bad idea?

[greenail]

wondering if this a bad idea?  It is a DPH5005.

I'm planning on doing a big grid of 1mm holes spaced 2mm all over the bottom.  Wondering how much of a fire issue this may be?

[greenail]

ok so I went ahead and did it.  You can see the grid of holes 16x16 2mm holes for air.  I may do some more in the side if I hear the fan kick on.

i read wood is ok for electrical boxes.

[tooki]

I don’t think it’s a fire risk, in that any components that overheat will probably fail below the temperature where wood catches fire.

That said, check how hot this thing gets under load. Wood is a good thermal insulator, and those pinholes may not provide enough cooling.

[gbaddeley]

What do you think the air flow will be when the fan kicks in?  Will it just stir up the air in the box, or is there a path for warm air to flow out and disperse, and cooler air to flow in?

[Ian.M]

It will do sweet FA for cooling - all the holes are in the bottom, their length is high compared to their diameter and hot air rises so there will be virtually no air exchange between the box interior and exterior.

[greenail]

any idea how hot these get?  I have yet to hear the fan kick on but i'm typically only doing low voltage low amp stuff.

I can put some more holes in the side and mount the fan against the holes.