Will thermally sticking a small heat sink like one of these... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141257268618?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&var=440363254485&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT to the surface of a small 6 fet controller which is mounted externally on the bike frame help to dissipate any heat, or is it too feeble a size?
Putting small heat sink on outside of controller?Worth it?
- Thread starter brumbrum
- Start date
cwah
100 MW
can't you stick it with heat glue to the bike frame so that the frame dissipate the heat?
cwah said:
Well, the controller itself will be cable tied to the top tube within the frame triangle, but as the frame is round and the controller is flat there will only be a small amount of surface area of the controller touching the frame. Is that likely to help? It is an infineon type of controller with the outward facing brackets at either end. It will be upside down so there will be a gap between the main conteoller body and the frame tube. if i did use a small heat sink it would actually be underneath pointing to the floor, but as heat rises, maybe that would be a dumb move. Just thought that it might catch some cool air in the heat sink recesses.
dnmun
1 PW
does the controller get too hot? why not use a fan to cool it just like a charger?
dnmun said:
Just trying to keep things simple. To be honest, done some reading since posting this thread, i would probably need something bolted to the mosfet bolts on the outside of the controller. Luckily, here in the UK, one of the very few advantages of the weather iss it plays on the side of externally mounted controllers. I am currently running a 6fet 4110 unit inside a frame bag at 65v 25amps. It gets warm for sure, but not really hot, but this is my commuting bike that only draws the 25a on start up and then quickly reduces and only sees peaks of around 22 on hills. But the controller i am considering a heat sink on will be for trails where it will no doubt pull the full 25a fairly continuously. Just thinking ahead, maybe over worrying.
Routybouty
100 W
Adding a heatsink to my Max-E controller made a world of a difference. It ended up being overkill with about 2lbs worth of aluminum stuck to it, but man, it stays ice cold now! 
The Max-E FETs are bolted to a chunk of aluminum and then that's bolted to the aluminum case. I removed the bolts from internal chunk to case and bolted the external heatsink to the case/chunk. I also sanded off any paint to ensure a good contact area.
The Max-E FETs are bolted to a chunk of aluminum and then that's bolted to the aluminum case. I removed the bolts from internal chunk to case and bolted the external heatsink to the case/chunk. I also sanded off any paint to ensure a good contact area.
motomech
10 MW
Yes, I think so.brumbrum said:
Sounds like an Infineon based controller.
Think about it, how many folks use those at equal or higher values in places much warmer than Wales?
AFAIK, there havent' been any of those made in quite a while (years), though they are often called that, the MCUs inside them nowadays are by other companies (can't recall any names off the top of my head, though).motomech said:
Such as here in Phoenix, AZ, where I have hard startups more than a dozen times, typically, on the way to and from work, a 2.5-ish mile commute, where the summer air temperature at head height may be over 100-110F easily, and the air temperature just above the road surface (where my controllers are mounted, under the cargo deck) can be 130F+ (possibly worse while sitting in traffic at an intersection with hot exhaust "pooling" all around me for up to a couple minutes at a time).
Then the controllers heat up just from the startups (and much much more if I have to use the EABS active braking to stop quickly).
So far, the only failure has been a blown cap, but that cap was probalby bad to start with as I had "upgraded" the ones that came in the controller with some others that had been sent to me, and it failed rapidly, before I had moved the cotnrollers to present location.
Anyway, I just wanted to point out that while lifetime of the parts is probably reduced (possibly greatly), generic ebike controllers can indeed be used relatively hard in higher temperatures.
The 6 fet controllers i use are lyen edition btw.
its rare to get an ambient temperature over 70f here, lol.
No doubt rain will probably be the killer before heat, so i would be better off getting a controller umbrella rather than a sink.
its rare to get an ambient temperature over 70f here, lol.
No doubt rain will probably be the killer before heat, so i would be better off getting a controller umbrella rather than a sink.
longwise_suck
10 W
I run a 25 amp infineon at 50 volts, it was situated at the back of the down tube i turned it around 180 degrees and the difference in cooling was unbelivable, here it gets to 40 c in summer n it was so hot i couldnt touch it some days its the really small changes that can make the big differences, i do not believe a heat sink will help you espes in the uk (im from the north west moved to frankfurt germany) the whole case is a heat sink give it some cool air and it will cool all by itself
longwise_suck said:
Thanks for posting that comment, makes me feel a bit more confident. If the controller does end up pulling 25a continuously on trails as i predict and does get hot, i will relocate it. It will initially sit under the top tube at the seat post end so i can feed the wires into a frame bag easily. It will be shielded a bit by the frame bag but i want to keep it tucked away to keep things inconspicuous. I am nearing the point of ordering a 12t mac which the controller will be running. So all worries and theories aside, only running and testing the setup will tell. Thanks everyone.
longwise_suck
10 W
Hello brumbrum, did you get around to ordering the mac 12t and controller? if so did you also order the programe cable? brilliant lil piece of kit, reprogrammed my controller today set the lvc up and now it cuts of at a perfect 3.7 volts, its the 6 fet 25 amp so i took it down from 25 amps to 23 n dropped the phase amps to 60 the result was a instantly cooler controller thats now doing a extra 12 kilometres on the same run! food for thought!
longwise_suck said:
Hi, just noticed this comment. No, not ordered it yet, as i managed to get another motor working that i thought was dead, so put the mac on hold. I have programming cable for my lyen controller, so can dial down the current if needed, but i am looking for acceleration and torque over speed and range so i dont want to limit current too much. But as you say, a few less amps equals a lot less watts and therefore a lot less heat overall.
