Controller inside bag - the solution?

[cwah]

Hello there,

I'm looking for stealthyness for my bike, and I know that many of us will recommend to put the controller outside the bag for cooling it, but it's really not stealthy. Can't see it being in any way stealthy even if I put it under the bag. And it's not waterproof either.

I found a cooling pad on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/NEWLink-Laptop- ... 77&sr=8-14

Apparently, it's made of crystal that will absorb the heat of a laptop up to 5 hours (long enough for our ride), and allow the laptop to cool without Fan.

Reviews on Amazon are quite good, anyone here tried it? Maybe worth it to hide the controller?

[motomech]

Can you get your controller inside a mesh pocket on a bag?
It's what I do on my builds and they are hardly noticeable.

SAM_0580.JPG (92.48 KiB) Viewed 379 times

On that one, instead of painting it black, it wrapped in speaker grill cloth.

[cwah]

Mesh pocket is good. I already have a pocket I can put the controller inside. I just have to change it to a mesh one.

But is it enough to cool the controller? And it's not waterproof I suppose?

[cwah]

Another interesting idea is to have a thermoelectric cooler:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TEC1-12706-Pe ... 3302wt_801

It can even be used in combination of the mesh bag, so you can use much much more power out of your pack

[Drunkskunk]

Thermal diodes like that are great. We used them in some specalized camera housings we built for the state.

The problem is that one side of the diode gets cold, the other side gets very hot. you need a big heatsink and lots of airflow to keep them cool. they also aren't the most efficent things in the world.

A better option is to redesign your bag with things like a mesh bottom, or mesh sides to let air flow through. My first bike had a small bag tailored to cover the controller, vut left the heatsink side exposed to the wind on the bottom side, and was vented so air could be channeled in and flow over the controller.

[DAND214]

So if the controller isn't "WATERROOF" MAKE IT WATERPROOF.
Even the so called waterproof really aren't. Water resistant is more like the correct term.

So just seal it up and put it under your rack. While your at it you better waterproof the motor and battery if you are really going underwater or ride in the downpours.

Dan

[cwah]

I was thinking that it was only generating cold

Ok, if it's only on one side, it doesn't have much value on the ebike. Except that it can also generate electricity from the heat! But not much I suppose.

Going to try to ventilate with mesh cover, should be much better

[shock]

Really putting the controller in a bag is not a good solution. They run hot, and hot=inefficient. Ive tried various bags and nothing works even close to having the controller mounted where airflow goes over the fins proper. Its not really that hard to conceal if you're creative =^)

[John in CR]

Size, some paint, and location can make a controller unnoticeable. If you're running UK legal power, then a good 6fet can deliver sufficient power and those are tiny. Your wires would be harder to hide.

You could also get creative with some kind of cover or shield that can hide the controller and the wiring near the controller that serves other useful purposes like channeling air flow over the controller as well as shielding it from the elements. eg a controller mounted in the triangle right at the headset could have a cover that makes it look like part of the bike and also scoops air in. In front of the head tube it could be made to look like a headlight. Hanging under the top tube it could go into a cylinder with open ends but still look like a water bottle. Along the seatpost and painted the same color as the bike can make it all but disappear.

Regarding waterproofing, it's more about making sure any water trying to follow the wiring has an uphill climb to get into the controller and making sure your all connectors are sealed.

John

[cwah]

I'm not really at legal speed, so my controller are all 12 FETs

It's quite a big controller and difficult to hide. For now I kept it on the bag and try not to drag too much current. I'm still thinking about what you guys saying and put the controller outside the bag. I may put it under the bag but I'm not sure yet.

Here's my bike:


You can see the controller and all the wires coming out of the rear bag of the bike


I tried initially to put the controller on the frame, as it has the same colour as my brompton, but it was way too noticeable. Everybody was asking about my electric bike

[neptronix]

This won't work on your bike, but if you can get a triangle frame bike..



I ran my MAC Trek like this for a very long time. In the winter, i'd keep the bag closed.. in the summer, i'd crack the front open and let the air flow over the controller. This has worked very well for me.