Mamba Max fan mounting
 

I am not having much luck keeping a fan on my Mamba Max ESC. I bought two 25mm Sunon fans (3.5 CFM airflow). They are nice and small, but still move a decent amount of air. The problem is the three support arms that go from the fan shroud to the rotor/blade are very thin and weak. I think the big jumps at the race track are causing the arms to break. That leaves the shroud well mounted, but the rotor/blade flopping around.

I used two #4 screws to hold the fan to the heatsink of the MM. I also used small washers to slightly lift the fan off the heatsink. My thinking was if the top of the heatsink wasn't flat it would put a lot of stress on the fan when I tightened it down.
Now that both fans have broke, I think maybe I should have mounted it flat and used some double sided thick sticky tape as a cushion. I would need to put the double sided tape not only under the rotor, but along the shroud. The tape would at least keep the weight of the rotor from pushing down too much on a big landing.

I tried to find a Novak fan at the LHS to see if it was a little more beefy, but they were out. Any suggestions for a beefier 25mm fan or mounting is appreciated.
For now the cool winter nights let me run a full 15 minute main without a heatskink, but I will definitely need a fan when it warms back up.

Thanks,
Matt

What about glueing some thin flat aluminum to the fan? Cut out a piece of aluminum so it is the same shape and size as the side where the hub supports are, and glue it in place. This should add some structural rigidity to the fan.

If the ESC gets too hot, you could also make a creative, but simple, duct in the body that would direct air onto the ESC. I always favor a passive cooling solution whenever possible.

I agree about the passive cooling 100%. That was one of the things that really turned me off to the novaks when I first started looking at brushless; having to run a fan. Of course, more research further turned me off of the novaks! Now the proud owner of 2 mamba maxes and a quark; all fanless.

Yeah, I personally think that if you need a fan, the gearing is not right or things are being pushed too far to heat up that much. Plus, why use a fan when it is in a moving vehicle? Just open the body for some airflow...

Brian i respectfully disagree & dont see anything wrong with using a fan. Even with the proper gearing a fan is a nice safety measure. Venting the body is also a good idea & i do this on all my bodys BL or nitro. But with a fan you can get a little extra cooling exactly were you want it.

I have allways ran a fan above my controllers.....just so i know that they are being kept cool, besides....a 5.00 fan.....keeping my high $ controller cool, eases the mind a little.....

That's fine. We are all entitled to our own opinions. :)

I don't like using fans because it adds complexity to the design and wiring mess, etc. I'd rather use a slightly bigger/better heatsink and find a way to get airflow from the moving vehicle over it.

But that's just me and I never said it was the "right" way. :)

That's what so great about this hobby, everyone is entitled to thier own opinion , and everyones truck is personalized to their own tastes......which is great.....

I run a fan on a few things. It falls under what brian was talking about.
I was ussually pushing my system.

I run a fan on my quark, but never the motor.

yea a fan on the esc wont hurt anyone, but id prefer to use a heat sink on my motor then a fan...

I have one of the Novak Fan kits for my MM but have not hooked it all up yet to test it out
http://www.shopatron.com/product/pro...=NOV5646/135.0

Fans aren't needed...we designed the controller to run without them...if you thermal the controller you're either geared improperly or there's something wrong with the controller.

Hey Joe, since your on, not to hijack here, but the mm for the mini's, what lipo cut should be used. The 2s says 6v? But that seems a tad high?

2s is 2 cells. 2 x 3volts is 6 volts.
If you go lower you going to muss batts.

Joe made a good point. Unless your running in higher than 25C+ weather, and pushing your truck/buggy/etc really hard, there really isnt a need for a fan. Even if it is "too hot to touch with your finger" they are meant to be hot.

Ok but can we use one for the "bling"?

Only if it's Aluminum with pretty blue LEDs on it! :005:

What he said! ;)

LOL ok only for you

unless your trully scared and just prefer to have one.....then have one:)

dom and brian, are there even fans like that:005:

Oh please, if any of us put our mind to it, a fan with leds, diamonds, gold, silver, and other pretty ornaments is 100% possible.

No way, I don't like fans remember. :)

A little on the large side at 80mm, but these are blingy enough for just about anyone! Oh, and they run on 12v...

Mike, it's more like putting our wallets to it if you start talking diamonds and gold!

I think you mean Sylvester aka dom. lol. But if a guy is lookin' for bling, why not go all out? Unless your Donald Trump or Bill Gates, go for it.

it would be very hard trying to tell someone to make one for you with out laughing......just like trying to order over 10 cheese burgers for 2 people hehehe dom:)

lol you guys:p

I actually need a fan on my Mamba Max. However, it is being used in my Revo with a 7XL and 5s A123. Without the fan it would thermal in a couple minutes, even with unrestricted passive cooling (no body). The fan has dropped the ESC temps about 70 deg. F, which is plenty to keep it from thermalling.

But still, that is pushing the esc over its limits, 5s in a revo (heavier than mostly all the ST/buggy/etc.)

dom, i was amazed when you had that super fan, it was loud as a hairdryer!

That is what I figured, I posted it in another thread (dumb me!), anywho, thanks CHC!

metalman,
what size or kind of fan are you using that drops the temp that much? I plan on running my mamba on 5s in a losi 8ight with a 9xl c can and think I might need a fan.

Don't let the import driver/boy race crowd get a look at these! they'll have them bolted onto the hoods of their Civics & Camry's. It's gotta be worth 50 horse right???

At least 50 HP!

Actually, the lighting effect in that picture is very easy to do with any fan. It's just LEDs firing into the edge of the fan blade. Modding them like this was common before fan makers starting including them.

I'm still a fan of function first! I like my stuff to look good but whats with all the flashy lights?????

And why do people need 24" wheels on their family sedan? Ever seen an evaluation on how much braking force is lost on a 20" wheel when installed on a car designed for 15" wheels? Pretty Scarey!

Sorry for wandering off topic...........

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program......

It's a 40mm 5v fan. Unfortunately they are sold out at this point.
http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bi...164&type=store

thanks for the link. good to hear that it made a big difference.

I dont see why you would need one, should run cool. If gering is anywhere near correct, the ESC shouldnt even get much more than warm. More voltage= less amps.

On a cool race evening (60F and below) I ran the Mamba Max without a fan and it was fine. Since I am using a 1/10 scale ESC on a 8 pound buggy, I thought it would be a good idea to use a fan. I am geared fairly conservative (less than 40MPH). Even if the ESC doesn't thermally cutoff in the summer, MOSFETs are much happier running cooler (their on resistance is lower at lower temps).

I haven't run the buggy for a little while. I have been back to my first RC love.... airplanes. The Mamba Max with a 4 pole motor (Neu) is a little to coggy from a start right now. I hate to be sitting at the starting line with everyone else half way around the track. I could put 540C 9L Feigao back on..... maybe when I flip flop back from planes to cars again.

Matt

my 4 pole pletty doesnt cogg at all on 5s.

That's good news. I'll be installing a NEU 1515 with the MM ESC on 16-cells(will probable start with 12 cells to see how it runs first)

Imo the mamba shouldnt be pushed at 5s or 16 cells.