I see they sell noctua on rebeltech.co.za

 

https://www.rebeltech.co.za/search/?q=Noctua&cooling_type=563&fan_size=559

Are they legit?

7 minutes ago, Greglsh said:

What did you pay for each fan and delivery, i looked at 2 x 92mm noctua fans and with delivery it is almost R1000.

A bit more because I also ordered a power supply unit

2 minutes ago, Greglsh said:

I see they sell noctua on rebeltech.co.za

 

https://www.rebeltech.co.za/search/?q=Noctua&cooling_type=563&fan_size=559

Are they legit?

Yup legit

On 2023/11/28 at 3:57 PM, Greglsh said:

Hi @dino_coder I am struggling to find decent 92mm fans, would it be possible to mod the design to fit 80mm fans. Just asking as I have no design bones in my body?

@Greglsh Unfortunately my design skills are very limited. It's simple to just modify existing print models. You could try scaling down the model.

Found some 92mm fans on bobshop 

https://www.bobshop.co.za/category/20349/Computers_Networking_Components_Fans_Heatsinks_Cooling_Case_Fans.jsp

Update,I cancelled my fan order from Amazon and purchased from rebel, just picked them up today

On 2023/09/09 at 5:46 PM, Carl Anthony said:

Ok guys...I may have ordered a slight bigger fan that I thought...120mm...size does matter? 🤣

 

So I have just test fitted them - they are both laying direct on the inverter...with just the one fan on the left slight hum...with both definitely noticeable.

Which is a problem because the system is in the study, where I work daily...so need to figure how to mount them so they like 1cm from the inverter.

Just running them for 30min like this 10 degree drop in temp between 17:00 - 17:30...true test will be midday tomorrow when PV is BOOSTING.

 

I could maybe get away with just having 1 fan per inverter instead of 2...will see how it goes with testing over the next few days...

Hey Solar Peeps,

Small update on my hack setup...so remember I use to use 2 x Gizzu UPS' to power the fans daily. So manual and had to unplug, charge them bring them back in the morning, switch on then switch off in the afternoons and repeat that cycle.

So I got some stuff from Communica:

0.5mm 2 core cable (used the 5m I got)
0.75mm 2 core power cable (used 4m of the 5m I got)
4ch Hikvision 12v PSU

Sonoff Basic Smart Switch (got a whole lot of these everywhere in the house 🙂 )

Used the 0.5mm to rewire the 3 x fans, ran most of cabling through the existing trunking and connected each fan to its own Channel on the Hikvision PSU. Also chose the Hikvision PSU for aesthetics. Fans picked up quite a bit of dust since its been there...did give them a proper wipe down.

Used the 0.75mm cable to extend the power cable that came with the PSU so that it connects to the closest Essentials plug point - not the one in the pic that is used for the prepaid meter its a non-essentials plug. The plug point for the Hikvision PSU is directly below that closer to the floor. All cable joins nicely wrapped in heat shrink - also got that from Communica. Attached to the Sonoff Basic.

So now I can at least put it on a schedule to run daily from 08:45 - 16:30. I can also just control it via the eWe Link App with every other smart switch I have 🙂

 

Edited December 7, 20232 yr by Carl Anthony

46 minutes ago, Carl Anthony said:

@Carl Anthony That is a nice looking setup. The Blue ambience has a nice affect too

For those that might be interested; I use a 12V 24W DIN-Rail Power Supply. It's nicely tucked out of the way in one of my DB Boards.

https://www.robotics.org.za/HDR-30-12

 

Edited December 7, 20232 yr by TheMac

On 2023/10/06 at 7:41 AM, WannabeSolarSparky said:

yes on mine it is pulling air up over all the heatsink fins for maximum effect, the 5kw model has pretty decent passive cooling, but the left side where the capacitor bank is does heat up quite a bit if you have constant loads. And like yours mine is also in my garage, so there is not much natural airflow so the fan definitely helps.
Even a low flow rate fan will drastically bring down the temps as those heat sinks are massive

My Sunsynk Cooling Fan Hack using nodered and esp8266 and 4pin high-flow fan and can update changes OTA

