Is wireless router in attic a bad idea?

[Johno]

I've put a wireless router (now used as a mesh node or maybe an AP in future) in our loft which is ethernet-cabled such that the router is connected to the main wireless router downstairs. The 5Ghz signal in the bedrooms is now excellent and so siting in the loft seems good, but are there any reasons this is a bad idea?

I've thought of the temperature extremes up there but the battery-powered thermometer that's been up there a few years shows the min temp as never below freezing and never above 38 degrees C, so I wouldn't have thought temperature would be an issue, but perhaps I'm missing something?

 

[Keith Gorham]

I have heard the higher the better. I had one on the garage (Texas) for a while. The worst thing that could happen is it fail sooner. Might want to place it on a laptop cooler for the summer months.

 

[CaptainSTX]

A little warm but not extreme. Depending on the router's design you might want to set the router on a wire rack to maximize airflow and keep the router, particularly the air vents as dust free as possible.

 

[Keith Gorham]

A little extreme, but how about an Box Fan Hepa Filter

 

[Johno]

A little warm but not extreme. Depending on the router's design you might want to set the router on a wire rack to maximize airflow and keep the router, particularly the air vents as dust free as possible.

It's an Asus RT-68U AC so it stands upright with airflow at the rear, so hopefully it'll be fine standing on the floor of the attic which is mostly boarded.

 

[CaptainSTX]

No rack needed with that design.

Fan probably won't help much as it would blow warm air on the router and accelerate dust build up.

The AC68 is a real work horse in ASUS's product line and totally reliable. Much more reliable than some of the newer routers which is why buyers of new models are disappointed when they get premature failures. When the AC68 fails you should be able to find a replacement for not much money.

In the meantime I would keep a spare power supply on hand as the heat won't be great for your current wall wart. Also since this router will be out of sight be sure that the power supply isn't touching anything flammable as sometimes when wall warts fail they can melt.

 

[Johno]

No rack needed with that design.

Fan probably won't help much as it would blow warm air on the router and accelerate dust build up.

The AC68 is a real work horse in ASUS's product line and totally reliable. Much more reliable than some of the newer routers which is why buyers of new models are disappointed when they get premature failures. When the AC68 fails you should be able to find a replacement for not much money.

In the meantime I would keep a spare power supply on hand as the heat won't be great for your current wall wart. Also since this router will be out of sight be sure that the power supply isn't touching anything flammable as sometimes when wall warts fail they can melt.

Yes, I love the small-footprint design of it, I've had mine for 4 years now and acquired another from eBay for use as an AiMesh node. Good point about the wall wart, it's plugged into a 2 gang socket mounted sideways on one of the vertical beams and is plugged in below the plug which powers our TV aerial amplifier, so if it does fail/melt, only the chipboard boarding is below it. I plan to fit a 10 year battery smoke alarm up TV there too.

 

[CaptainSTX]

I have had my AC68 for seven years. T-Mobil gave it to me to try and improve my cell service by using WiFi calling. That didn't work so well so they gave me a micro-cell and then I converted the AC68 into an AP.

If you want an extra power supply for your AC68 let me know as when ASUS was RMAing all the defective AC86s they kept they kept sending me, they included new power supplies. I will sell you one of my spares for $7 plus postage if you live in the USA. Both these routers use the same power supply.

 

[System Error Message]

I've put a wireless router (now used as a mesh node or maybe an AP in future) in our loft which is ethernet-cabled such that the router is connected to the main wireless router downstairs. The 5Ghz signal in the bedrooms is now excellent and so siting in the loft seems good, but are there any reasons this is a bad idea?

I've thought of the temperature extremes up there but the battery-powered thermometer that's been up there a few years shows the min temp as never below freezing and never above 38 degrees C, so I wouldn't have thought temperature would be an issue, but perhaps I'm missing something?

only because of placement.
Ideally the best place for your wifi is right at the center of the area it covers with omni directional antennas. This means right in the middle of your house but seldom will you be able to place your wifi there.

Heat is bad for electronics, but depends how much heat. A lot of routers lets you see their temperature so you want to keep your wifi chips below 50C and the CPU below 100C (below 80C if possible).
Humidity is worse for electronics compared to heat. Heat only affects the longevity of fixable components and its performance as well (wifi performance, CPU not throttling, etc), but humidity will seep in, cause oxidisation of metals (some know as rust but we arent talking iron here), and can also seep in and cause shorts if high enough and long enough. Usually basements and garages tend to be humid but if your humidity is kept below 60% you'll be fine.

The solution for heat is simple. Plug a usb fan into the wifi's usb port to help keep it cool. I do that for my asus routers and it significantly helps them. Humidity is a lot harder to work around.

 

[Johno]

I have had my AC68 for seven years. T-Mobil gave it to me to try and improve my cell service by using WiFi calling. That didn't work so well so they gave me a micro-cell and then I converted the AC68 into an AP.

