Fans on battery chargers

[abh16]

I have a Hitec charger but this question applies to all brands. Does your fan always run or does it come on randomly? Trying to figure out if mine is messed up or interlocked with a sensor.

 

[Diem Turner]

I have a Hitec charger but this question applies to all brands. Does your fan always run or does it come on randomly? Trying to figure out if mine is messed up or interlocked with a sensor.

On my ISDT It really depends on what amperage I charge at. At low amperages (1-2A) it's generally off, maybe turning on sporadically. If I'm charging at 5A it runs on low speed. When I'm charging at 10-15A it ramps up to a pretty high speed and loud volume. So I think it's safe to say that they're thermally regulated.

 

[jkflow]

Doesn't come on randomly, always depends on the load and the internal temp of the charger. If it's truly random it's a bad charger i.e. defective.

 

[slick2500]

Doesn't come on randomly, always depends on the load and the internal temp of the charger. If it's truly random it's a bad charger i.e. defective.

My Hitec even ramps the speed up and down.

 

[hobo]

my fans on all the time overlander rc-d100

 

[dk3000]

My come on when needed lol
Most of the time if charging two batteries

 

[Hector_Fisher]

Hota D6 plus here. Pretty sure most charger fan algorithms are based on an internal temp probe. When it's hot in my garage, the fan is spinning at almost 100%, almost all of the time. Even if I'm only putting in less than an amp. During the winter when it's cold, the fan almost never spins up. Spring and summer it kicks on for a bit, then slows down, ramps back up, repeats.

I also noticed that there is some sort of motion or proximity sensor by the fan exhaust. When it gets blocked or you put your hand near it, the fans spin up like crazy.

 

[Diem Turner]

Hota D6 plus here. Pretty sure most charger fan algorithms are based on an internal temp probe. When it's hot in my garage, the fan is spinning at almost 100%, almost all of the time. Even if I'm only putting in less than an amp. During the winter when it's cold, the fan almost never spins up. Spring and summer it kicks on for a bit, then slows down, ramps back up, repeats.

I also noticed that there is some sort of motion or proximity sensor by the fan exhaust. When it gets blocked or you put your hand near it, the fans spin up like crazy.

It's not a proximity sensor, it's just a natural physical reaction of fans. When air flow is restricted the pressure in front of the blades increases slightly but not enough to make up for the fact that flow is restricted almost eliminating the fans ability to remove enough air from the intake to create any significant vacuum eliminating a large amount of the load because the blade pushes against pressure as it always does but, no air flow means no suction which is a large part of the load.

 

[SrC]

I have a Hitec charger but this question applies to all brands. Does your fan always run or does it come on randomly? Trying to figure out if mine is messed up or interlocked with a sensor.

My ISDT K2 Air charger throttles the Fan RPMs. And only comes on after 100F+.
My HM D6 Duo Pro either goes On or OFF if/when it reaches 100F+. From what I can hear. It is generally very quiet when it is On, unlike my ISDT which will scream at High RPMs if it's very hot. Usually at 114F and higher. Larger capacity high cell count Lipos will always creat more heat as they charge.
Depends on your charger.
Does your charger show a Temp reading somewhere?
Most will.
Look at it periodically to see if there is a relationship between the fan turning "On" and the internal charger temps.
Most fans will only come on when it reaches the preset hot temp. Some will even throttle up and down in RPM's as well, based on the actual temp.
I woudn't worry much. It is doing what it's supposed to do. On its own.
Just avoid blocking any of the intake and exhaust air vents at all costs. i.e accidently placing the lipo against the vents when charging.

I have a standalone 80mm x 80mm x 40mm A/C powered Bench fan that I point at my charging equipment and lipos for added cooling. Mostly used in the Hot summer months or when charging 4 6s bricks with 2 chargers. I also use this fan when Soldering , to suck fumes away from me.

The K2 Air does a Fan system Test when plugged in. It has to Pass or it will tell you if Failed. I use a 24v/400w PSU. (200w per channel output)

 

[Hector_Fisher]

It's not a proximity sensor, it's just a natural physical reaction of fans. When air flow is restricted the pressure in front of the blades increases slightly but not enough to make up for the fact that flow is restricted almost eliminating the fans ability to remove enough air from the intake to create any significant vacuum eliminating a large amount of the load because the blade pushes against pressure as it always does but, no air flow means no suction which is a large part of the load.

No, this is what I was talking about. I get what you mean, but this is something different. It seems to do it only sometimes, oddly enough. Pretty sure "feature" is intended to overcome exhaust blockages though.

 

[Diem Turner]

No, this is what I was talking about. I get what you mean, but this is something different. It seems to do it only sometimes, oddly enough. Pretty sure "feature" is intended to overcome exhaust blockages though.

Interesting. Haven't seen that before

 

[RCPablo]

ISDT Temprature controlled makes sense. I find with my Q6 plus I can charge a small 2 or 3s below around 3a, the fan will stay off for most of the charge. 6s seems to fire up the fan as soon as you start, even at super low amp settings.

 

[SrC]

No, this is what I was talking about. I get what you mean, but this is something different. It seems to do it only sometimes, oddly enough. Pretty sure "feature" is intended to overcome exhaust blockages though.

Wow, that is the strangest thing I ever saw. Like it has some Artificial Inteligence.
That is a nice charger as chargers go.

 

[WrenchSense]

I use the Spektrum S2100. Fans are on at power up then kick in when charging. Right out of the box one of mine rattles until you thump it a couple times which is pretty annoying.