How to make your own balance fan plug

[Crewchief227]

So, like many of you, I have been on a fan quest. Gone thru all the usual players for fans hr, hw, wtf....so on.

Well some of you may have seen my fan post about getting thicker, more powerful, NTF like fans, without the NTF price. Don't get my wrong if you got $100 to spend on fans go for it! ?

If you don't keep reading.

The problem I was facing was I got the perfect fan for $1, however was not getting the optimum performance due to it running on the 8vdc my cc bec wp 2.0 is set at. Now I could run my servo back on the internal bec & bump the cc bec to 12vdc, but that kinda defeats the reason for having a bec in the first place. And using a $50 bec to power just a single motor fan is just a waste.

What I needed was a connection directly to my balance port like Nick makes. What I didn't want to do was either tear apart a balance board for the male pins, or order $10 worth of Amazon connectors to make a single connector. What I needed was either a 4 slot servo connector or this

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BOXMDW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_.Q0hFb7Y54GMR
I happened to have an old one of these 4 pin deans connectors from way back when. Turns out the two outside pins just happen to line up with pin 1 & 4 on my balance plug. ? A little soldering, nip & file off the middle pins. Heat shrink, maybe later add some cable braiding like Nick, and now I can plug into any 3 cells of my 6S brick. So long as positive faces towards the #7 red lead, I just plug her in, and bam! A clean 12vdc source w/ not a lot of excess wiring. ?

 

[crimsonfancy]

So, like many of you, I have been on a fan quest. Gone thru all the usual players for fans hr, hw, wtf....so on.

Well some of you may have seen my fan post about getting thicker, more powerful, NTF like fans, without the NTF price. Don't get my wrong if you got $100 to spend on fans go for it! ?

If you don't keep reading.

The problem I was facing was I got the perfect fan for $1, however was not getting the optimum performance due to it running on the 8vdc my cc bec wp 2.0 is set at. Now I could run my servo back on the internal bec & bump the cc bec to 12vdc, but that kinda defeats the reason for having a bec in the first place. And using a $50 bec to power just a single motor fan is just a waste.
View attachment 91621

What I needed was a connection directly to my balance port like Nick makes. What I didn't want to do was either tear apart a balance board for the male pins, or order $10 worth of Amazon connectors to make a single connector. What I needed was either a 4 slot servo connector or this
View attachment 91622
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BOXMDW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_.Q0hFb7Y54GMR
I happened to have an old one of these 4 pin deans connectors from way back when. Turns out the two outside pins just happen to line up with pin 1 & 4 on my balance plug. ? A little soldering, nip & file off the middle pins. Heat shrink, maybe later add some cable braiding like Nick, and now I can plug into any 3 cells of my 6S brick. So long as positive faces towards the #7 red lead, I just plug her in, and bam! A clean 12vdc source w/ not a lot of excess wiring. ?
View attachment 91623

I've heard a lot of good stuff about those NTF fans but I just can't spend that kind of money. This is a good trick and glad you posted. ?

 

[jkflow]

Yes, that's the way to do it.
BEC's are 3ea. for $14 on Amazon. I like to run Lipo alarms as well i.e. I'd make a Y-splitter but that is just me.

Similar discussion towards the end.
https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/increase-esc-cooling-airflow.25410/

 

[Bryank930]

Wouldn't wiring it this way only give 3.7V to the fan, not 12?

 

[jkflow]

If you wire to the balance plug you can tap into each cell i.e. in 1S increments, tap into the 3rd and you have 3S = 12V (give or take).

 

[Crewchief227]

If you wire to the balance plug you can tap into each cell i.e. in 1S increments, tap into the 3rd and you have 3S = 12V (give or take).

Actually the 4th pin would give you 3s, remember cell # plus 1 ?

 

[jkflow]

I could weasel my way out and say the 3rd positive one
You are correct.
I always use a DMM to validate and never trust my counting scheme.

 

[Crewchief227]

Update:

I found on AMain 7 pin balance extenders for making your own charging wire for 6S packs here discounted to $0.99!???

Yes please! I took what I think they had left. ?
https://www.amainhobbies.com/protek...-connector-w-20cm-24awg-wire-ptk-5264/p152968

I will be making some 6S pack/ 3S or 2S voltage JST-XH to male futaba fan adapters wrapped in this lovely black & red sleeving and heatshrink as seen here in my wiring.?

The 4 pin Deans plug was a good temporary solution, but the pins are just a hair bigger than the 2.54mm JST standard?‍

So I paid for it by having to pull every lead out 1 at a time on my YoWoo 6S Graphine 5,000mah 100C pack. Those who also own these blue ? beauties know that these lipos are definitely worth the $$ for such a perfect pack. I have another 4S YoWoo graphene coming that matches the other 4000mah one I have. So 8S Baby!? Actually I've been running her on my 4000 & 6000mah YoWoo 4S packs I have, and she is so smooth & fast! ? Also less strain on the Max6 for Amperage pulling. So I figure my 4000mah 8S setup will last about the same amount of time, and only weigh 150g more. ?

 

[L3phturn]

That wire wrapping looks great.

What do I need for a soldering iron to handle that heavy gauge wire? Or should I get a torch? The iron and the gun I have just can’t do it on 10 gauge.

 

[jkflow]

Don't use a torch. Get a 80W iron (60W or higher). Open flame will melt plastic near ESC's etc.
$20 from Amazon, Weller or similar. Do not get soldering guns, even if they are rated at a higher wattage, they can't deliver the heat and struggle on thicker wire.
https://www.amazon.com/Weller-SP80N...7&sr=1-1-791c2399-d602-4248-afbb-8a79de2d236f

 

[L3phturn]

Thanks for the great info! I’ll get a proper setup put together this week. ?

Update. Ordered exactly that one and it arrives tomorrow. The LED lights are a great help. It also has a picture of a guy using it to solder motor wires on a 1/10 buggy in the Amazon listing in Canada.

 

[Crewchief227]

In use a 75w Hakko clone to solder with. Mostly I can do everything with a 3mm chisel tip. If you bought a Hakko clone iron, don't buy the cheap tips. Get yourself some genuine Hakko tips, they do really transfer the heat better, stay tinned longer, and have a closer fit around the heating element. Then some decent 60/40 solder, make sure it's 60% Sn (silver) & 40% Pb (lead), not the other way around. Cheap solder will leave you with dull joints that look like a cold soldering joint due to impurities left in the lead. Then practice, practice, practice on scraps of wire whenever you can. It's not a difficult skill to learn, it just takes time doing it.