$9 Router Cooling (RT-AC68U Example)

[L&LD]

why not 2 fan with 1 blow in and 1 blow out?

blow out to blow out the dust inside

It doesn't work like that.

All the fan 'blowing out' will do is help the other fan draw more dust in. Aka, more air flow.

Filters are what is needed here.

 

[vincom]

It doesn't work like that.

All the fan 'blowing out' will do is help the other fan draw more dust in. Aka, more air flow.

Filters are what is needed here.

i use those cheap furnace filters from home depot, cut to any size needed and they have good airflow, i put it in all intake vents for pc's.

the more expensive filters do "filter" better but starve my furnace of airflow and therefore less airflow output at vents and furnace runs longer for it to reach temp set at thermostat

 

[Algimantas]

This summer I noticed that my rt-ac56u Temps reached over 80°C even though this should cause no problem I've decided to install cooling solution the Temps went from ~84°C to 59-61°C
Both ventilators pushing air in

Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk

 

[martinr]

A very neat and tidy job. That's quite some temperature drop. Where did you get those fans?

 

[Algimantas]

A very neat and tidy job. That's quite some temperature drop. Where did you get those fans?

I bought those fans from local electronics shop in Lithuania. These fans are 12V but 5V supplied by usb is enough to spin them at a decent rpm

 

[gatorback]

@hevron: how did you attach the fan to the router?

 

[red_pope]

I did mines the old fashion way.

Well, for my Asus router, and my TP-link ADSL router. I mounted in the wall, right above the wooden shelves, a small Fan, Pointing downwards towards the vents of both routers. It does the trick, to keep them at a cool temperature.

About dust accumulation, is inevitable. Just keep them clean from dust once a week. Total cost was 50 dollars. I don't use the USB port except for computer stuff.

Yes, those routers they do run a little bit hot in the summer. That is because of your temperature ambiance in your house or apartment. Direct Sun light is a big factor . I avoid exposing those routers to direct sun light.

Plus, I try to keep them at lower humidity exposure. or other electronic heat producing devices. Yes, I do have a wall mounted humidity temperature cage and humidity reader to access my readings. Call me old fashion, but it works for me.

Another thing I did, I bought 12 pieces, made in silicon rubber to cover the rj-45 ports not in use to protect them from rust and dust.

 

[martinr]

......,
Plus, I try to keep them at lower humidity exposure. or other electronic heat producing devices.
.....to cover the rj-45 ports not in use to protect them from rust and dust.

Rust? But you are keeping them at a lower relative humidity (RH) than the rest of us, or is the ambient air particularly damp or are you near to the sea? So what RH do you keep your routers? Most people don't even store their cigars with such love. Good tip about the dust covers: didn't know such things existed.

 

[red_pope]

Rust? But you are keeping them at a lower relative humidity (RH) than the rest of us, or is the ambient air particularly damp or are you near to the sea? So what RH do you keep your routers? Most people don't even store their cigars with such love. Good tip about the dust covers: didn't know such things existed.

Martinr

According to our records, in the summer, the room temperature is around 75 degrees with a 50 percent humidity . In the winter is a cozy, 70 degrees with a 45 to 50 percent humidity. We live 150 miles from the sea. In a farm land that we bought.

Since we finished renovating the outdoor barn; The room was just sitting there empty in the house. It is 6 x5 Square foot area, with electrical sockets available. The new insulation, a new 2x2 window/ double glass shield, added a new tinted 3mm film did the job. We just relocated all comm cable into that room. We keep the door close at all times.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Good tip about the dust covers: didn't know such things existed.

http://uk.farnell.com/wurth-elektronik/726151101/dust-cover-rj45/dp/1908439

 

[martinr]

This summer I noticed that my rt-ac56u Temps reached over 80°C even though this should cause no problem I've decided to install cooling solution the Temps went from ~84°C to 59-61°C
Both ventilators pushing air in

Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk

I followed your idea on my RT-AC68U and got 2 x 12V fans running on 5V USB power, to replace my 2 small USB fans (#44 above). They do indeed run albeit a lot slower than at 12 V. Nevertheless, they reduced the cpu temp a further 3degC to 62C and are silent. But the useful thing to note is that moving a bigger volume of air at low speed can be more effective than moving a small volume of air at higher speed.

(Fans held in place and sealed around the edges with hot melt glue - fairly easily removed if needed. And deliberately offset to allow acces to reset button.)

As already stated, my router ran without a hiccup for 18 months at 80C, so I'm not proposing this as a necessary mod. Just for those who like to tinker.

And with cooker-hood filter-paper in place

 

[RainGater]

Holy moley! I just put a mini table fan next to the router and kept it at the lowest level and in less than 10 minutes, my RT-AC87 went down from 76 to 68 and still going down at an alarming rate.

