Kraton Castle 1717 Heatsink + Fans?

[Viking]

I recently installed a Castle Creations 1717 (1650KV) motor with a Mamba Monster X 8s ESC. My questions are:

1. Do you know of any heatsinks that fit this motor?
2. Do you know of any fans that would fit on your recommended heatsinks?

For context- I’m running a Tekno 20t pinion and the factory spur gear that comes on the Kraton 6s EXB.

I understand the heatsink and fans might be overkill since I’m not running a really large (relatively speaking) pinion.

Any direction would be much appreciated.

**UPDATED September 25th, 2020**

So the setup I ended up going with was an Arrma Kraton 8s motor heatsink (ARA390296), @suchtragedy was kind enough to lend me a helping hand by 3d printing me one of his designs, the Kraton 8s dual 30mm fan motor heatsink adapter plate, which can be found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4460604

I decided to pair it with two ProTek RC 30x30x10mm aluminum high speed high voltage cooling fans (PTK-2111). With those fans I did need to extend the cable length with two cable extenders from Ruddog. One 150mm receiver extension wire w/JR plug (RDGRP-0208) and one 200mm receiver extension wire w/JR plug (RDGRP-0209).

The only reason I went with those extensions is because I couldn't find any two wire 200mm extensions in black.

So far I've been very happy with the setup, I ran the car through a full 5000mah 100c pack at 7.4v and I had zero overheating issues. For the record, I run a Tekno 23t pinion gear and I have my Castle to shutoff at 180 degrees Fahrenheit. I can't thank @suchtragedy for not only coming up with a great design to run the dual fan setup, but also helping me with the printing component.

Lastly, I got 8 stainless steel screws from Ace Hardware to get everything snugged into place. Thanks again for everyones help!

 

[Rcproponent]

I’m pretty sure the k8s heatsink/fan combo fit with some minor trimming/tweaking..

I’ll bet you could get one of those blue hobbywing heatsink/fan combos to fit if you stretched it too..

 

[Viking]

I’m pretty sure the k8s heatsink/fan combo fit with some minor trimming/tweaking..

I’ll bet you could get one of those blue hobbywing heatsink/fan combos to fit if you stretched it too..

That's good to know. Have you seen K8s setup run with the Castle before or are you stay that because the motors are similar in size? I have seen the Hobbywing heatsink with fan combos, but the heatsink is not vented.

Based on a few videos I've watched, it looks like the best way to cool the motor is to have the fans blowing air directly onto the motor. I understand that the whole concept of a heatsink is to "pull" heat away from the motor, but from the videos I've seen, it looks like the best way to keep the motor cooler is to point fans directly at it.

I'm no expert and I lack the experience, so I can only rely on what I see others doing in their testing.

The other option I've seen work, but it doesn't look clean, is to use a "Yeah Racing" heat sink with aluminum fans, and just run much longer screws.

 

[Rcproponent]

That's good to know. Have you seen K8s setup run with the Castle before or are you stay that because the motors are similar in size? I have seen the Hobbywing heatsink with fan combos, but the heatsink is not vented.

Based on a few videos I've watched, it looks like the best way to cool the motor is to have the fans blowing air directly onto the motor. I understand that the whole concept of a heatsink is to "pull" heat away from the motor, but from the videos I've seen, it looks like the best way to keep the motor cooler is to point fans directly at it.

I'm no expert and I lack the experience, so I can only rely on what I see others doing in their testing.

The other option I've seen work, but it doesn't look clean, is to use a "Yeah Racing" heat sink with aluminum fans, and just run much longer screws.

You could always drill a hole through the heatsink if you want more direct flow to the motor. I feel like the heat drawn and cooled by the heatsink is sufficient. As for the yeah racing solution, I think the 1717 is too big in diameter and the longer screws even though they might mount up, They will Probably scratch the side of the can.. I wouldn’t be ok with that haha. I’ll try and find the thread with the k8s heatsink.

