12v voltage regulator inside canister

[Leto]

Hi guys,

I want/prefer a stable 12V for powering a heated vest & gloves (about 100W ). I've got a Halcyon Pro 14 canister with plenty room for a batterypack, bms and a dc dc converter.

I'm thinking about using a synchronous switching step-down voltage regulator like the Pololu 12V, 15A Step-Down Voltage Regulator D24V150F12 (~50$)

Pololu 12V, 15A Step-Down Voltage Regulator D24V150F12

Using a 5S or 6S batterypack should give quite good efficiency aound 93% at ~8-9A (according the spec sheet).

Has anyone experience in using a switched converter in a (large) canister. I'm worried about the heat generated by the regulator inside a closed canister. I'm not sure how good Delrin is conducting heat away to the (cold) water outside the canister.

 

[tbone1004]

if you're going to that effort you may as well just buy the Pitkin controller from Light Monkey and get different output level control

 

[Leto]

Already got an old pitkin controller laying around but once voltage < 12V there's no way to compensate for that (aside from using a 4S pack and dropping the voltage with a Pitkin controller, but that's a different option/discussion ).
I'm basically trying to build a poor man's version of the UWLD heating controller which is I believe is the best solution. I would love to buy a standalone version of the UWLD controller but I also enjoy the fun of building it myself.

 

[tbone1004]

Already got an old pitkin controller laying around but once voltage < 12V there's no way to compensate for that (aside from using a 4S pack and dropping the voltage with a Pitkin controller, but that's a different option/discussion ).
I'm basically trying to build a poor man's version of the UWLD heating controller which is I believe is the best solution. I would love to buy a standalone version of the UWLD controller but I also enjoy the fun of building it myself.

You can buy a standalone UWLD controller... Pretty sure @Bobby would sell one with E/O on both sides if you asked nicely, and it wants a 5s pack so there's that.

Otherwise I wouldn't use a constant output like that one if you can help it. Programming a PWM controller with an arduino shouldn't be terribly complicated and that's where I would go first.

 

[Leto]

I like the arduino option, I'm going to look into that.

However, I still hope someone has some info on dealing with heat generated by the inefficiencies of the regulator in a closed environment.

 

[tbone1004]

delrin is an insulator, nothing much you can do about it unfortunately. The pitkin controllers don't seem to have an issue with it though.

 

[kelemvor]

Hi guys,

I want/prefer a stable 12V for powering a heated vest & gloves (about 100W ). I've got a Halcyon Pro 14 canister with plenty room for a batterypack, bms and a dc dc converter.

I'm thinking about using a synchronous switching step-down voltage regulator like the Pololu 12V, 15A Step-Down Voltage Regulator D24V150F12 (~50$)

View attachment 642583

Pololu 12V, 15A Step-Down Voltage Regulator D24V150F12

Using a 5S or 6S batterypack should give quite good efficiency aound 93% at ~8-9A (according the spec sheet).

View attachment 642584

Has anyone experience in using a switched converter in a (large) canister. I'm worried about the heat generated by the regulator inside a closed canister. I'm not sure how good Delrin is conducting heat away to the (cold) water outside the canister.

I have experience using a boost regulator inside a can light. I put it in the battery cannister along with a 3s lipo pack. Works a treat. I wish I had a better way to dump waste heat from inside the plastic can, alas there is none. I suppose I could desoder the trannies and run wires up into the head where they could contact the heatsink that is there. However that may be counterproductive since the LED chip is producing a ton of heat its-self and these aren't being significantly stressed.

I've only tested it to 1hr runtime thus far. Battery capacity limited.

In my case, the vrm is only running a 50w LED chip; however it's rated for 150w. I have made some minor modifications to the VRM such as removing the screw block in favor of soldering directly to the board and replacing the capacitors for high quality Japanese caps.

$10 https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C0251CS

 

[Leto]

Thanks for sharing that @kelemvor I like that I can adjust the output voltage on the Drok converter but it seems to be a lower efficiency Linear (vs Switching) regulator. I need 8-9 A continuously for the vest and gloves so efficiency/heat output really matters.

 

[Open Ocean Diver]

Hi guys,

I want/prefer a stable 12V for powering a heated vest & gloves (about 100W ). I've got a Halcyon Pro 14 canister with plenty room for a batterypack, bms and a dc dc converter.

I'm thinking about using a synchronous switching step-down voltage regulator like the Pololu 12V, 15A Step-Down Voltage Regulator D24V150F12 (~50$)

View attachment 642583

Pololu 12V, 15A Step-Down Voltage Regulator D24V150F12

Using a 5S or 6S batterypack should give quite good efficiency aound 93% at ~8-9A (according the spec sheet).

View attachment 642584

Has anyone experience in using a switched converter in a (large) canister. I'm worried about the heat generated by the regulator inside a closed canister. I'm not sure how good Delrin is conducting heat away to the (cold) water outside the canister.

On the backside of that MOSFET is there a silver pad exposed? Where on the top side it soldered?

 

[Leto]

I'm not sure if I understand your question but this is the backside:

More pictures in the url above.