/*
 ESP8266 MQTT OTA Updateable Sunsynk5.5 DC Side Top Fan1 Controller
 Works with most 4pin fans that can measure rpms and have builtin pwm controller
*/
#include <ESP8266WiFi.h>
#include <ESP8266mDNS.h>
#include <WiFiUdp.h>
#include <WiFiClient.h>
#include <ESP8266WebServer.h>
#include <ArduinoOTA.h>
#include <ESP8266HTTPUpdateServer.h>
#include <PubSubClient.h>
#include <Wire.h>
// Define message buffer and publish string
char message_buff[16];
char message_buffe[16];
String pubString;
String pubStringe;
int iTotalDelay;
const char* versionNumber = "Online-Ver1030";
// ------------------------------------------------------------
// Start Editing here
const char* ssid = "YOURWIFINAME";
const char* password = "YOURWIFIPASSWORD";
const char* mqtt_username = "YOURMQTTUSERNAME";
const char* mqtt_password = "YOURMQTTPASSWORD";
const char* mqtt_server = "YOURMQTTSERVERADDRESS";
const char* host = "esp8266-webupdateFan1";
const char* noderedtopic = "YOURFANSPEEDTOPICFROMMQTT"; // Subscribe to Fan Speed MQTT Topic sent to mqtt From Nodered
/* 
 *  FAN SPEED SHOULD IDEALLY HAVE 5 VALUES for 1% - 100%
 *  THESE VALUES CAN BE DIFFERENT DEPENDING ON YOUR FAN PWM REQUIREMENTS
 *  USING NODERED TO GET THE SUNSYNK TEMPS AND CONVERT TO PWM VALUES AS SUGGESTED BELOW
 *  1 FOR LOWEST/SLOWEST SPEED
 *  20 25% SPEED
 *  55 50% SPEED
 *  105 75% SPEED
 *  250 100% SPEED
*/
#define FAN_PIN 14 //pwm fan control signal
#define SIGNAL_PIN 13 // Read Fan RPMs
// Stop Editing here
// Making changes below this line could cause unexpected results
// -------------------------------------------------------------
ESP8266WebServer httpServer(80);
ESP8266HTTPUpdateServer httpUpdater;
#define DELAY_TIME 10000 // time between measurements [ms]
#define MIN_FAN_SPEED_PERCENT 20 // minimum fan speed [%]
#define MIN_TEMP 20 // turn fan off below [deg C]
#define MAX_TEMP 250 // turn fan to full speed above [deg C]

int vTaskDelay;
WiFiClient espClient;
PubSubClient client(espClient);
unsigned long lastMsg = 0;
#define MSG_BUFFER_SIZE	(50)
char msg[MSG_BUFFER_SIZE];
int value = 0;

volatile  bool TopicArrived = false;
const     int mqttpayloadSize = 100;
char mqttpayload [mqttpayloadSize] = {'\0'};
String mqtttopic;

void callback(char* topic, byte* payload, unsigned int length)
{
  if ( !TopicArrived )
  {
    memset( mqttpayload, '\0', mqttpayloadSize ); // clear payload char buffer
    mqtttopic = ""; //clear topic string buffer
    mqtttopic = topic; //store new topic
    memcpy( mqttpayload, payload, length );
    TopicArrived = true;
  }
}

// Wifi Client
WiFiClient wifiClient;
//
// This function yields back to the watchdog to avoid random ESP8266 resets
//
void myDelay(int ms)  
{
  int i;
  for(i=1; i!=ms; i++) 
  {
    delay(1);
    if(i%100 == 0) 
   {
      ESP.wdtFeed(); 
      yield();
    }
  }
  iTotalDelay+=ms;
}

//
// Starts WIFI connection
//
void startWIFI() 
{
    // If we are not connected
    if (WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED) 
    {
      int iTries;
      iTries=0;
      Serial.println(" ");
      Serial.println("Starting WIFI connection");
      WiFi.mode(WIFI_STA);
      WiFi.disconnect(); 
      WiFi.begin(ssid, password);
    
      // If not WiFi connected, retry every 2 seconds for 15 minutes
      while (WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED) 
      {
        iTries++;
        Serial.print(".");
        delay(2000);
        
        // If can't get to Wifi for 15 minutes, reboot ESP Default 450
        if (iTries > 50)
        {
           Serial.println("TOO MANY WIFI ATTEMPTS, REBOOTING!");
           ESP.reset();
        }
      }
      Serial.println("");
      Serial.println("WiFi connected");
      Serial.println(WiFi.localIP());    
      // Let network have a chance to start up
      myDelay(1500);
    }
}

void reconnect() {
  // Loop until we're reconnected
  while (!client.connected()) {
    Serial.print("Attempting MQTT connection...");
    // Attempt to connect to mqtt
    if (client.connect("esp8266Fan1ClientOTA1", mqtt_username, mqtt_password)) {
      Serial.println("connected");
      // Once connected, publish an announcement...
      client.publish("Fan1ControllerOTA", versionNumber);
      // ... and resubscribe
      client.subscribe(noderedtopic); //Get Fan Speed From NodeRed
    } else {
      Serial.print("failed, rc=");
      Serial.print(client.state());
      Serial.println(" try again in 5 seconds");
      // Wait 5 seconds before retrying
      delay(5000);
    }
  }
}

