Ventilating Ikea cabinet for TV stand

sarkozy

Just got an Ikea Besta cabinet (like this, but twice as long).

Inside is a shelf just high enough to place a Playstation 3 inside. With the front door closed, it's getting very hot. There is no ventilation at the back.

I need to ventilate it, so assuming I should in some way make holes in the back. I'm wondering what the best thing to do is? Lots of little holes? Lots of big holes? Only a couple of big holes?

I don't want this to look like a dog's dinner. It should be discrete. I haven't found any useful online solutions yet (apart from fitting a fan, which I think might not be necessary.

Help!

jameshayes

if it is mounted on a wall above eye level, holes in the top would be the better option - just do a decoration of 5 or 6 holes with one of these;

sarkozy

Hi, it's not wall-mounted. Would you say a line of holes made with this bit would be sufficient?

The shelf is just about high enough to fit the PS3 in, so not much space for air to escape.

What size bit would be most appropriate?

slpower01

No harm in putting a lot of holes (once its not seen, nor ruins the structure). Its hard to give an exact opinion because I wouldnt want it to collapse... but you could drill a hole then jigsaw out a rectangle to allow for a lot more ventilation.

Another option could be to remove the back panel and put two support batons across the back to stop it swaying.

Roynie

The rear panel does give the cabinet rigidity. However, you could cut a rectangular square in the top of the rear panel, in the middle. I would have thought that this should be enough for the hot air to escape, provided you leave an inch or two between the cabinet and the wall. That would leave the hole discrete but, hopefully, effective.