Link: https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/jondilly1974’s-kraton-exb-build-thread.25874/

 

[jondilly1974]

I recently installed a Castle Creations 1717 (1650KV) motor with a Mamba Monster X 8s ESC. My questions are:

1. Do you know of any heatsinks that fit this motor?
2. Do you know of any fans that would fit on your recommended heatsinks?

For context- I’m running a Tekno 20t pinion and the factory spur gear that comes on the Kraton 6s EXB.

I understand the heatsink and fans might be overkill since I’m not running a really large (relatively speaking) pinion.

Any direction would be much appreciated.

View attachment 96814

Kraton 8S heatsink and fan is what I’m using on the exact same setup. Still gets hot tho.

 

[Viking]

You could always drill a hole through the heatsink if you want more direct flow to the motor. I feel like the heat drawn and cooled by the heatsink is sufficient. As for the yeah racing solution, I think the 1717 is too big in diameter and the longer screws even though they might mount up, They will Probably scratch the side of the can.. I wouldn’t be ok with that haha. I’ll try and find the thread with the k8s heatsink.

Link: https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/jondilly1974’s-kraton-exb-build-thread.25874/

Good idea. Drilling out some holes or even cutting it with a dremel to allow for more air to pass.

That K8s heatsink looks like a clean setup. Thanks for sharing. That might be an option that I end up with.

Kraton 8S heatsink and fan is what I’m using on the exact same setup. Still gets hot tho.

Are you using the factory fan or an HV/aftermarket fan? What pinion do you run?

 

[Lyphted]

I fought with this I have a K8 Heatsink and fan that I put on mine, but I still had overheating with an 18t pinion. 17t seemed to be the pinion that works best with that set up in my climate setting.
The problem I ran into was that I had to remove the roll cage/body support, which I didn’t want to do. Also I had to position heatsinks just right or they rub on the rear dog bone.
So I ended up finding a very small heatsink with 2 fans attached to it which I flipped over to blow at the motor opposed to away from it. The heatsink is really just a way for me to hold the fans on there. I had to bend it quite a bit to get it to fit.
Is it helping??? A little bit. I like to think it’s at least moving the heat around so it can cool down faster.
I went through countless fans trying to find ones that fit. The fins on the motor make it awkward to fit heatsinks.
Really, you just have to get creative. The most common thing I’ve seen is a few people just made a mount to hold a fan that blows at the motor.
I’ll post some pics of what I’ve done if it helps. Maybe I’ll make a post with all the stuff I tried others can add to.

 

[Rcproponent]

Yea, that k8s fan is next to worthless... I’d go this route...

Get a 3D printed piece. This one: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4460604

And that will allow you to mount 2 30mm turbo fans on there.

 

[Viking]

I fought with this I have a K8 Heatsink and fan that I put on mine, but I still had overheating with an 18t pinion. 17t seemed to be the pinion that works best with that set up in my climate setting.
The problem I ran into was that I had to remove the roll cage/body support, which I didn’t want to do. Also I had to position heatsinks just right or they rub on the rear dog bone.
So I ended up finding a very small heatsink with 2 fans attached to it which I flipped over to blow at the motor opposed to away from it. The heatsink is really just a way for me to hold the fans on there. I had to bend it quite a bit to get it to fit.
Is it helping??? A little bit. I like to think it’s at least moving the heat around so it can cool down faster.
I went through countless fans trying to find ones that fit. The fins on the motor make it awkward to fit heatsinks.
Really, you just have to get creative. The most common thing I’ve seen is a few people just made a mount to hold a fan that blows at the motor.
I’ll post some pics of what I’ve done if it helps. Maybe I’ll make a post with all the stuff I tried others can add to.

There is a lot of helpful info here; thank you. If you wouldn't mind posting a few pictures of the setup, it would be appreciated.

Yea, that k8s fan is next to worthless... I’d go this route...

