Fans: The basics

[ColosTommy]

I know there's loads of threads on here debating all the different kinds of fans, different size, different material, different rpm, different voltage etc, but i need to know the real basics, dumb it down for me.

So none of my RC cars have ever came equipped with a fan, other than the OEM one built into the ESC. Mine were all older 6s versions of arrma cars before fans came as standard.

I would like to fit fans to the motor to prolong its life. It's a BLX185 ESC and motor running 6s, and i don't want to have to run them off of a seperate battery.

1. - Will a single fan be sufficient on the motor?
2. - Where do you plug the fan into?
3. - How many fans/amps drawn before a separate battery is required?

Thanks for any help, i've no experience with aftermarket fans.

 

[Dan B.]

Most people prefer to run 2 fans on a 6s motor. Some come setup to plug right into the receiver without the need for an extra battery, like these 8.4v fans:
https://www.radiocontrolpower.com/p...-bracket-with-40x28-fans-aluminum-mesh-covers
Others can be more powerful and pretty much require a separate battery, such as these 12v fans, which plug into the balance port on a small 3s LiPo:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BF9QYDMB?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
I see you have a Kraton and an Outcast, and many people bash these rigs hard with some big air at times. If that’s the case, your fans will not last as long due to hard impacts and landings.
The first fans I listed included the mount. The second set did not. I use these, and they’re available for several different motor sizes:
https://www.powerhobby.com/phmount03.html
There are a lot of opinions about the options (plug-and-play into the receiver vs. dedicated battery, heat sink style mount instead of clamp style mount, size of fans, etc.) so feel free to peruse the many threads on this topic and ask whatever questions you have.

 

[GraniteFox]

Adding fans to the motor is the easiest way to keep temps down. Your motor is a 4074 size meaning 40mm wide and 75mm long. There are many options as far as heatsink fan mounts. Simplist would be the Arrma 6s heatsink fan mount that comes standard on the Fireteam.....but there are many options. The easiest way to power the fan is to run a servo wire extension from the receiver. Use any channel our aux that is not being used. The 185 ecs will push 6v to the receiver to power accessories. Most fans can run 6v up to 8.4v to accomodate the majority of ecs types. One fan should suffice but as with all things more is better. No need for a separate battery unless you are going to a monster fan high end setup. Run the standard fans that come with the product until failure then replace with an aluminum case fan like the Rocket or Protek type. The aluminum case variety push more air and can take more abuse than the standard plastic fans.

 

[morrjr71]

One thing to note: if your motor can has fins, don’t use a heat sink. You want a clamp-on mount with either one or two fans. Heat sinks don’t work well on fins: there isn’t enough of the heat sink touching the motor can to draw the heat away.

 

[DLK83]

Another thing to remember is, you need to keep the actual fan blades spaced back from motor/esc, approx 3/4-1" so the fan can do its job. On all of these little rc and server fans we use, there is a "dead" area right underneath the fan that has little to no air flow due to the design of the blades... this is why you see alot of the high flow fans having a 1" or longer case with the fan at the top of it so there is maximum air flow at the bottom of the case. Here's a few pics of one of my 4s cars to give you an idea of what I mean about spacing them back

 

[ColosTommy]

Most people prefer to run 2 fans on a 6s motor. Some come setup to plug right into the receiver without the need for an extra battery, like these 8.4v fans:
https://www.radiocontrolpower.com/p...-bracket-with-40x28-fans-aluminum-mesh-covers

Going off of this link, and what others have said, its fine to run 2 fans off of the receiver port.

That's good.

Now what about 4 fans, off of one receiver port? Is that still ok and viable?

 

[parcou]

I know there's loads of threads on here debating all the different kinds of fans, different size, different material, different rpm, different voltage etc, but i need to know the real basics, dumb it down for me.

So none of my RC cars have ever came equipped with a fan, other than the OEM one built into the ESC. Mine were all older 6s versions of arrma cars before fans came as standard.

I would like to fit fans to the motor to prolong its life. It's a BLX185 ESC and motor running 6s, and i don't want to have to run them off of a seperate battery.

1. - Will a single fan be sufficient on the motor?
2. - Where do you plug the fan into?
3. - How many fans/amps drawn before a separate battery is required?

Thanks for any help, i've no experience with aftermarket fans.

Over the past year, I have gone from the Game Changer (GC) 3S powered fan to RCP fan here:
https://www.radiocontrolpower.com/p...l-40mm-high-speed-rc-fan-8-volt-plug-and-play

Setups where I had 2x 40mm tall fans (GC) on a 3S lipo I have gone to one RCP fan powered off my ESC and I do have a digital temp reader I can see while bashing have they have been good. I do use a better ESC in these setups either Max6 or a Max8 G2 over the Firma so I feel better have a better powerhouse ESC. I am using ProModeler servos so I "hope" they are better on power usage as well.

Here are two messages from RCP when I asked about running two of those fans on a motor with ESC fan using theirs linked above from my ESC:

#1

Receivers and esc's don't use any amps. The servos barely uses any. 5 amps is alot of room for a servo and fan.

#2

5 amps is actually alot. We run 3 of our fans on our 5 amp bec's lol. Its not a problem.

Use their msg how you want...that was from RCP. I have been happy with those fans running from my ESC or receiver port with no issues. Only rig I have with dual motor fans & 1x ESC fan on a lipo is the Infraction...might not change is since I have all these left over GC fans for it.

Kraton EXB RCP fans

Fireteam RCP fans

Talion EXB RCP fans

Originally on the:

Kraton see the new pic setup above

 

[DLK83]

That is some serious misinformation from your boys at RCP... "servos barely use any"??? Stall current on the Promodeler DS630 (which is a super common servo) at 7.4v, is 4.1amps. Two of those RCP fans pull 3.1, that's 7.2amps... increase your bec voltage to 8.4v, and the stall current on that same servo jumps to 4.95amps, now you're over 8amps which exceeds a Max6 and MMX8S bec... it obviously will work, but to tell people "it's not a problem" is definitely misinfo... I'd be willing to bet a whole lot of money that if you lost an esc, those guys wouldn't be paying for the replacement
Nice rigs and fan setups btw! Im definitely not trying to be an a$$ towards you, I just get a little fired up when bad information is given out that could potentially cause someone big problems

 

[parcou]

That is some serious misinformation from your boys at RCP... "servos barely use any"??? Stall current on the Promodeler DS630 (which is a super common servo) at 7.4v, is 4.1amps. Two of those RCP fans pull 3.1, that's 7.2amps... increase your bec voltage to 8.4v, and the stall current on that same servo jumps to 4.95amps, now you're over 8amps which exceeds a Max6 and MMX8S bec... it obviously will work, but to tell people "it's not a problem" is definitely misinfo... I'd be willing to bet a whole lot of money that if you lost an esc, those guys wouldn't be paying for the replacement
Nice rigs and fan setups btw! Im definitely not trying to be an a$$ towards you, I just get a little fired up when bad information is given out that could potentially cause someone big problems

I like good feedback so it was a good reply. Before I buy anything, I like to ask questions why I reached out to them. The whole AMP/voltage is confusing to me in this area.

I will keep an eye on the setup and hope nothing will happen.

Great follow-up, thx