AC Adapter Passive Cooling

I wonder why AC adapters don't have some kind of passive cooling. My notebook ac adapters get really hot, and those that belong to other things, such as my modem, speakers, etc. also get very hot.

The components are only wrapped in a box of black plastic - not the best cooling material. Why don't they have fins of aluminum or something to spread the heat? That would make a big difference, and they might last longer.

That said, I never had an AC adapter fail on me. Opinions?

 

My laptop charger gets so warm I have developed a bad habbit of keeping the room it's in extra tidy. Just incase it sets fire to any junk on the floor.

Another thing I find myself doing a lot ... is touching the back of the router ... just to test my pain threshold. It is usually hot enough for me to touch it for hmmm ... approximately 5 secs.

Definitely gotta stay on guard.

 

My Laptop Adaptor only gets warm. So do most Toshiba AC Adptors I have used in the past on my laptops.

As for my Sound system that one gets hot enough we could cook a egg on it. Other then that most of them are ok.

 

Ha I do that lots of times as well, with my external HDD, the back of my computer, and my modem and my AC adapters.

I do find that my new modem runs a lot cooler than my older one. Maybe the manufactures are making them more efficient? Still, I think that passive cooling for things that heat up is a must.

 

my router runs cool as ice

 

what router do you have?

 

Belkin Wireless G+MIMO Router.

 

Ditto! Running an Asus WL-520GU here.

I'm going to take a wild guess here. Is it an Onkyo receiver? I just bought one knowing they get warm and it's getting about 120F while keeping the volume low.

 

My ancient D-Link DI-624 is cool to the touch.

 

Mine is a Creative Sound Blaster 5.1 Surround sound system for my laptop. But it has got hot enough that it has turned the white information sticker black.

 

Thanks! I should have known it was computer sound system .

 

I think that AC adapters should come with small metal fins, made of something cheap at the least, such as copper, to spread heat.

I'll attempt to retrofit an AC adapter for show ...

 

Laptop's used to be bad for how much heat they would gen on that little black box. But as chip sets got better and power usage lower. They have gotten alot cooler mine barely gets warm now, and my wife's stays cold.