Water Coolling An RC Sub And Why I Do It

[AQUASUB]

John

I am surprised that you are concerned about that statement ,it is entirely true and bassed on the laws of thermal dynamics,any electric motor unless you have found a way to use a form of energy that does not eventualy get converted to heat ,than let us know ,you would be a billionare!
No mater what motor is used from a pager motor to the big heavy duty Planttenbergs and not just on RC Subs but any any machine even a micro servo will generate heat,it might be very little at first but as it is used especialy in a sealed watertight container no mater how or whom makes it the heat will buid up and that is a FACT OF NATURE not one I made up.
It is very important that newbies see this if they have not already and can take steps to take care of it if they chose,sure the small scale sub will run fine without water cooling but think about the casing and how that built up of positive air pressure will affect the seals, in some cases there are only one inner radial "O" per cap up against a thin walled plastic tube that also expands with heat and when running in hot weather in already very warm water things could get a bit dycie.Size ,drive setup,motor type excetra makes no difference,its always there buiding up more and more if not disapated.
Then there is the energy loss ,is it not very valuble to us that we get the most out of the sub ,as the motor heats up the energy cunsumption rises dramaticly and that is another fact.

So mate if one where to just employ some basic engineering, a passive or non pumped means to extract that constant amount of heat no mater how small or insignificant it might be to an awaiting and tottaly wasted Ocean of water to be used for not just to play in but to keep your motor/s happy along with the battery and in some cases the ESC and last but not least the casing ,the single most important structure that keeps water out,lets not invite that dude in!
It takes care of the whole enchellada ,I bet that if the builders of the casings where to add some simple form of water cooling there product would sell even beter,since now there taking into acount all of the above and have stepped up to produce an even beter product.

Yes in some cases I do generalize and for good reason this is one of them because it is true in all electrical mechanical devices.
And the cooler they run the longer they last.:wink:
There could be no prop on the sub and it will still generate heat,no sir I am not trying to "bum stear" any one or make alot of noise unless they are not educated and just see it as that,these are well know facts and I am frankly very surprissed as I have been eversince I started in this hobby a long time ago that hay these guys are running an eleectric motor some times 2 for long times in a sealed up watertight container underwater with no water cooling,to me thats like torturing your crew whipping them on and on even if it seams to the Captain that is just fine until there is a leak hear or there and very strange , they disapear when its, gues when ,when the thing is cool .

Those casings are mission critical ,everything inside is also mission critical,I don't know about you but I do not like to go swimming after my subs especialy with Crocks around or down 15 ft so I take great care in there build.


Dave Amur Sub Yard

[Subculture]

Why do you feel that Real Time Telemetry is a gimmick?

I find that rather puzzling since you allready use and enjoy the Elogger or a half of the system. It would be imperative to see and know right away that the lipos are getting close to their lower limit, or that the motor is running a bit too hot. One cannot see those things after the fact. It must be reported live as it occurs, just like it is done with all experimental aircraft, missiles,submarines,drones,cars,boats,robots, test models - even test dummies have extensive logged back up.

Simple enough to explain. I test things quite thoroughly before I put things out into the field. A motor and prop combination can be tested statically, and although that won't give you best accuracy, it'll give you a good idea if the combination is correct.

Aspects like temperature are predictable and can be calculated beforehand and things like lipo cutoff are monitored by the ESC.

I also prefer to check data on graphs and charts, which the eagletree software permits, as I find it easier to study the data when mapped that way, rather than look at constantly fluctuating numbers on an LCD readout.

In addition, I fly very lightweight aeroplanes, and the logger adds quite a chunk of weight (15-25% of the AUW), so once I'm done checking things over, out it comes to lower the wingloading. Also when flying I prefer to look at what the aeroplane is doing rather than the TX. :wink:

Clearly subs are slightly different in respect, but for me telemetry is one thing I can happily live without. Each to their own.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Why add an unneeded item - pump, water jacket, plumbing and mechanics -- to the Sub-driver package when it's presence serves no purpose other than taking up space, sucking power out of the drive system, and raises the cost of the product?

In 20 some years of driving boats with WTC's I've only had one end-cap pop off, and that a result of a blown ESC.

Oh, and a warm crew is a happy crew.

I think we all have seen this dance before, Dave.

David

[AQUASUB]

Sure Dave its not nescessary if one does not realy know what are the actual temperatures at the end of the run,sure the motor/s are warmer than when started ,can we agree on that fact?
Then all I am saying is with very little effort one can make a passive heat transfer,it would by no means cause a loss of a single milliamp nore use any pumps and not even any plumbbing,just a simple coper or metal rod cupped on the motors end and out the cap extending not even an inch would do it just fine.

You say you have seen a cap blow off from an ESC malfuction well the same could happen with a motor malfunction and that proves my point about how heat causes the air to expand at an alarming rate if not disapated and prevented from causing these problems in the first place.

I have not complained about the cost of even the most fancy systems I have built ,10 bucks is not too much to ask for a little insurance.It would add a bit more quality to the casing that far outwaieghs the cost and gives that wow factor ,even the drive is water cooled that newbies to oldies can apreaciate.

A cool crew is a safe crew that will always return to port and dance they will.
Dave Amur Sub Yard

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

OK, we've all had our say. Time to close this thread, bury our dead, tighten down on the tourniquets, and move on to a fresh battle-field.

David,