BrettB Posted February 27, 2023 Share Posted February 27, 2023 This post was recognized by Energy-Jason! BrettB was awarded the badge 'Helpful' and 25 points. Hi Everyone, Thought I'd share this because I have noticed a few people concerned or frustrated with the fan noise from the 8kw Sunsynk inverter. I couldn't install my inverter in the garage because I do a lot of woodwork in there and I know the dust would cause issues in the fans and heatsinks. So its mounted at the end of our passage where it meets with the garage through the door. The noise at night was really an issue for me. During load shedding the fans would usually kick in. Specially when the aircons where running. This is obviously when the inverter was doing a lot of work and required cooling. Then also after load shedding when the batteries were charging the fans would come on intermittently. Bloody irritating when trying to sleep. The following pics is what I came up with. 5 decent quality 92mm PC fans on the vent side to constantly pull air through. Now these fans don't have the CFM or static pressure rating of the built in fans. But they are dead quite and they keep a constant steady flow of air over the heatsinks. On average, they keep the inverter 10-15 degrees cooler according to solar assistant. I have only had them in for 5 days now and the temperature has never gone over 55 degrees which is the trigger point for the built in fans. I ran all 4 aircons plus the air fryer for 30 mins and the inverter got up to 49 degrees. But when idle, it sits at 35-40 degrees. I am still waiting for a full sun day with load shedding where the MPPT's and the inverter are under a decent constant load to see what happens. Today the MPPT's where hitting around 8kw peaks while charging, and about 4kw on the inverter and it never went over 41 degrees. I have mounted the fans about 10mm of the exit vent so none of the holes get blocked. The idea is that when the internal fans kick in, that air can just blow through my external fans. For now, I have just hot glued the fans to the wall and hot glued a piece of trunking cover to side(proper life hack style =D). I am busy designing a decent 3D printed bracket to hold all 5 fans and clips onto the vent hole at 4 points. No alterations have been done to the inverter at all so no future warranty issues. The fans run off an external 12v supply. I have wired it through a sonoff switch with the idea to control them through home assistant based on inverter load and temps. Vaughanza, anthonyhugo, Thunderdolt and 16 others 17 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garthox Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 I just had my 5kw Sunsynk commissioned today and I think I am going to also make use of this good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dino_coder Posted March 3, 2023 Share Posted March 3, 2023 On 2023/02/27 at 5:40 PM, rob1 said: Very nice... elegant solution. Congrats! I'm toying with something similar for my 5.5 but a fan that pushes air up from the bottom and using 2x 230v fans rather than 12v fans. They're cast steel frames and very low current and silent. I found a 3d printed frame on Thingiverse to fasten them into. Please share the Thingiverse link ____ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrettB Posted March 3, 2023 Author Share Posted March 3, 2023 Here are temp recordings from the last 7 days. I switched on grid export the last 5 days to keep the MPPTs and inverter at max possible load during the day. It didn’t go over 42 degrees. Very stoked. At the begging of the trend you can see the temp at 55 degrees. I had the fans off re-wire them permanently. DeonBez, ____, Lite Ning and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaos Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 Busy installing an 8KW Sunsynk inverter on the other side of a wall that is shared with a bedroom. Have no idea what the fans sound like yet, so does anyone think the fan noise would make its way through a decent brick wall and disturb sleepers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedster Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 That is very nice! Is there any reason why you have the fans on the extraction side and not the input side? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrettB Posted March 5, 2023 Author Share Posted March 5, 2023 9 hours ago, Chaos said: Busy installing an 8KW Sunsynk inverter on the other side of a wall that is shared with a bedroom. Have no idea what the fans sound like yet, so does anyone think the fan noise would make its way through a decent brick wall and disturb sleepers? I think you might be OK. The fans are loud and high pitched though. If they disturb then just try this. 2 hours ago, Speedster said: That is very nice! Is there any reason why you have the fans on the extraction side and not the input side? The input side is just the 3 holes with the 3 built-in fans. They blow into the unit. I didn’t want to interfere with their functionality. My thinking was rather put 5 fans over the much larger exit side and cause less restriction. Zweli, Speedster and Chaos 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthonyhugo Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 Great idea thanks, which PC fans did you use, perhaps have a link/suggestion where I can buy them please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrettB Posted March 6, 2023 Author Share Posted March 6, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, anthonyhugo said: Great idea thanks, which PC fans did you use, perhaps have a link/suggestion where I can buy them please? Cooler Master Sickleflow 92. I got mine from Wootware. https://www.wootware.co.za/cooler-master-mfx-b9nn-23npk-r1-sickleflow-92mm-black-single-case-fan.html Takealot has too: https://www.takealot.com/cooler-master-sickleflow-92mm-non-led-case-fan-black/PLID72897994?gclid=CjwKCAiAmJGgBhAZEiwA1JZolioy7VLlzRFKgeKaioPjsjegCQrewtrsu1Wi4YM0K6mcaHARS2TklhoC76oQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds Edited March 6, 2023 by BrettB anthonyhugo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthonyhugo Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 Thanks much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgdt Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 Brilliant. Boer maak 'n plan. My inverter is in garage but this is next to my home office and very eager to reduce the noise for productivity sake. Could you perhaps share more detail (with links) on the external 12v supply used as well as the sonoff switch? Would there be a reason to stick with 12V DC fans rather than 230V AC fans? Is it true that the DC fans runs quieter? Just wondering because I don't have a 12V power supply and going the 230V AC fan route might be easier for my case. Zweli and anthonyhugo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrettB Posted March 6, 2023 Author Share Posted March 6, 2023 (edited) 4 hours ago, jgdt said: Brilliant. Boer maak 'n plan. My inverter is in garage but this is next to my home office and very eager to reduce the noise for productivity sake. Could you perhaps share more detail (with links) on the external 12v supply used as well as the sonoff switch? Would there be a reason to stick with 12V DC fans rather than 230V AC fans? Is it true that the DC fans runs quieter? Just wondering because I don't have a 12V power supply and going the 230V AC fan route might be easier for my case. I used 12v PC fans for 2 reasons. Firstly because they are the most quite. Decent PC brands put a lot of effort into making their fans quite. Noctua are the best if you can afford and find them them locally. The second reason was because they have PWM speed control. Their is a dedicated wire for the speed control. My thinking was if they were too loud I could slow them down. Mantech have a decent range of 12v and 220v fans. Those fans are not specially built for a PC that would typically sit beside you on your desk. They are somewhat more industrial, more expensive and louder. I considered 220v Fans but the most quite one I could find was 32dB and the ones I used are 25dB max. I also couldn't find any speed adjustable 220v fans. Currently the fans run full speed all the time. I was as going to use a Sonoff Basic like this one https://www.takealot.com/sonoff-basic-smart-switch/PLID48571147 It was wired in but the relay is dodgy and causing issues. I have since taken it out and currently testing an ESP32 with ESPhome to do speed control on the fans using the PWM wire. This is the power supply I used mounted into the essential DB next to the inverter wired through a 6A breaker. https://www.mantech.co.za/ProductInfo.aspx?Item=372M1505 Edited March 6, 2023 by BrettB flatfourfan, jgdt, anthonyhugo and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dieter Posted March 7, 2023 Share Posted March 7, 2023 Nice BrettB , my garage gets hot and was thinking to do the same but for my MPPT , Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slipx Posted March 7, 2023 Share Posted March 7, 2023 @BrettB thanks for the inspiration. Here is my attempt at a 3D printable fan holder. Settled on 4 fans as the vents are not that big. Still need to mount this to my wall. I used the Cooler Master Sickleflow 92 fans. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5896902 flatfourfan, Vaughanza, anthonyhugo and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrettB Posted March 7, 2023 Author Share Posted March 7, 2023 48 minutes ago, slipx said: @BrettB thanks for the inspiration. Here is my attempt at a 3D printable fan holder. Settled on 4 fans as the vents are not that big. Still need to mount this to my wall. I used the Cooler Master Sickleflow 92 fans. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5896902 That looks awesome! Thanks for sharing. Please also share your temperature results once its up and going? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedster Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 On 2023/03/07 at 7:08 PM, slipx said: @BrettB thanks for the inspiration. Here is my attempt at a 3D printable fan holder. Settled on 4 fans as the vents are not that big. Still need to mount this to my wall. I used the Cooler Master Sickleflow 92 fans. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5896902 That is indeed awesome. Do you know how much the printed bracket weighs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedster Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 On 2023/03/05 at 8:31 AM, rob1 said: Here you go https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5224913 Is this for the 5kW or 8kW unit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slipx Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 (edited) It's designed to fit the 8.8Kw inverter. The printed bracket weighs almost nothing, its the weight of the fans that you need to consider. With 4 fans its about 0.5kg Edited March 9, 2023 by slipx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedster Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 8 hours ago, slipx said: It's designed to fit the 8.8Kw inverter. The printed bracket weighs almost nothing, its the weight of the fans that you need to consider. With 4 fans its about 0.5kg Thanks. The reason I asked about the weight is that I pay per gram at the local 3D printing guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slipx Posted March 10, 2023 Share Posted March 10, 2023 19 hours ago, Speedster said: Thanks. The reason I asked about the weight is that I pay per gram at the local 3D printing guy. 80g for the case and you need two of them. Speedster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slipx Posted March 10, 2023 Share Posted March 10, 2023 Managed to mount the fans. Started running them this afternoon (dotted yellow line). This is what a typical 24 hours looks like. It has also been hot in JHB so you can see the built in fans turning on every time the radiator temp hits 50 degrees. mzezman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slipx Posted March 11, 2023 Share Posted March 11, 2023 Fans definitely help to keep the temperature down. On an average day the built in fans switch on 29 times. With the external fans this is reduced to 6 times as internal fans are still required when batteries are charging. This will most likely vary depending on the size of your system. I have 3 x 5.32 Batteries and 12 x 550W panels. I plan to install a sonoff basic to turn off the fans at night. giorgos, iiznh and anthonyhugo 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missing link Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 Guys ever thaught of using 4x12vdc fans in series then it will run straight from the battery pack(•‿•) DeonBez 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritishRacingGreen Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 10 minutes ago, Missing link said: Guys ever thaught of using 4x12vdc fans in series then it will run straight from the battery pack(•‿•) In theory, if you use 4 identical fans and each fan is under exact same mechanical load, you would drop more or less 12v over each. But in practise the input reisstance of each fan motor vary, and if any fan experience more mechanical load than the others, that effective input resistance will drop, causing disturbance in the voltage sharing. So it will not be a good idea, just my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slipx Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 This has been running for a couple of days on a smaller system 2x 5.3 batteries and the internal fans hardly turn on anymore. iiznh, giorgos and anthonyhugo 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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