Get a 3D printed piece. This one: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4460604

And that will allow you to mount 2 30mm turbo fans on there.

Just curious? How do 3D printed parts hold up to heat? I heard that there can be issues with the parts after being exposed to heat. That could be completely false, though. I don't know what I don't know.

Could't you just replace the K8s fan with a much stronger HV 40mm fan?

 

[bicketybam]

Here my solution.

 

[Viking]

Here my solution.

That looks legit. What parts did you use?

 

[suchtragedy]

Just curious? How do 3D printed parts hold up to heat? I heard that there can be issues with the parts after being exposed to heat. That could be completely false, though. I don't know what I don't know.

Could't you just replace the K8s fan with a much stronger HV 40mm fan?

Depends on the material used in the printed parts. Nylon, Polycarbonate, and PETG starting melting point around 240°C. Standard PLA plastic starting melting point is around 180°C. That dual 30mm printed mount is on my infraction and it's just printed in PLA and it's not had any issues and that motor has been pretty hot several times.

And for the K8S heatsink it natively runs a 50mm fan so a single 40mm won't align with the pretapped holes. I have seen people running dual 40mm fans on it but they drilled and tapped their own screw mounts to attach them.

 

[jondilly1974]

I 3D printed a fan mount for a 40mm fan. It didn’t cool as well as the K8S heatsink with a 50mm fan. Now my design might not have had enough venting. I could redesign it to allow more airflow. It covers about 1/2 the can. I used 14mm zip ties to secure it. You can rotate it whichever way you want. It allowed for the motor wires to be positioned any way you prefer and still not hit the center driveshaft.

 

[Lukas412]

Yea, that k8s fan is next to worthless... I’d go this route...

Get a 3D printed piece. This one: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4460604

And that will allow you to mount 2 30mm turbo fans on there.

I did this on my HW 1650 and I'm running a 22t pinion with no issues now.

 

[Rcproponent]

Here my solution.

I tried to get one of those mounts ... he didn’t have anymore available!

 

[BashingBrian]

Here my solution.

Snap..?

 

[Viking]

Depends on the material used in the printed parts. Nylon, Polycarbonate, and PETG starting melting point around 240°C. Standard PLA plastic starting melting point is around 180°C. That dual 30mm printed mount is on my infraction and it's just printed in PLA and it's not had any issues and that motor has been pretty hot several times.

And for the K8S heatsink it natively runs a 50mm fan so a single 40mm won't align with the pretapped holes. I have seen people running dual 40mm fans on it but they drilled and tapped their own screw mounts to attach them.

Great information. I just learned a lot more than what I knew about 3D printing. I’ll have to find someone with one who can print one out for me if this is the route I decided on.

 

[jondilly1974]

Depends on the material used in the printed parts. Nylon, Polycarbonate, and PETG starting melting point around 240°C. Standard PLA plastic starting melting point is around 180°C. That dual 30mm printed mount is on my infraction and it's just printed in PLA and it's not had any issues and that motor has been pretty hot several times.

And for the K8S heatsink it natively runs a 50mm fan so a single 40mm won't align with the pretapped holes. I have seen people running dual 40mm fans on it but they drilled and tapped their own screw mounts to attach them.

I missed this post somehow. Yeah I use PETG for my heatsink mounts too. ??

 

[Viking]

I 3D printed a fan mount for a 40mm fan. It didn’t cool as well as the K8S heatsink with a 50mm fan. Now my design might not have had enough venting. I could redesign it to allow more airflow. It covers about 1/2 the can. I used 14mm zip ties to secure it. You can rotate it whichever way you want. It allowed for the motor wires to be positioned any way you prefer and still not hit the center driveshaft.

View attachment 96861

Man you guys are legendary with your 3D printing skills. This looks like a hobby in itself. lol

 

[bicketybam]

That looks legit. What parts did you use?

Super special secret fan mount (forum member made it for me) and 2 Hobbystar fans.