Committed to liquid cooling

[simplechamp]

DrKnow will have to answer that himself, but from PMing with him a bit I think a lot of it is just about doing it because it's a cool concept. Not extremely practical or necessary, but cool nonetheless. I love stuff like this. Also, trying to completely get rid of fans.

I was looking at some of the little radiators TCS has, they are pretty neat. I could mount one of these right on the front bumper of my 1/8 GT, put a cut out in the body with a little mesh for debris protection, and it would look just like an intercooler on a real 1:1 car, and have plenty of airflow with no fan needed.

http://www.micropumps.co.uk/TCSAccessories.htm

[DrKnow65]

-P- the main goal is to be able to seal off a MMP, MMM, or XL in a waterfroof case without heat issues. The purpose of the waterproof container would be so I could run my RC's in any environment without worry of water damage, which of course voids the warranty.

As an example, say I went to the track and ran just after they watered or was bashing in the mud. Then I take the car home and just take a garden hose and some compressed air to it.

[_paralyzed_]

Well, that would definitely be cool.

I fear Linc's suggestion of inverting it may end badly. It was designed knowing heat rises and the components are stacked in a way that the heatsink is on top to pull heat up as well as the fan pulling air up and out. You'd have to keep it awfully cool to compensate for that.

Additionally, motors and servos are pretty water proof the way they are. A little silicone around the case seam and some heavy grease around the output will waterproof a servo. A little tape and silicone will waterproof a motor.

I think in order to make this a reality you need to focus all of the cooling ability on the esc. Your cooling system will only remove so much heat, and I fear adding the servo and motor into the loop will over tax the system.

Focus on the esc, and if you end up with ice cold temps, then perhaps you can add the motor or servo.

Also since motors can run a little hotter than esc's trying to keep the motor cool enough that the esc won't overheat could really tax the system.

I'd like to see you accomplish this. Good luck.

[brian015]

Originally Posted by _paralyzed_

I fear Linc's suggestion of inverting it may end badly. It was designed knowing heat rises and the components are stacked in a way that the heatsink is on top to pull heat up as well as the fan pulling air up and out. You'd have to keep it awfully cool to compensate for that.

I don't think this is much of an issue. Hot air rises (because it is less dense). That doesn't mean that heat rises in general. A heat sink physically connected to heat-generating electrical parts will absorb heat no matter which side it's connected to.

Another consideration - with DrKnow's overpowered set-ups, his trucks may spend as much time on their lids as upright - negating the effect of how the esc is oriented.

[BrianG]

The only downside to mounting the heatsink to the chassis I can think of is stress on the components. Con't forget the heatsink is thermal-epoxied to the FET casings - and that's it - so all the stress from jumping, rough terrain, and bad landings will be transferred directly to the FETs, which are relatively fragile. Unless you plan to do something different, the FETs will also be supporting the weight of the entire ESC and all the G forces will be acting on the FETs.

[lincpimp]

Originally Posted by BrianG

The only downside to mounting the heatsink to the chassis I can think of is stress on the components. Con't forget the heatsink is thermal-epoxied to the FET casings - and that's it - so all the stress from jumping, rough terrain, and bad landings will be transferred directly to the FETs, which are relatively fragile. Unless you plan to do something different, the FETs will also be supporting the weight of the entire ESC and all the G forces will be acting on the FETs.

This is true. The esc really needs to be mounted in some manner, then the heatsink can just be used to remove heat.

I do worry about the shock, not sure how that will affect stuff.

I do know that if you do not mount an esc sollidly you will have issues with it. That is whay I use double sided tape and zipties whenever possible.

[BrianG]

Yeah, it would be different if the heatsink was actually mounted to the PCB (and/or case) and the sink was also touching the FETs.

[DrKnow65]

I think the first thing I'll try is a liquid heat sink that attaches (in mirror) to the MMM's heat sink. Then put that whole assembly in some foam tucked into a lightweight watertight case (without the MMM's plastic case) that with any luck shouldn't be too much larger than the MMM with it's fan...

The motor cooling was more about helping HOT motors without using a fan. Like these goofy SC trucks trying to put out 1500 watts on 2S.
I think if you had the ESC as the first component in the loop it would work, assuming the chassis has enough thermal mass to dissipate the combined heat, and like Harold said the motor can be a little hotter.

[What's_nitro?]

I have thought about trying something like this:



Build a water jacket around the HS and have the in/out on opposite corners on top. It doesn't require modding the MMM, except for cutting off the top of the case that holds the fan. I think the material would have to be ~1mm thick to fit between the HS and the capacitors on one side.

[The Overclocker]

Nice setup jeff ! Love that little pump omg loll sooo small !!

[DrKnow65]

Originally Posted by The Overclocker

Nice setup jeff ! Love that little pump omg loll sooo small !!

Looks like you got activated Shawn
Welcome to RC Monster, do a lot of reading, respect the guys, and enjoy the wisdom of guys who don't play by ROAR rules unless they feel like it

P.s. You're probably going to need to adjust to the pace here, people take their time

[simplechamp]

Originally Posted by DrKnow65

respect the guys,

Awww man, when did we have to start doing that!

I would really like to see this project succeed but I honestly can't see anything like that bolted to any of my RCs. Two reasons. First is the added degree of complexity. I like to keep my RCs a simple as possible. If it don't need to be there off it goes. Second is the added weight. The lighter the better performance.

There was a time when I used to be worried about temps but that was before I really knew what I was doing. Gear it down till it's cool enough. If the performance isn't where I like it then I just simply get a bigger motor.

I have a 1518 Revo, 1518 RC8Be and 1520 powered RC8Te FT. None of the motors get to anywhere even considered warm and performance is more that adequate (some would even say insane). On the ESC side of things I'm not that fussed neither. I have broken at least 10 fans on my MMMs as I am very rough on my RCs and really like launching them off jumps at the BMX track. I used to replace them but now I don't even bother any more. I rigged up an LED with a resistor to my MMMs fan wires. I could see the LED light up every time the fan was on and that would happen once or twice through one battery pack and even then it will go out within less than 10sec. After destroying so many fans I don't even bother any more. All I do now is have the LED there to warn me if the temps are coming up and that only happens if I am pavement racing. Can't remember the last time the LED came on when I was bashing in the dirt. Because I can't launch as hard the currents are much lower on a surface with less grip. As long there is enough air flow under the body my ESCs stay cool enough not to even need a fan.

I think people get carried away with trying to deal with symptoms rather than eradicating the cause of the symptoms. First of all "Why is your motor and ESC running so hot?" and not "How can I take some of the heat away?". One of the first things that was drilled into my head at work when I was taught problem solving was "Go to the source of the problem and start there". I live by that rule now.

The only use I see (this is just me speaking) for a set up like water cooling on a RC car is for the wow or bling factor. If I was building a shelf queen or something to that extent then I would definitely fit something like that but as far as practicability goes.............well it's about as useful as a condom to a nun.

[_paralyzed_]

Originally Posted by The Overclocker

Nice setup jeff ! Love that little pump omg loll sooo small !!

Welcome to RCM man! Read this thread http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29275 and you'll get a good idea how we play around here. Peace.

[DrKnow65]

Well, I have been emailing TCS micropumps with questions about the pumps, controls, and their cooling liquid. Is there anything that someone would like me to ask specifically?