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General Discussions / Re: Air Cooled vs Watercooled BLDC Motor
« Last post by Bikemad on March 19, 2024, 12:29:12 AM »Hi andto the forum.
I was hoping that someone with first hand experience of GM's water cooled motors would have replied to your initial question, but as they haven't, I'll give my opinion instead:
I don't think that the water cooled motors will be able to self prime, as I'm pretty sure that they don't have any form of integrated coolant pump. I think it's simply an extension piece with integrated coolant channels that bolts on the end of the motor, similar to the one shown below:
The coolant has to be externally pumped through the cooling plate using an electrical pump, or possibly an open inlet that effectively forces the water through the motor cooling pipes using pressure generated by the propeller.
It might be worth trying to check the temperature of the controller's cooling plate to confirm that the controller itself is not getting too hot.
I'm not sure whether the temperature of the controller itself can automatically reduce the power going to the motor, or whether it would simply cut the power completely if the controller becomes too hot.
Alan
I was hoping that someone with first hand experience of GM's water cooled motors would have replied to your initial question, but as they haven't, I'll give my opinion instead:
I don't think that the water cooled motors will be able to self prime, as I'm pretty sure that they don't have any form of integrated coolant pump. I think it's simply an extension piece with integrated coolant channels that bolts on the end of the motor, similar to the one shown below:
The coolant has to be externally pumped through the cooling plate using an electrical pump, or possibly an open inlet that effectively forces the water through the motor cooling pipes using pressure generated by the propeller.
I tested it out today for anyone interested. The short answer is, if you intend to run the motor at more than 100 amps (I have the 48v) then you should opt for the liquid cooled version. Even with fans, it doesn't cool down fast enough. I could run about 200 amps through it for about 10 minutes because the controller started dialing back the throttle gradually.
It might be worth trying to check the temperature of the controller's cooling plate to confirm that the controller itself is not getting too hot.
I'm not sure whether the temperature of the controller itself can automatically reduce the power going to the motor, or whether it would simply cut the power completely if the controller becomes too hot.
Alan