Controller to Radiator Thermal Paste

[Clueless1]

Ok so I know I’m going to get flamed with this crazy idea but I’m wondering if there is a way to repurpose my side mount radiator as a heat sink for my controller using thermal paste alone.

If I can mount my controller directly to my stock radiator with thermal paste alone (no fasteners), I might be able keep the radiator function alive should should I ever fill it with coolant and put a small DC pump on it later.

Even if I don’t put a pump or use coolant on it, it should act as a decent heat sink compared to a lot of other options I currently have (none!).

So I guess my question is does someone make a thermal paste strong enough to bond my controller back plane to the radiator?

Plan B might be to just ditch the coolant/pump idea and just bolt right through radiator, in combination with thermal paste which will take some of the doubt out the mechanical stability.

Yes I am aware that the radiator location is prone to damage during a crash, but I’d rather mount it here than to bury it under my seat or elsewhere where there’s poor airflow.

Thoughts and criticism welcome.
Check the name.

 

[Clueless1]

A friend recommended JB Weld as one option. I think I might look into more products like that.

 

[Chalo]

No thermal adhesive will give a really good thermal connection to a finned great exchanger, because they're all designed to be used in very thin layers between flat smooth surfaces. Still I'd go for an alumina thermal epoxy before a structural adhesive like JB Weld.

 

[DogDipstick]

Neato concept, will not hurt, yea controllers DO get hot, right? Tehy DO make OEM heatsinks for any good controller.. Like Kellys and Curtis and Sevdcon. Every controller in an extruded box.


No to the JBweld. NOT the correct thermal qualities.

Yeah like Chalo said, you need surface area to conduct the BTUs out through the heat capacity of the medium(s). Teh blocking of air through the radiator would locally prevent flow and probably create a hotspot anyway. Wherever air ( fluid flow) is wanted ( needed, requested,designed) you ALWAYS need a larger exit to flow than entry to flow or else you have a slowing of the flow velocity..

YOu could use a chiller plate and a thermosiphon, if you want to, and use the water in the radiator. An increase int eh thermal capacity. Then put the heatsink past e on that. That could regulate temperature swings.

You would be better off ditching the radiator completely... (If you are not creating a ( need for water cooling: ) heat load.) ... and mounting the controller there, in leu of. With a OEM controller passive heatsink... ( or two, three computer heatsinks, lockwired onto the controller, stainless lockwire, for big old 100w plus pentium4 processors, like old ones).... and paste that up with your Arctic Chill thermal grease. The radiator mounting gives an excellent spot in the moving air flow.. and can also be easily ram air ducted for teh larger heat loads ( of say, record setting mile dragbikes)( or a 12v fan).

Fans, man. Look at teh heat load. It is not an engine that wastes 70% of the fuel into heat out the exhaust.. and hits 1400* plus in combustion (cycling 100 times a second at 6000 RPM on load, or 10 times loping on idle at 600 RPM... where teh heat is wasted sitting in traffic. )...


LOOK at how many watts you need to shed before you design a system that needs to shed a heat load.. You do not have to shed (large amounts ) high numbers of kW in heat ( like a heat engine). YOU need to shed.. Much less. ( effective efficiency of electrical motor)

Moving. Moving air flow will cool 10000% better than a poorly conducting controller glued to a water radiator.

Plus, that is one of the worst places to put anything expensive on a dirt bike, friend. Fact of life, bikes fall over, and we like them to still work when we pick them up. yes: It would work, make it cooler, and work as a passive heatsink, conducting teh heat away.... radiator, but, would not ( might not) do much and a heat piped or fined computer ( old) heastsink would do much better ( even moreso with a small fan, or when you moving the bike)

 

[stan.distortion]

+1 to ditching the radiator, practically no thermal mass unless filled and it's just something else to go wrong, a leak could result in a flash-fried controller. Tidy mounting spot though and a slab of finned aluminium would serve you better and be even tidier.

 

[Elektrosherpa]

You will by no means get a decent thermic contact between the controller and the radiator slats.

I would rather remove the radiator and simply put the controller in this place.
There it is exposed to best airflow.