Regulator cooling

[Zenarchy]

Folks, there is a better way! Use a newer style R/R with Mosfet control instead of SCRs. They hardly get warm at all.

In fact I'm going to do such a mod to my very own Africa Twin. I'm hoping for 20-30% more output as well, because they are much more efficient. Stay tuned.

Would be good to hear how you get on with that. I'm sure a lot of people here would be interested.

I bought a second hand electrex regulator to carry as a spare, but that seems to get quite hot too from the admittedly limited test I did on it (though it was a bargain so can't complain really).

[matt]

See:

Rectifier - which one for best reliability?

[Jim Davis]

Here's the one you want for Africa Twin, the FH008



This baby will never get hot, and should output more power.

[dazzerrtw]

I have done this mod....only take's a few minutes.

No damage required to the side pannel.

I used a bit of pipe from a fish pond pump .

When your riding this should allow some air to flow over the RR,Which does not get any air flow with it being tucked up behind the side pannel.

[Lumiya]

Here's the one you want for Africa Twin, the FH008



This baby will never get hot, and should output more power.

Actually the power should stay stable based on the amount of power inputted into the unit, the heat will also still be produced at the same rate you're just removing it more efficiently and stopping a thermal event destroying the unit

[Jim Davis]

No, that's not the case. There is not the same amount of heat removed because the unit is much more efficient. It barely gets warm, ever.

A more efficient unit will output more power because it's outputting less heat.

In any case I bought one from Ebay, after I receive it I'll see how easy it is to connect and how well it works and report back. I'll compare Voltage before and after.

[Lumiya]

Why compare voltage?? The cap will be roughly 14.4v if it's higher than that it's not more efficient it's broken

Can I suggest you map input AC current to output DC current instead

As for SCR being less efficient YES and NO, SCR's on low DC voltage can be hard to turn off so they tend to use a MOSFET in conjunction with an SCR to turn the thing off, MOSFET's on thier own are way too susceptable to EMI and all spark based engines have a beautiful EMI generator in the form of the ignition... MOSFETS still turn the voltage on/off but they don't sink the current through a resistor like SCR's do.. So all in all they're not really more efficient but instead just run cooler at lower output

It'll be interesting to see your results..and whether they have cured the EMI problems that dogged the earier units

PS..don't forget to measure the DC current you'll need probably at least a 20amp meter

[edit]

Just out of interest did anyone know that a rectifier actually runs cooler the more drain you put on the electrical system...

[Wangit]

I made and fitted this to my reg,
it is made out of 6.5 mm aluminum. After a long ride it really is still quite cool. The fixings are already on the frame, nothing to cut or fix. I did have to make a small set in the lower left of the heat sink.
Bob

Cooling the rectifier pictures by Wangit_bucket - Photobucket

[Wangit]

I thought after showing you my heat sink, I would also show you my Lidl monitor. Complete cost £1.99 and works a treat.
Bob

Regulator Rec tweeking pictures by Wangit_bucket - Photobucket

[Zenarchy]

I thought after showing you my heat sink, I would also show you my Lidl monitor. Complete cost £1.99 and works a treat.
Bob

Regulator Rec tweeking pictures by Wangit_bucket - Photobucket

I got one of those too, and seems to work a treat and the lights match up to my volt readings on the multimeter too, though I'm still a bit wary of it going up to 15.5 volts before the overload light comes on (not sure if the bike battery will deal with that as well as a car battery which I guess these are designed for).

For the price it's a bargain so can't complain really. I still haven't got around to fitting it permanently yet though