If you want an extra power supply for your AC68 let me know as when ASUS was RMAing all the defective AC86s they kept they kept sending me, they included new power supplies. I will sell you one of my spares for $7 plus postage if you live in the USA. Both these routers use the same power supply.

Thank you for your offer, but I'm in the UK

 

[Johno]

only because of placement.
Ideally the best place for your wifi is right at the center of the area it covers with omni directional antennas. This means right in the middle of your house but seldom will you be able to place your wifi there.

Heat is bad for electronics, but depends how much heat. A lot of routers lets you see their temperature so you want to keep your wifi chips below 50C and the CPU below 100C (below 80C if possible).
Humidity is worse for electronics compared to heat. Heat only affects the longevity of fixable components and its performance as well (wifi performance, CPU not throttling, etc), but humidity will seep in, cause oxidisation of metals (some know as rust but we arent talking iron here), and can also seep in and cause shorts if high enough and long enough. Usually basements and garages tend to be humid but if your humidity is kept below 60% you'll be fine.

The solution for heat is simple. Plug a usb fan into the wifi's usb port to help keep it cool. I do that for my asus routers and it significantly helps them. Humidity is a lot harder to work around.

Thanks, I'll monitor the humidity though there's also a combi gas boiler in the attic and that hasn't had any issues so hopefully humidity won't be an issue. The one thing I can't do is remotely monitor the router's temperature because it's a mesh node and so can't be accessed directly via it's GUI - I can access information about the mesh node via the main router's GUI but it only shows limited network-related information and a list of connected clients.

 

[CaptainSTX]

Plug a usb fan into the wifi's usb port to help keep it cool. I do that for my asus routers and it significantly helps them. Humidity is a lot harder to work around.

How is blowing hot air on the router going to keep it that much cooler? Given that the router is running in AP/Mesh mode it's components temperature isn't going to be much hotter than the ambient temperature of the attic in warm periods.

Fans are useful in an enclosed cabinet where you can exhaust the hot air trapped in the cabinet and pull in cooler air from the outside.

 

[Val D.]

How is blowing hot air on the router going to keep it that much cooler?

Easy, using laws of thermodynamics. Captain, seriously? USB fan with good airflow will keep the router about 15C cooler and will keep away some small crawling creatures interested in making the router’s housing their new home.

 

[CaptainSTX]

A fan might help if it is mounted underneath the router blowing air up from the bottom supplementing the natural convection flow through the router. The post I replied to seemed to be suggesting installing a fan that would blow on the back of the router.

But even then blowing 38C air through the router probably from any direction probably isn't going to drop the router's temperatures by 15C and even if the fan is big enough to significantly reduce the router's internal temperature then dust build up might be a problem when it builds up inside the router.

If the OP wants to reduce heat then he could under clock the processor since an AP doesn't make many demands on its CPU.

IMHO, the best course of action is do nothing and hope you get a couple of years out of the router before it dies from either the heat or cold.

 

[Val D.]

The post I replied to seemed to be suggesting installing a fan that would blow on the back of the router.

This is exactly where the air should be directed at when the router sits vertically. USB fan about 2-3 inches away drops the temp about 15C, dual 12v fans supplied with 5v and attached directly to the router drop the temp about 24C. Tested on both 68U and 86U. Dust may or may not be an issue, depending on what attic we are talking about.

 

[CaptainSTX]

This is exactly where the air should be directed at when the router sits vertically. USB fan about 2-3 inches away drops the temp about 15C, dual 12v fans supplied with 5v and attached directly to the router drop the temp about 24C. Tested on both 68U and 86U. Dust may or may not be an issue, depending on what attic we are talking about.

I don't have a thermodynamic engineer on call so I reached out to Rube Goldberg.

His, as always his practical, suggestion was that the OP put the router in a tank, fill the the tank up with a single phase immersion cooling fluid to the base of the router's antennas. Then install a pump to circulate the cooling fluid down to the OP's refrigerator where a coil would be installed inside his refrigerator to keep the cooling fluid cool.

Rube felt that this is a fantastic solution as it would keep the router at a nearly constant temperature and since no air would be blowing into the router a dust build up would not be an issue.

 

[Val D.]

suggestion was that the OP put the router in a tank,

Not needed. A $5 USB fan should be enough. 38C ambient temp is close to max working temp as per ASUS specs 40C. This router may not survive for too long. I would definitely put a fan for some air circulation.

 

[System Error Message]

How is blowing hot air on the router going to keep it that much cooler? Given that the router is running in AP/Mesh mode it's components temperature isn't going to be much hotter than the ambient temperature of the attic in warm periods.

Fans are useful in an enclosed cabinet where you can exhaust the hot air trapped in the cabinet and pull in cooler air from the outside.

the air is already hot, the router is obviously hotter, so it helps to cool it irregardless. When you move air you also help heat transfer even with the outside a little bit as we're talking about Watts of heat, thats really not much to dissipate. a few watts of heat is easy to dissipate but some routers use crappy sealing between the board and heatsink that it traps heat like the AC68U.