Author Topic: Source for large heat sinks?  (Read 1862 times)

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makenzie71

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Source for large heat sinks?
« on: February 20, 2022, 10:16:00 AM »
I'm using a stack of solid state relays and they generate a lot of heat.  I've been using them with CPU heat sinks and they more or less work but sometimes it's still not enough (CPU heat sinks generally have a 1"x1"~ish contact area).  So I've got them mounted to an aluminum "C" channel from an old Knight dental track light.  The framing for this fixture is .25" thick all over and it's an easy way to mount a fan.  The channel itself might be an adequate heat sink but I'm trying to go a little overkill with it and am mounting sinks inside the channel as well.  I only have these CPU heat sinks, though, and only the side draft ones are going to be very effective...I'd like some big beefy ones to mount inside.  Looking on eBay and amazon and such I'm seeing some large sinks that are about a foot long but are also around $100 a pop.

I'm just curious if any of you fellows happens to know of any less orthodox sources of heat sinks that might be suitable for this project?  I'm going to be doing a fer similar thing with my bridge rectifiers so the sinks I'm seeing on eBay that look right are going to turn into about $1000usd worth of heat sinks lol.




taylorp035

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Re: Source for large heat sinks?
« Reply #1 on: February 21, 2022, 08:54:46 PM »
If you blocked off the end with the fan, I would think it would help send air through the "C" channel and past the heat sinks.  This would likely help it cool better.

makenzie71

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Re: Source for large heat sinks?
« Reply #2 on: February 21, 2022, 09:44:35 PM »
The end by the fan will be blocked off, it'll pull air from the other side, I'm just wanting to find some better way to get some fins in there to pull heat away from the SSR's.

noneyabussiness

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Re: Source for large heat sinks?
« Reply #3 on: February 21, 2022, 11:10:14 PM »
hunt around for a old Grid tie inverter, usually have large heatsinks on them... and generally 2nd hand are cheap.. as a bonus,  usually have a plethora of quality components in them..

machinemaker

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Re: Source for large heat sinks?
« Reply #4 on: February 22, 2022, 10:31:11 AM »
Maybe look out for someone with bad VFD's or old DC power supplies. some big maintenance departments in local manufacturers could be junking out old equipment. Do you have a tablesaw? If so buy a sheet of heavy Aluminum plate and using a fairly fine tooth carbide blade rip slots in the plate to create fins.
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MattM

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Re: Source for large heat sinks?
« Reply #5 on: February 22, 2022, 01:48:11 PM »
Copper conducts heat faster than aluminum, so you can use copper bar stock to mount multiple fans to each heat source.  Aluminum transfers heat to air slightly faster than copper, so you still want copper at thermal source and aluminum heatsinks at the point of airflow.  You can use thin enamel layer or another non-conductive paint to prevent ionic transition between the two metals.  JB Weld works, too, but neither it nor paint will permanently secure them, so don't use them as glue.  I used JB Weld on a Pentium 1 cpu and about 18 months later it separated like a rocket, bouncing off the ceiling, since the case ran without the lid on it.  Funny enough it thermal throttled and continued on for more years with a better glob of JB Weld.

I also suggest never to mix airflow, else one hotspot feeds another.  Thermal transfer through metals is much too slow to run inline like that.  Give your heatsink intake through the c-channel via holes and not from an end like that.  Spread those relays out and give them their own exhausts.

SparWeb

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Re: Source for large heat sinks?
« Reply #6 on: February 23, 2022, 12:24:36 AM »
Salvage from old audio amplifiers, etc.
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PaulJ

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Re: Source for large heat sinks?
« Reply #7 on: February 23, 2022, 01:32:12 AM »
Cylinder heads from old aircooled motorbikes / lawnmowers work a treat.

OperaHouse

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Re: Source for large heat sinks?
« Reply #8 on: February 23, 2022, 09:07:01 AM »
Yesterday, I was driving home when I saw big aluminum heatsink at the side of the road.  It was a 3200W (that is there claim) mono class D 12V amp for a car.  I turned around.  It was on the pavement without a scratch, just a little scratching on one the mounts.  It works.  Too bad, I wanted the torroid voltage booster.  I should just sell it on ebay.

