Cooling brain fart

[Jeff Wohlt]

Okay...could be stupid but was in my hobby shop the other day going over all this cooling crap. I then looked down and saw a little gas tank from an old plane 8 oz or something...very small.

So I thought...how about a small pump (internal in the tank and runs on 9 v or whatever. It flows water out and to the esc and then motor and dumps back in to the tank. We are only talking oz of weight here and could end up being anoth balance weight...you only need a little water....depending on speed of pump but what comes out goes back in.

Then, I went ot the freezer and dropped 3 ice cubes in it...holy crap...cold water all the time.

So that was my brain fart. Screw all the external rudder pickup and goofy looping brass around the prop.

Sure would be nice for summer running.

now to find a micro dc pump.

Just maybe it could also cool cells?

[BIGDG357]

This actually came up in conversation with a few boat buddies and we scratched the idea because without some sort of radiator you keep moving the same water that is picking up more and more heat..... but hey ICE that could possibly work. Not exactly sure how big these are but but this just might do. http://cgi.ebay.com/FUEL-PUMP-6v-12v...item1c0d07f191

[tth]

Jeff that sounds like a winner! It should work well for sport running here in the deep south.

[Rex R]

I note that the 'swiffer wet jet' has a small pump that runs on 6v (a 360 size motor)

[Simon.O.]

Or we could run setups that do not need massive amounts of cooling.
I run a few cooled setups and a few uncooled.
For SAW it is uncooled and we take the chance.
For race, I have no idea as I do not race.
For sport, just set your gear so that you do not need a massive amount of cooling or pumps and ice etc.
OR just make it slightly above mild and cool the conventional way.

Don't get me wrong here. I am an engineer and like to study and follow new ideas. When it comes to cooling, I can tell you now that there is nothing better than water (boats here) to cool our bits.

[Jeff Wohlt]

Pretty simple idea but it also begins cooling when pumped turned on. So you can begin cooling prior to hitting it hard and also let it run after your runs.

The water would stay cold for plenty long. If you prime the system then top the small tank up it would consistantly have all the water you need.

We sometimes just let our boats sit in the water for several minutes and then take off again...all this time the motor and ESC are cooling.

Rex, excellent idea on the swiffer! I was thinking micro internal pump that can be submerged but don't really need it that way.

[FloatDaBoat]

Anyone ever consider using CO2? A small bottle (such as used in a CO2 pellet gun) might be fitted with some sort of slow release pressure valve to release cold gas into the cooling tube system. Might not be a feasible idea, though. Simon.O. (being an Engineer) could possibly shed some insight into this hair-brained scheme. Oh, well . . . .

[Ken Haines]

Hey Jeff,
I have dabbled with cooling ideas as well.
The small tank you are talking about is way too small a volume to
cool your systems for very long. Try running a small airplane fuel pump using glasses of water. They actually move a lot of water in a short period of time. The delta between ice cold and cold water really does not have much effect either unless you can sustain that low cooling temperature. Not sure what else we can due to sustain that effect, but at the Nat's in T-offshore for the last heat I placed Ice packs around the Batteries knowing that I would again fully exhaust the cells. They did not swell at all in the last heat even when I ran the boat to dead zero, and the ice packs were still solid and frozen. Maybe recircing water like you said, but surrounding the tank with a modern cold ice pack. Or maybe use of a thermo-pile, but that takes a voltage source.
Just some added ideas.
Ken

[Jeff Wohlt]

The water exiting the system goes back in the tank so it would never run out...same pressure out as in. The ice cubes will keep water cold for a pretty long time. Not sure I want real cold water but enough to last a run then pop a couple in before racing. As you said, it just circulates.

Great idea with ice packs for the cells....certainly do not want to cool them too much and lose volts but you do not want them too hot either.

I will get a pump and play with something soon. For sport running where we run long times it may be a good option.

It also minimizes the drag from rudder water inlets....some think it is signifcant and others don't.

I like water pick ups on the hull but drag is obvious on those unless it is very little in the water...almost flat with the hull

[sailr]

There are small radiators with fans in the computer field these days. Pretty interesting stuff.

[sailr]

There are some interesting cooling components for computers these days.

http://www.xoxide.com/thermaltake-aq...-radiator.html

[6S HYDRO]

why not just an ice tank for your existing rudder or pickups to flow thru and supercool the components and then out he boat so the hot component water doesnt ever touch the ice and melt it.

[6S HYDRO]

and no need for extra weight and batteries of pumps

[Rumdog]

It would take too much pressure to get it to flow back out of the tank through a silicone tube.

[Rex R]

swiffer pump:
been playing w/ one with an eye toward using it for a 'water cannon' on a (currently dark grey) project...anywho the unit pulls 3.1 amps when pushing water and it has a presure valve (to keep it from draining out when not running) that makes priming the pump a problem. removing the valve is easy though...and it throws a pretty good stream of water through my 'fire moniter'. imo the unit would be hard to fit into an 'N'class boat...methinks it would fit a 'P' class vee or cat w/o a lot of trouble.