Oh my goodness, I never ever expected to drop this much at the lowest fan setting. Now, I am going to order this one and make the router cooler

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XUYKGOS/?tag=snbforums-20

Btw, I am not seeing good reviews on the cooler pads that you keep the router on top and work off of USB.

By the time, I finished typing this, it is down to: 2.4 GHz: 38°C - 5 GHz: 44°C - CPU: 63°C

I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E!

 

[RainGater]

After an hour,

2.4 GHz: 44°C - 5 GHz: 51°C - CPU: 76°C (no fan)

TO

2.4 GHz: 38°C - 5 GHz: 38°C - CPU: 57°C (mini table fan effect)

How can ASUS ever manufacture these things without an internal fan when they charge $150 - $250 for these mid to high end routers is just mind-boggling!

 

[hggomes]

You should give a try on LN2 next time.

PS: TJMAX of your router (CPU BCM4708/9) is 125ºC.

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-ac87u-r-cooling-solutions.24888/#post-186411

 

[RMerlin]

How can ASUS ever manufacture these things without an internal fan when they charge $150 - $250 for these mid to high end routers is just mind-boggling!

What makes you think it would NEED a fan? The hardware is designed to run at these temperature, it's pointless to add a noisy fan tha twill die after a few years if the router doesn't have any problem running at these temperatures.

Linksys added a fan to the WRT1900AC, and people complained. So it got removed in the second revision.

I used to have a video card that would see the GPU hit 100C under load. The chip was designed to operate at these temperatures, and the card was always perfectly stable.

An end-user's idea of "high temperature" isn't the same one as the engineer's idea of it.

 

[hggomes]

ATI 4850/70 was just great wasn't it?

 

[RainGater]

What makes you think it would NEED a fan? The hardware is designed to run at these temperature, it's pointless to add a noisy fan tha twill die after a few years if the router doesn't have any problem running at these temperatures.

Linksys added a fan to the WRT1900AC, and people complained. So it got removed in the second revision.

I used to have a video card that would see the GPU hit 100C under load. The chip was designed to operate at these temperatures, and the card was always perfectly stable.

An end-user's idea of "high temperature" isn't the same one as the engineer's idea of it.

According to your logic, if a car was manufactured to run up to 180 mph, do you think revving up close to that limit ALL THE TIME will extend the life of it? What do you think will happen to the wear and tear of the engine running at that high speed?

I don't want to argue with you on this as I love your work and all that you do out here but it seems ridiculous to buy a high end device and not have any way of cooling it as the temperatures seemed to run pretty high on these units. Couple of torrents + stream a movie and the temperatures shoots up pretty crazy! When you touch it, you can feel it! I am putting in a fan which is whisper quiet, if I can find one

 

[RMerlin]

According to your logic, if a car was manufactured to run up to 180 mph, do you think revving up close to that limit ALL THE TIME will extend the life of it? What do you think will happen to the wear and tear of the engine running at that high speed?

I don't want to argue with you on this as I love your work and all that you do out here but it seems ridiculous to buy a high end device and not have any way of cooling it as the temperatures seemed to run pretty high on these units. Couple of torrents + stream a movie and the temperatures shoots up pretty crazy! When you touch it, you can feel it! I am putting in a fan which is whisper quiet, if I can find one

Do you have access to the router component's technical specifications to determine what is the SAFE temperature limit?

You can't compare the duty cycle of a car motor versus the temperature of electronic components. The wear and tear induced by it is nowhere comparable.

 

[RMerlin]

ATI 4850/70 was just great wasn't it?

Hated its turbine cooler for its noise, but otherwise it was a really good card, for its price.

 

[L&LD]

According to your logic, if a car was manufactured to run up to 180 mph, do you think revving up close to that limit ALL THE TIME will extend the life of it? What do you think will happen to the wear and tear of the engine running at that high speed?

I don't want to argue with you on this as I love your work and all that you do out here but it seems ridiculous to buy a high end device and not have any way of cooling it as the temperatures seemed to run pretty high on these units. Couple of torrents + stream a movie and the temperatures shoots up pretty crazy! When you touch it, you can feel it! I am putting in a fan which is whisper quiet, if I can find one

A mechanical engine and a solid state processor are not comparable. As RMerlin stated.

A mechanical engine wears down even at idle speeds, depending on how long it is run and how many on/off (cold/warm/hot) cycles it endures before it's next 'tuneup'.

A solid state processor has a safe limit (125C in this case) within which it can run continuously at.

I agree to keep it as cool as possible; but if the specific chip you have runs stable without any issues at half the rated tdp, keeping it even cooler is for your benefit, not the router's.