

Originally Posted by aime

Georges,

I want to know how the fan is powered in the box ? by PoE or another power source ?

Did you buy everything in the same shop ? Any address ?

Approximatively how much to spend for one complete box ?

Thanks in advance

Sorry to take so long to answer.

I spent about $60 on the boxes here. I shopped on the net for the lowest price on the box, but I have since made the same rig using other brands and models of boxes.

I have a small plastic box used for a cable company demarc, it looks similar to a telco demarc enclosure. Those boxes are $12, for a total of around $30. The construction is different on those, but the basic idea is the same.

I have had these boxes installed for two years now. Last Wednesday at 6am I had a failure. Lightning struck, and everything attached to the tower went up in smoke.

My boxes won't protect against direct lightning strike. But under most other conditions they survive. They won't do super cold weather, but we don't have cold weather here.

As for how I power them, it depends on what I put in the box, and how far away it is. I have done power over ethernet, but I prefer industrial quality installations. On a tall tower, I would use 12gage outdoor uv stable Romex, that way you can keep voltage drop to a minimum. At the base I like to put a 3a DC power supply, like the kind they sell at Radio shack for powering cb radios. It's better quality than a wall wart, and can handle several boards and amps.

For power over ethernet, I use the adapters from
http://www.wisp-router.com/