Just got this Stormcore and I plan on attaching a heat sink. I have a sheet of aluminum which is 3mm thick. And this would go inside the enclosure so there won’t be any way for heat to get out of that enclosed space.
What do you suggest? And is 3mm thick enough? What about a way to get the heat out of the enclosure?
Buy this and cut a hole
Aye…not a bad idea.
Thanks Chris.
I’m not sure anything inside the enclosure is going to be much of a heatsink, but you can definitely add thermal mass. There is a subtle but important distinction.
A heatsink bleeds heat to the environment and is good for increasing “continuous” power levels, like sustained top speed and extended hill climb.
A thermal mass adds a buffer and is good for “instantaneous” power levels, like takeoff acceleration and short hill climb. A heatsink is also a thermal mass.
A thermal mass trapped inside an enclosure may bleed a little heat to the environment, but nothing like an external heatsink. A lot of heat will get trapped inside the enclosure. Once it gets really hot, it takes a while to cool down again. Fiberglass and ABS aren’t great conductors of heat.
For the most part, you always want to add a heatsink unless it’s not feasible, then adding thermal mass definitely helps, but once it gets really hot you will be in the same situation again.
I often use TB6/FOCBOXes with no added mass or heatsink if they are dual drive. They do get hot after a while if you’re riding hard but not for casual riding (for me). For single drive, a very large thermal mass or an external heatsink is all but required in the summertime here.
TL;DR: add heatsink to outside if at all possible – if not, then add thermal mass inside if you can.
This looks very good. My only concern is cutting into the enclosure could cause problems. I will keep it in mind.
Yes, the thermal mass makes sense. I was thinking of making this sheet of aluminum wider than the ESC so that it has more mass and also has some surface area which is not directly blocked by another material. I want that heat to get away from the ESC as much as possible. Adding more thermal mass may be all I need and it is less destructive than cutting open the deck. If I see in the app when I track rides that the ESC is getting too hot I can consider the heat sink which has exposure outside the enclosure. I was thinking I could do this with the aluminum sheets as well. It may not look as pretty, but it would provide a lot of surface area outside the enclosure which has a lot of airflow while the board is moving. That would add plenty of thermal mass and external heat dissipation.
If it doesn’t make it outside the enclosure then its just another heater inside the battery compartment
I think @b264 made a great point about adding a thermal mass which can help. Most of the ride won’t be at such high amps. So it is just for initial acceleration or hill climbing when the heat will build up on the sheet of aluminum. My current board does not have a heat sink exposed outside the enclosure and it has been working. I think the thermal mass have been sufficient.
If your not worried about water then the enclosure could be vented. I’m looking for a way to to put air intake/exit flaps that can be closed with velcro if it rains
Isn’t the casing on the stormcore already its own personal thermal mass?
I have my stormcore inside a watertight/airtight Pelican case and ride 60amps/per side. Haven’t gotten a thermal throttling effect yet
