Large vents for backs of enclosures - where to buy? does anybody know the cutout size

[newbie1979]

Hi Guys,

I've decided to go down the path of making my own enclosure - i've found a cabinet maker who will supply and cut all of the pieces i need for a four foot enclosure for an amazing price and also install cam & dowels for me to join it with. Plus it will be in teh colour that i want!

What i'm wondering though is where do people buy their vents from? I'm building a four foot enclosure and i want to put a large rectangular vent in the middle of the rear of the enclosure and also have the round vents at the front bottom. Can anyone help? I also need to know the cutout sizes for both style of vents

Thanks

 

[Kyro]

Bunnings has plastic & timber vents in all different sizes.

 

[dangles]

Best bet is go to bunnings and check out there range. Pretty sure the small round vents are 28mm holes. Depending on what larger vent you go size can vary

 

[newbie1979]

I also have another question in regard vents - what is the best placement of them? especially for the ones along the back wall? I've seen various placements - middle of the back, upper region of the middle of the back, two in the middle of the back offset from the centre, two in the upper region of the back offset from the centre. In regard the small circular vents for the front i'm going to be placing four of them equi-distant along the front. I'm going to be keeping a blue tongue in this enclosure. I'm going to be placing my thermostat in the middle of the back wall.

Thanks for your help

 

[redlittlejim]

hey mate, just go to your local hardware store and check out there vents... but most of my home built one is just pegboard for the top or back, so east. or you could jsut rull up some lines top and back and get cabinet maker to drill the size holes you want... saves you having a foriegn object (vent) in the enclosure. hope it helps

hot air rises so the back wall and anywhere from half way to higher is good i find. but all just personal choice

 

[newbie1979]

hot air rises so the back wall and anywhere from half way to higher is good i find. but all just personal choice

Would one or two be best?

 

[saximus]

hot air rises so the back wall and anywhere from half way to higher is good i find. but all just personal choice

You just have to be careful with this because if the vents are too big they will allow too much airflow and create convection currents. This will not only waste energy through heat loss but also create an environment with much lower humidity

Would one or two be best?

It all depends on the enclosure size and how much air the vents will let through. Sorry to be vague but it's a tricky thing to answer. For reference my Macs are in 2x1.5x1.5 enclosures which each have six of the small round vents from Bunnings on the side walls.

 

[user 16446]

I cut vertical slits in the sides of my enclosures with a table saw before I assemble them. The slits are only the thickness of the saw, and I will space them so there are several across the depth of the enclosure.

This also prevents the look of any unsightly plastic or aluminium vents, and blends in with the cabinet. They're there, but not overly obvious.

 

[Chris1]

King Sirloins idea works brilliantly, and looks really neat!

i know cos hes made most of my cages,...even the smaller jungle ones (80cms high) are at room temp at the bottom while the top is a toasty 33-34C,...
i also asked for pegboard on the backs,...which probably helps a bit too,...

 

[newbie1979]

It all depends on the enclosure size and how much air the vents will let through. Sorry to be vague but it's a tricky thing to answer. For reference my Macs are in 2x1.5x1.5 enclosures which each have six of the small round vents from Bunnings on the side walls.

Fully understand saximus... in regard the enclosure it's going to be a 4X2X2 - i'm guessing that two large vents on the rear along with four small round vents on the front would probably be too much. Maybe one large vent slightly above middle in the back wall might be better - i guess it's easier to add more ventilation if it's needed than take it away

Although from each end of the enclosure would be good too - if you had the vents low down on the cool end and up high on the warm end then it would draw cool air through the enclosure - you could probably just go with two vents on either end then albeit a little larger than the 40mm (28mm cutout) vents - would this work better than a front to back flow?

 

[saximus]

I'd actually say it would be easier to remove some by putting a bit of duct tape (on the outside only!) over the vents if you have too much. If you don't have enough it will mean removing the snake, removing the cage furniture and then getting in there with some sort of cutting tool to make the hole for another vent. That's just me though.
You also might want to check out threads people have made with pics of enclosures. That might give you a better idea of what is needed