[G Doggett]

It's an interesting topic, but I can't help feeling you guys are attempting to solve a problem that doesn't exist. !
Graham.

[pescador]

There are also these thermoelectric Peltier coolers they use in aquariums and computers maybe somebody could figure out an application for them.
Keep your water tank cold electrically?
http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=pel...1&_from=&_ipg=

[Simon.O.]

Another approach to cooling if you realy need a lot for overloaded setups is to pre cool. I do this with my 4S rigger. I have a window washer pump and bottle and hoses that circulates iced water to the motor prior to a run. I can also use it post run.
This is only for my big rigger.
All of my other setups get what water the need out on the water and as Jeff said a few moments on/in the water prior to pulling it out is all they need.

[sailr]

could one of those be used as an 'electronic heatsink' on an esc?

There are also these thermoelectric Peltier coolers they use in aquariums and computers maybe somebody could figure out an application for them.
Keep your water tank cold electrically?
http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=pel...1&_from=&_ipg=

[Jeff Wohlt]

Yes they can. They begin cooling pretty fast. Just need a 12v source. Oh and when reversed they heat to 140 degrees...warming lipos? Heck yes!

[sailr]

Very interesting. I wonder if a small 3S pack would be enough amps to drive it. Hmmmm, might want to do some more detailed investigation. I have seen the little coolers that plug into your cigarette lighter at garage sales pretty cheap. Might be worth buying one and tearing it apart.

Yes they can. They begin cooling pretty fast. Just need a 12v source. Oh and when reversed they heat to 140 degrees...warming lipos? Heck yes!

[Jeff Wohlt]

Yep, but you can buy them for $6 on e-bay. They are a bit amp hungry.

[sailr]

Yeah, I saw where they say MAX 6A. I suppose the more 'exchange' of heat to cool, the higher the amp draw. I would think a 3S 2200 30C battery should drive it although it is below 12V which might drive the amps up even more....right? Interesting to think about anyway. May not be practical on anything smaller than a P mono though. If it works it sure would be an interesting concept.

Yep, but you can buy them for $6 on e-bay. They are a bit amp hungry.

[Jeff Wohlt]

I think it will work fine on the 3s. They have some volt spread and I think all the way up to 15v.

Sure would be an easy adaption. I was thinking 1 per layer...if they are ceramic coated then no worries about shorting if touching the stack above.

Can a person split a himodel ESC to slip them in the layers?

[Steven Vaccaro]

This is cool, but I have a another suggestion for sport running. Run a larger mass motor than needed. For example I fried the 380L motor in my delta 25 because of a simple leaf in the tubing. I switched to a 540L, same speed but dont even need cooling any longer.

[Ken Haines]

Hi Steve,
Certainly you are correct on using larger than required motors, ESC, Batteries etc. to lower all the temps, but I'm challenged by the LSO & LSH restrictions. Especially in LSO when a 4 minute run is required. Since we have a spec power system your current options all sacrifice speed. I'm not much for that so I blow up a lot of motors.
I do beleive that we are looking at a chemical coolant ie; freon or ice packs or an efficient electrical cooling system. Maybe someone will have an even better idea. I'm still concerned about the coolant loop volume. Even the water pickup sytems turn the water pretty hot, just feel thewater outlet water on most of your boats when you pull them out of the water. Sometimes than little trickle of water is even hot enogh to sting you. Cooling takes time and if the flow cycle duration is too short the heat transfer will not have time enough to occur. I do not think however that slower flow is the answer either, although some would challenge this physics would not agree with them.
Pardon me everyone I work at a nuclear plant, some of the same cooling theories apply, maybe thats why I'm so interested in this topic. Sorry to geek out !!!
This is good stuff from everyone lets keep this going.
Thanks, Ken

[paulwilliams]

Pardon me everyone I work at a nuclear plant

[Ken Haines]

Hey Paul,
How did you get my photo ? lol.

Good one you got me.

Ken

[paulwilliams]

Hey Paul,
How did you get my photo ? lol.

Good one you got me.

Ken

Sorry Ken, couldn't resist that one! Many years ago, I worked on this:



UK's first (and maybe only/last??) PWR.

Paul

[pescador]

I think it will work fine on the 3s. They have some volt spread and I think all the way up to 15v.

Sure would be an easy adaption. I was thinking 1 per layer...if they are ceramic coated then no worries about shorting if touching the stack above.

Can a person split a himodel ESC to slip them in the layers?

One thing with these, they move heat, they don't dissipate it you still have to use some sort of heat sink.
Should be easy to salvage one from a pc or even teamed up with one of the little esc fans.