I have these big tunnel heatsinks with fans that mounted 20 SSR with fuses. Too bad I don't design things that produce heat.

Mary B

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Re: Source for large heat sinks?
« Reply #9 on: February 23, 2022, 01:10:31 PM »
I have a 6x12 inch with 3 bridge rectifier n it I will sell reasonable...

These guys are my go to for heatsinks... https://www.heatsinkusa.com/

joestue

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Re: Source for large heat sinks?
« Reply #10 on: February 23, 2022, 06:09:03 PM »
check the dumpster at hvac shops. the inverter 4 and 5 ton heat pumps have a heatsink that is about 9 inches by 12 inches and 3 inch deep fins on about 1/2" centers. i can probably get 1 of those boards a week if i just ask for all of them...
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Artful Bodger

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Re: Source for large heat sinks?
« Reply #11 on: February 28, 2022, 05:37:57 PM »
Do you have to use SSRs? A 20A mains relay coil takes 3W. You can drive the coil with the SSR if need be, or off the battery.
You can hammer copper pipe flat instead of buying bar stock.
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Mary B

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Re: Source for large heat sinks?
« Reply #12 on: March 01, 2022, 12:05:41 PM »
Copper conducts heat faster than aluminum, so you can use copper bar stock to mount multiple fans to each heat source.  Aluminum transfers heat to air slightly faster than copper, so you still want copper at thermal source and aluminum heatsinks at the point of airflow.  You can use thin enamel layer or another non-conductive paint to prevent ionic transition between the two metals.  JB Weld works, too, but neither it nor paint will permanently secure them, so don't use them as glue.  I used JB Weld on a Pentium 1 cpu and about 18 months later it separated like a rocket, bouncing off the ceiling, since the case ran without the lid on it.  Funny enough it thermal throttled and continued on for more years with a better glob of JB Weld.

I also suggest never to mix airflow, else one hotspot feeds another.  Thermal transfer through metals is much too slow to run inline like that.  Give your heatsink intake through the c-channel via holes and not from an end like that.  Spread those relays out and give them their own exhausts.

At the low power density of an SSR aluminum is fine, no need for expensive copper. Only run into copper heat spreaders on things like the 1,000 watt LDMOS transistor in my 2 meter amplifier... it dissipates 600 watts as waste heat in a patch maybe 1/2 x2 inches...  and the rest of the components also generate heat so generally a copper heat spreader is used under the whole amplifier circuit board(s). This is a typical LDMOS heat spreader with input and output circuit boards and the transistor mounts in the milled slot. This is from a 1,000 watt RF amplifier



transistor, 1.615 inches long and 0.395 inches wide


tanner0441

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Re: Source for large heat sinks?
« Reply #13 on: March 01, 2022, 02:51:50 PM »
Hi

Have you thought about clamping copper pipe to the aluminium C chanel and pass water through it. Wouldn't need much of a pump or if you can find a little fin block heat exchanger.

Copper heat exchanger from a gas boiler...

May get away with thermo syphon..

Brian

machinemaker

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Re: Source for large heat sinks?
« Reply #14 on: March 01, 2022, 05:18:48 PM »
you might want to look for scrap aluminum extrusions, they may not look like traditional heat sinks but could be a cheap alternative, surface area, and mounting surfaces.

Warpspeed

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Re: Source for large heat sinks?
« Reply #15 on: April 07, 2022, 06:01:36 PM »
Depends what you are doing I suppose, but finned heatsinks are only really required for compact portable equipment.

If its an alternative energy type of project, the electronics are probably not going anywhere.
What can work really well is a large flat sheet of 3mm aluminium spaced about 30mm from a vertical wall.

You can bolt all your "stuff" onto that and the wiring too.  About the practical limit will be two square inches per watt if both sides have free natural airflow.