TCS - Thermal Cooling System for brushed motors in RC (...)
TCS - Thermal Cooling System for brushed motors in RC 1-10th scale electric cars
1. Presentation
a. The packaging
The TCS is delivered in a small, white carboard box with "TCS" stickers on top and stickers on the side which describe the "Thermal Cooling System" and it’s specs.The packaging is very neat and seems too small. A picture would have been nice.
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b. The bundle
When opening the box, the three key elements of the TCS appear :
the pump (made of blue anodised aluminium)
the radiator (made of aluminium, with three heatpipes crossed by cooling finds and blue anodised mounts on two sides)
the motor plate (made of blue anodised aluminium)
All of it carefully placed in a foam block.
After taking out the foam one discovers the rest of the bundle :
the coloured manual (in english) with installation recommendations and coloured pictures and diagrams.
two bottles of liquide (non-conducting)
one black silicone tube for cutting and connecting the elements of the TSC (it is long enough to outfit two cars with the TCS, and the tube is strong and flexible enough to withstand the RC car environment to which it will be subjected)
two bottle extensions/pipettes out of silicone to fill and empty the cooling circuit.
one T tube out of clear silicone to fill and empty the circuit and check the liquid level.
5 sticker sets TCS - "Thermal Cooling System", two of which were folded because they were too long to fit into the package
some double-sided scotch tape to mount the pump (and possibly the radiator).
some tie wraps/zip ties (to possibly mount the radiator).
two long screws to mount the motor and the motor plate (which is wedged in between) to the motor mount.
The TCS bundle is complete. Nothing is missing for it’s installation. One could only ask for some more examples of mounting the system.
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c. The key elements of the TCS
Let us take a look at the three key elements of the TCS.1. The pump
The small electric pump is connected to the receiver and according to the provided specifications it consumes less power than a classic "ventirad".The body of the pump is made of blue anodised aluminium and covered with a TCS sticker.
It’s head features three specific entries and exits, their function being :
filling the circuit with liquid
entry of the cooled liquid from the radiator
exit of the liquid under pressure towards the motor plate
And finally, a blue LED on the foot of the pump which lights up when the pump is active.
Advice
replace the pump’s connector with a standard connector
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2. The radiator
The radiator is made entirely out of aluminium. The central part consists of cooling ribs which cool the heatpipes that run through the radiator and in which the liquid is cooled.The radiator mounts are blue anodised and feature an entry and exit on either side which can be used in either direction.
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3. The motor plate
The motor plate is also made entirely of aluminium. Its exterior is anodised blue.It features an entry and exit for the liquid which are colour-coded (blue and red) to avoid any inversion.
The plate is very fine and flat, and with the perfect shape of the motor except at the level of the entry and exit tubes of course. It has many holes to fit all kinds of motor mounts perfectly.
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d. Specifications
Our measurments of weight and power consumation of the "Thermal Cooling System" : pump weight : 11 grams
radiator weight : 14 grams
motor plate weight : 12 grams
system assembled and filled : 47 grams
power consumation of the pump : about 50mA
e. The choice of aluminium under question
As we already stated, the radiator and motor plate are made entirely out of aluminium.Aluminium certainly has good thermic qualities, but water cooling afficionados are surprised by the choice because copper is an even better heat dissipator than aluminium.
For me, the choice for making the parts for the TCS out of aluminium is explained by these reasons :
1. The weight difference between copper and aluminium (aluminium is lighter)
2. The higher cost of copper as opposed to alumium
3. The machining of copper is more expensive than aluminium
TCS has chosen to use aluminium for its lower weight and price instead of copper for its optimal cooling capacities. If this choice is justified will be determined by our tests.
