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Amp Rack Questions
Hey all, I don't know much about this sort of stuff so I thought I'd start another thread on amp racks. I have a few basic questions about them.
Other than hiding wires and giving an organized appearance, do they serve a purpose? I'm guessing if they do it's to keep the amp cool, or to keep another surface from melting under the amp.. is this correct?
What do people usually make them out of? I know I've seen quite a few that are carpeted.. but then do people use spaces to lift the amp off the carpet?
Any other tips for an amp rack? This is something I'm considering doing because I just got a second amp in my boat and it's starting to clutter the storage compartment a bit. Thanks for the help.
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Amp racks are mostly just for looks. They keep the wires hidden and tidy. If I wasn't utterly embarassed by my birds nest of amp wiring, I'd show you my setup. Carpeted amp racks have been on my to-do-list for 4 years now but since my "amp" area is under the glovebox, it would sort of be like building a ship in a bottle and that doesn't even include designing it so that the amps could be tuneable. Ughhh.... getting stressed just thinking about it.
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Haha, that's good to know that I don't really have to worry about performance or overheating or anything. I'm considering doing it for the same reason you are, just to get rid of the wiring mess.. however it will be an absolute chore to do so.
Do people just use plywood with carpet over it or what?
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My racks are built from 3/4 Birch ply that I sprayed with Rubberized undercoating and then covered with Carpet. On the backside, all of the wires are secured and routed neatly. And yes, they are a pain to make, test fit, wire up etc, but totally worth it!
Here is how mine ended up, after revisions. My amps are mounted on studs and bolted to the rack, and also set off the rack by about 1/4 of an inch. You can see the cutout for the back sides of the amps that allows air to move on all sides and through.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...5-25194657.jpg
and one with them mounted
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...5-25200717.jpg
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Here are pics of the rack dusty came up with ... give you a real nice idea of the cleanliness that can be accomplished ... :D It just takes time and patience.
http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/...4/DSC_0156.jpg
http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/...4/DSC_0163.jpg
http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/...4/DSC_0158.jpg
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Yeah I've been admiring that rack KG, I'm just trying to decide if it's worth it for me.. I don't have nice new, matching amps like that and it's a bit of a hodge-podge of wires. Maybe I'll get bored soon and tackle it, hard to get bored with temps in the 90's, sun all the time, and my boat sitting on a lift 100 ft from my house :D
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You talked me into it Dusty, good work.
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You wont regret it! I'm sure you will have a few choice words during designing and fitting it, but it's worth it!
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Finished my amp rack during the forum outage. Really happy with the results. It's nothing too fancy, but it keeps the amps cool, looking good, and out of the way. Here's a few pictures of the process.
Before project:
http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/z...r/cbc1aae0.jpg
Took some rocket science to measure the board out:
http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/z...r/df99f6bf.jpg
Board cut, left holes for ventilation purposes and to run the wires:
http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/z...r/03900a8c.jpg
Board carpeted, just used stainless staples and some gray marine carpet I had laying around from a previous project:
http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/z...r/1199df31.jpg
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Amps placed. I just ran my wires through the cut-out holes in the board and into their plugs on the amp, then screwed the amps down and it holds the wires in place, tucked behind the amp:
http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/z...r/6b758fbf.jpg
Amps under the LED's:
http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/z...r/9ae7f071.jpg
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Nice work!! Looks clean and out of the way. Glad you decided to do it.
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Thanks, it was definitely worth an afternoon of work!
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Looks great man! Glad you decided to do it!
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Much better. That was a damn mess of wires. I will put pics of mine without an amp rack when I finish. I did it so 90% of the wires are not seen.
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Nice work, that looks awesome!
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Nicely done...that turned out really good!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
dusty2221
Dusty,
How do you access your batteries when you need to service them? Did you put a hinge or something on the amp rack? Also, how did you beef up the shelf to support the three batteries?
Thanks!
Rodg
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No hinge, just screws all the way around it.
Dusty put pro mariner onboard chargers on his batteries so all he has to do is plug an extension cord into the boat. I think he ran his to the rear ski locker so the cover barely has to come off to plug it in. I wish I had done that.
Also if you need a jump out on the water ... the bottom right of the rack below, there is a pos and neg post ran to the crank battery which allows you to hook up jumpers. Nice addition for 40 or so bucks.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...5-25200717.jpg
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KG,
Very nice setup!! Pro Mariner, I had one of those in my last boat. It had a bad habbit of cooking batteries. Of course here in TX the heat is hard on them, plus the added heat of the charger, I had to add water at least once a month. In Arkansas you are probably not as hot as we are. I would need to have more frequent access to the batteries.
Who is your source for the Exile amps? I hear they rock!
RP
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The exile stuff is Dusty's. I'd contact Brian directly for pricing.
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Want to know more about amp rack. If anybody has some more information about it, I would be curious to know it.
