Powerful Cooling Fan Upgrades for MakeSkyBlue MPPT Solar Charge Controller!
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- Опубликовано: 5 сен 2024
- I like MakeSkyBlue charge controllers because they are nice and simple. In this video I show you how I upgrade the cooling fans with brushless DC fans or blowers. The results are excellent. The charge controllers run much cooler overall. The inner part of my workshop has no air conditioning as of yet, so I have found extra cooling to be critical.
I have often modified and upgraded my inverters and power equipment with better fans, and those upgrades were very successful. Today I am doing the same upgrade to my MakeSkyBlue charge controllers.
One of the fans I tried is the Nidec UltraFlo. It was absurdly effective, pulling the temps down so fast it was unbelievable. There is a humerous and funny video linked down below showcasing this fan.
An always-on 12V brushless DC fan is very effective in holding charge controller temperatures down as low as possible. Very little soldering is required, and the stock (OEM) fan can be retained unmodified.
Hope you liked this video, thanks for watching!
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1. Please note these are affiliate links, I receive a small commission if you use them to shop. Thank you :)
🟢 Brushless DC blower - amzn.to/4bStbNw
🟢 Brushless 12v DC fan
(Minimum and Quiet - but I suggest a more powerful fan if possible!!!) - amzn.to/3ScXlE9
🟢 MakeSkyBlue MPPT Solar Charge Controller - amzn.to/3y5ib1m
2. A strong fan is required to make any major difference in cooling performance. Its purpose is to go ahead and pull out excess heat, instead of waiting for heat to build up like the stock fan.
3. Stronger fan usually means louder. It's a trade-off. I prefer a stronger fan for continuous charging at high amps, it's still better than the stock fan.
4. The DC centrifugal blower seems the best option so far, but installation is more challenging and fiddly.
5. Stacking a weak fan over the stock fan might make things worse, always test the air flow!
6. Be careful of metal shavings if you cut out the stock fan grille. It only takes a small piece of metal to short circuit and ruin the charge controller. Compressed air and a close look to make sure there are no bits of metal left behind.
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Music credits: by TuneTank, Pixabay
Smart, keeping the units from ever warming up before the fans come on, will prevent or eliminate thermal expansion issues, and should vastly extend the life of the circuits and components. It's the constant heating and cooling cycles that really kills electronics.
@colin8532 Right on! not to mention the sound of the stock fan turning on and off for hours. I prefer on all the time. I think the centrifugal blower option is working best, need more testing to decide
@@solarpoweredgeGo 😎👍
@NounXXX :D :)
I've got the 60A V123 with the Cloud Box and I really like it. But I was wanting to keep it cooler also. The fan is a high pitch whistle and it would be nice to keep it quiet. I didn't understand the need for the diodes in the DC power load output.
@jerrybandy3827 Yeah the fan sounds terrible! A larger but quieter fan will work. I'd mount it externally.
A 12v BLDC fan doesn't want to see 13.4v DC or it will burn out. The diodes drop the voltage down to safer levels.
Did you purchase the Cloudbox that comes with a remote control? I got the one with Cloudbox. It's really amazing!!! I can control it remotely.
@Sinii-m6h Hi, that's very impressive. No I don't have the box it's the basic version. However I am looking into the updated version!
I have my 2 fans on a 24 hour timer...(in and out)
@davidkarath6549 That's a good way to do it!
Nice informative video. I have the same controller and just like in your case the temperature management was an issue. I ended up monting my controller to a beefy heatsink with a silicone thermal sheet in between the two. Now the controller doesn't heatup enough to even activate its cooling fan.
@v-man1 Appreciate the good feedback! Excellent idea using a big heat sink. I had recently added 2 scrap aluminum CPU heat sinks. Looking for something bigger though. Also mounted it with spacers (standoff) so it doesn't touch the board except on the L brackets.
@@solarpoweredgeSome 5 years ago I got a couple of 5kwh BYD batteries from Battery Hookup. These batteries had these huge heatsinks measuring almost 2 square feet to keep them cool during their employment at some serious solar farm. I don't push them hard enough to make them heat up any significant amount. The charge controller on the other hand works to it's max potential on occasion. The power FETS are cooled by the back panel of the case, therefore having a decent heatsink on that surface makes a huge difference. Having it installed on standoffs like you are suggesting would definitely help it cool as well. Some manufacturers, I'm sure you've noticed, actually have a passive heatsink in the back of the case, that also keeps it off the wall to allow better cooling without the use of a fan.
@v-man1 Nice. Those are gigantic. Pulling them from equipment is the way to go.
I bought one of these and made the mistake of buying a 40amp one instead of a 60 amp one limiting the number of panels I can put through it I was lucky enough to get a set of solar panels from my brother inlaw when he upgraded to a larger array
@errolfoster1101 I have a 40 amp too, it's connected to some smaller panels. Still a nice machine to have around, or even as a backup charger
@@solarpoweredge I used this to power all my house lights through an inverter some of which have smart switches never had any problems I have been doing this for about 3 or 4 years and have a standard power point in the set up haven't used the power point yet but have bought some rechargeable tools lately I will be using it for them
@errolfoster1101 Nice :)
what did temperature did the charge controller with the centrifugal fan get down to?
@thelegion_within To the 40s (C) temperature of the room it's in is also a factor. It's usually gets too warm in my shop - one of the reasons for upgrading the fans
This type of MakeSkyBlue is good quality?
@Eng_RAY Yes, for the price it's actually a good deal. It is a good entry-level MPPT controller and seems to be well built. There are not many settings to change and setup is straightforward
I think sooo!!! I got the V125 type with cloud service. it helps a lot.