[Elecraft] K3 Cooling

[Joe Planisky]

Hi Jim,

The K3 fans are exhaust fans and are intended to pull hot air out of  
the rig.

A couple years ago (June 4, 2008 if I must be precise), Eric Swartz  
said this in response to someone asking if 40 - 42C was too warm:

> We will let the heatsink get up to 85C before dropping the KPA3 off- 
> line, that still has plenty of safety margin for the transistors.
>
> 40-42C is actually on the cool side for heavy usage. But it never  
> hurts to keep it cool if you don't mind the added fan noise.

His comment about the added fan noise was in reference to the original  
poster manually turning up the fan speed.

I don't know if adding additional fans will help or hurt anything.  My  
PA temp seems to plateau around 60 - 65C with high duty cycle digital  
modes with a shack temperature around 20C.  I'm not too concerned  
about it, but I do keep an eye on it when running digital.

73
--
Joe KB8AP




On Apr 4, 2010, at 3:16 PM, Jim Harris wrote:

>
> Hi Folks,
>
> Which way is the air flow supposed to be through the fans on the  
> K3?  Mine blows out, pulling air in from the slots in the top above  
> the KPA3.  ...

> I do some heavy RTTY contesting and I've occasionally seen the PA  
> temp at over 60 degrees centigrade.  I'm considering adding a fan on  
> half inch stand offs from the bottom of the shelf above the radio to  
> blow through the slots in the top of the K3.  Will this disturb  
> normal airflow around other components possibly causing them to  
> overheat?
>
> ...

> 73,  Jim, W0EM
>