Subwoofer Cooling

[J00bles]

Ok everybody, this is something that has been on my mind recently.

i received my 18" baskets and recones from DC the other day and im really pleased with everything. the only thing that erks me is that the basket has no cooling features on it.

The only benefit i see to this design is that the basket can handle the motor weight a little bit better than a basket with cooling vents built in. My motors only weigh 30 pounds, and the basket should have NO issues holding that weight horizontally in my wall.

do you guys think i could cut some slits in the bottom of the basket to allow for some cross flow? i want it to look somewhat like my 12" basket (and the way it's cooling is set up)

help me out, i want some opinions

[AI James]

you can but why?

if it needed it then the manufacture would provide the cooling

[tristan560]

I thought with 6 spoke baskets you have to put spacers between the motor and basket for cooling?

[J00bles]

you can but why?

if it needed it then the manufacture would provide the cooling

i would just like to make sure my investments are as well protected as they can be.

i dont see why they wouldnt include it in the manufacturing process, since it can be easily added.

what possible benefits will i see without the cooling? i cant really name anything, myself...

And tristan, some companies will do that, bit DC does not (or didnt). it would require a longer coil to make such an upgrade now, and i already purchased my recone stuff..

[J00bles]

i was looking through some of my audio pictures today and remembered that my 15" basket had cooling built in as well.

so companies using these cast baskets have cooling in their 10", 12", and 15" baskets, but not in their 18" baskets.

doesnt make any sense to me

[HHR Ed]

You can use the motor spacer with cooling holes.

But also, some motor/basket combos are designed with specific airflow in mind.

For example

The motor would have a pole piece vent. And the basket would have no spider plateau vents. This is to force most of the air in and out of the pole piece vent to cool the center of the motor and release the air under the spider through that vent.

If you were to create vents in the area under the spider. This would allow are to flow under the spider plateau but would diminish the amount of area flowing in and out of the pole piece.

So its a trade off.

Some motor/basket combos cool better with spider plateau venting, some other perform better with pole piece venting. And some perform best with both, as well as cross flow cooling.

Most of us manufacturers test all of this.

If you are building a custom sub, then do what you think is best and log the results.

[SGTSKIP]

I have a cure.....

Just play your music at a lower volume so it doesnt get hot.... Problem solved

[skittlesRgood]

exactly what ed said. think about a desktop computer. if you take the case off it itll overheat. well there is more space for air to get to everything but the air flow isnt doing what it needs to do.

[sundownz]

You could also just drill some holes around the base of the frame.

[J00bles]

You can use the motor spacer with cooling holes.

But also, some motor/basket combos are designed with specific airflow in mind.

For example

The motor would have a pole piece vent. And the basket would have no spider plateau vents. This is to force most of the air in and out of the pole piece vent to cool the center of the motor and release the air under the spider through that vent.

If you were to create vents in the area under the spider. This would allow are to flow under the spider plateau but would diminish the amount of area flowing in and out of the pole piece.

So its a trade off.

Some motor/basket combos cool better with spider plateau venting, some other perform better with pole piece venting. And some perform best with both, as well as cross flow cooling.

Most of us manufacturers test all of this.

If you are building a custom sub, then do what you think is best and log the results.

thank you for the answer, Ed.

I was looking for an answer like this from somebody because i was certain i was overlooking something. the level 4s have a pretty large pole vent, so i guess it would make sense that it would provide plenty of cooling.

im ready to recone my woofers, but i did not want to do that until i got some answers about the baskets.

but i am still a bit torn. i have one well know woofer builder telling me i shouldnt need to do it, and i have another well known woofer builder telling me to go for it.

tough!