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]

Keep Brainstorming

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-aqua-tmg1-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.