i use a rack about 90% of the time. I sell it as a labor saver. I typicallyu explain in my "Job Scope Summary" that the rack saves labor, enhances cooling and offers ease of future upgrades and servicing. When/if they ask to save the dough of the rack, I typically add back at least half of the cost to my labor at which point it almost always goes back in. If its a tough job, I'll bill for the labor and add the rack for free but skip trim strips, custom shelves, etc.

The particle board racks don't have rear rails but for lacing, the bars can be screwed to the sides or you could install short rail sections where the bars need to go. I just used one of the 21 RU Middle Atlantic racks for my equipment and it worked out well. If the PB models will need to be moved around often after it's in place, some kind of reinforcement at the rear corners might be a good idea but so far, mine hasn't had any issues with rigidity.

I was in a bind recently, and had to use an Omnimount rack instead of the usual MA racks I use.

They have a line called the RSF and RSF.5 that ship fully assembled, have casters on them, and are preloaded with 3 shelves, 3 x 1U blanks, and lacer bars. Side panels are extra. Not a bad little rack for a closet, and the price was great.

[Link: omnimount.com]

rear rack rail option (RK-RR-16)

the price was great.

holy crap that's cheap

26" depth overall

appears to hold components up to 19" deep - is that right?
[Link: media.omnimount.com]

Yes - that is correct. While I didn't have anything that 'maxed' out the depth - it help all gear with no problems, including a Pioneer VSX92TXH receiver that is over 18" deep.

As I said - great for the price, good for the budget jobs.

B

It ain't that cheap.  Take a look at some of the SnapAV kits out there.  Nice racks as well.  Looks to be less expensive than the Omnimount, and you get better products and a powerstrip.

Dimensions
18.11"D x 19.96"W x 43.31"H with Casters (39.37" without Casters)



 Kit Includes:
(1) SM-RACK-21U
(2) SM-SHELF-2U
(1) SM-SHELF-3U
(1) SM-SHELF-4U
(1) SM-BLNK-1U
(1) SM-VENT-2U
(2) SM-VENT-1U
(1) SM-WIREMGT-1U
(1) HTR-300-9  (9 outlets)

Has anyone used the SnapAV racks - like the 42u model?

Are they solid?

This is a perfect time to ask an off topic question.

I'm going to be installing a 44U rack for a customer who wants it installed close to the sides of the closet. There will be no door in front. The cabinet is going to house a couple of Denon surround amplifiers, multi-zone amp and a few subwoofer and actuator amplifiers - some with built in fan.

My question is - what's the best way to cool the equipment. Should I get an enclosed rack and put a forward firing fan on top or is it going to be fine with only ventilation plates above the amps and no fan on top of the rack?

With enclosed racks (sides and rear, and custom faceplates), where do the wires come in?

You're on the right track, you'll definitely want to cool an entire rack full of amplifiers...

There are several white papers on the web, and books in print that go over this subject in way more detail than I can in a single post. Middle Atlantic's paper is a good start, and they even have an online calculator to help you pick the right fan(s) for your application.

The gist of it is that you need to determine first how much heat is being generated, and then figure out how many cubic feet per minute of airflow you need to evacuate the heat that is generated by the equipment.

You can directly convert watts to BTUs by multiplying the total power by 3.4 (BTU=W*3.4). The stipulation here is that equation is only accounting for equipment that is 100% inefficient like PCs or CATV receivers, that is the unit does not send any power to any other equipment. For all intents and purposes this means everything except amplifiers. If you go by that formula, you're looking at the worst case scenario. For a massive system, you'll need to break it down further to keep costs down.

Once you have the total heat load, you can calculate the CFM requirement by using the following: CFM=1.08*BTU*(Tin - Tout), 1.08 accounts for a gravitational constant that is above my pay grade, Tin is the temperature of the air being fed into the rack and Tout is the temperature of the equipment.

Then you can over-engineer the situation for the low, low price of $1,500 and install a Mr. Slim, or just go with MAP Duct Cool and most likely work out just fine.

Yeah racks are great when they are implemented correctly.  I got called to a large restaurant chain in the city who has had nothing but troubles since this system was installed.  When i opened the doors i was floored at the shape someone left this system in.  No access to the back which makes servicing this hunk of junk almost impossible. Vents were added later and as you can see the one receiver melted.  Labels were pieces of tape that have either fallen off or don't make sense.  Also whenever  you attempt to move one piece of equipment something else inevitably happens and you have to trouble shoot again. I submitted a quote to have the system redone however the owner rejected it.  They installed four 8ohm speakers in a huge bar area and in order to hear the system the staff had to turn the volume to its max.  There was a huge audible buzz and a birds nest to sort out.  I was told in two years i can redo it and install  70 volt system with new flat panels.