trinityamps.com

i was wondnering whether it's necessary for air vents for the spitfire?
I noticed not all amps have them, and I don;t hink original spitfires had them, but I do notice the chassis feels pretty hot after awhile...

As long as it can vent out the back of the head or combo, you should be OK. Keeping tubes cool is a good idea. Vents are good as these run pretty hot.

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Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

I prefer using a fan to ventilate the enclosure as opposed to passive ventilation. I also install a switch so I can switch it off, if required.

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PJM

http://www.diyguitarist.com

There was an interview w/ Mark Sampson in VG that I saw on their site, and he addressed the ventilation issue. Apparently, they tried the fan in early Matchless amps - they knew damn well that they ran hot. However, the fan cooling was detrimental to performance and tone over some time of playing, wheras the non-fan amps actually got louder over time - a kind of neat effect for gigging, I guess, as you don't need to keep 11 in reserve. Anyhow, I'd probably try to just be wise in my convection cooling scheme, but the fan seems contrary to the aims of such an amp.

Bear

Very interesting. To each his own, I guess.

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PJM

http://www.diyguitarist.com

My Lightning runs hotter than the space heater in my garage. Perhaps going with a vertical chassis and some extra ventilation would have been a good idea. I was very surprised at how hot this amp gets at first. It seems to take the abuse, though.

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--s2
www.s2amps.com
www.category5amps.com

Well, those power tubes are running pretty hot...

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PJM

http://www.diyguitarist.com

I agree with Bear...

Convection cooling does'nt attract dust as much as a fan in my experience.

This is true. It also depends on just how much air you're moving and at what velocity. I use 12V DC fans that run on about 9V, so they're slower, quieter and don't attract as much dust. Just enough air to have a positive ventilation across the power tubes.

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PJM

http://www.diyguitarist.com

Fan aided convection flow is an idea - have a fan blow out rather than in. Probably more dust still, but you aren't blowing it right in, and you're just drawing more air through the system to dissipate the worst of the heat without cooling the tube below the claimed optimal heat point.

Bear

You could allways put a dime size thermastat inline with power to the fan to keep it at a constant temp in the cab.

That's more or less what I do. I also have a grille cloth on the front of my builds that the fan draws air thru and blows out towards the back, and below the tubes. You can't really feel the fan blowing that much air when you put your hand at the back of the amp, but it definitely provides a positive ventilation. The grille cloth also acts as a filter of sorts, too.

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PJM

http://www.diyguitarist.com