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(115200);
  mqtttopic.reserve(100);
//  setup_wifi();
startWIFI();
  client.setServer(mqtt_server, 1883);
  client.setCallback(callback);
  pinMode(BUILTIN_LED, OUTPUT);     // Initialize the BUILTIN_LED pin as an output
  pinMode(FAN_PIN, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(SIGNAL_PIN, INPUT);  
// start OTA
  MDNS.begin(host);
  httpUpdater.setup(&httpServer);
  httpServer.begin();
  MDNS.addService("http", "tcp", 80);
  Serial.printf("HTTPUpdateServer ready! Open http://%s.local/update in your browser\n", host);
// end OTA
}

int getFanSpeedRpm() {
  int highTime = pulseIn(SIGNAL_PIN, HIGH);
  int lowTime = pulseIn(SIGNAL_PIN, LOW);
  int period = highTime + lowTime;
  if (period == 0) {
    return 0;
  }
  float freq = 1000000.0 / (float)period;
  return (freq * 60.0) / 2.0; // two cycles per revolution
}

void setFanSpeedPercent(int p) {
  int value = p; // (p / 100.0) * 255;
  analogWrite(FAN_PIN, value);
  Serial.println(value);
  String pubStringe = String(value);
  pubStringe.toCharArray(message_buffe, pubStringe.length()+1);  
  client.publish("Fan1ControlerPWMPinValue", message_buffe);
}

void loop(void) {
    httpServer.handleClient();
    MDNS.update();
    if (!client.connected()) {
    reconnect();
  }
    client.loop();
    if ( TopicArrived )
  {
    //parse topic
    Serial.print("Fan 2 Speed: ");
    Serial.println( mqttpayload );
    TopicArrived = false;
    float mqttpayloadresult = atof(mqttpayload); // float f = atof(carray); 
    float temp = mqttpayloadresult;
    Serial.print("Temperature derived PWM value is ");
    Serial.print(temp);
    Serial.println(" - RPMs Signal");
    int fanSpeedPercent, actualFanSpeedRpm;
    fanSpeedPercent = temp;
    Serial.print("Setting fan1 speed to ");
    Serial.print(fanSpeedPercent);
    Serial.println(" %");
    setFanSpeedPercent(fanSpeedPercent);
    actualFanSpeedRpm = getFanSpeedRpm();
    Serial.print("Fan1 speed is ");
    Serial.print(actualFanSpeedRpm);
    String pubString = String(actualFanSpeedRpm);
    pubString.toCharArray(message_buff, pubString.length()+1);
    client.publish("FanControllerRPMs", message_buff );
    Serial.println(" RPM");
    Serial.println();
  }
}

 

Edited December 7, 20232 yr by WannabeSolarSparky

My Goodwe inverter heats up to over 60 degrees, inspired by BrettB I used 2 fans from and old PC, and a 12V charger that I had lying around. The fans fit nicely about 8 cm below the inverter. I salvaged aluminium angle used by tilers, initially taped and cable tied the angles together, but later attached to the fans with screws. Plastic file divider (red) used to channel the airflow. Money was spent on a Digital Temperature Controller with LCD Display XH-W3001 (12v output model) R229 and a R40 plugbox for power. I've set the W3001 controller to activate the fans at 45 degrees and to turn off at 37 degrees. The temp sensor was located at the back of the inverter. So far working well although a bit noisy, one can buy quieter fans.  In my case the Goodwe inverter generates maximum heat midday so noise not an issue. A couple of pictures of the components used and installation. Max temp during recent heatwave was 45.8 degrees for a hour or so with fans on.

Alrighty.

2 x 92mm Noctua Fans from Rebel Tech, a slightly dodgy PSU that I definitely overpaid for (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1W1TR38?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details)

 

Voila

 

 

On 2023/12/07 at 7:54 AM, TheMac said:

For those that might be interested; I use a 12V 24W DIN-Rail Power Supply. It's nicely tucked out of the way in one of my DB Boards.

https://www.robotics.org.za/HDR-30-12

 

I could not find reasonably priced stock for this item lately so I pruchased the following for a new installation. It is not DIN Rail but will fit inside a DIN Rail DB board if you make your own bracket:

https://www.robotics.org.za/IRM-60-12ST

It has a bit more juice so it is perfect for the amount of extra fans I need to run and also the Microcontroller I want to use as well.

 

On 2023/12/07 at 8:44 AM, WannabeSolarSparky said:

My Sunsynk Cooling Fan Hack using nodered and esp8266 and 4pin high-flow fan and can update changes OTA

Scorcher in CPT today.

1st time the fans had to actually work to keep things cool 🙃
They managed pretty well.

Hi all

I'm going to build my fan tray this week.  A quick question.  I'd like to use jumper cables like these to connect 3x fans to a PSU. 

• The fans are rated max 0.18A.
• Insert the male ends of the cable into the 4-pin fan connector.  Lop off the female side of the cable and terminate it into a chocolate block / wago which in turn connects to the PSU and an ESP32 for PWM ( taking a ground from the PSU )
• Each fan gets it's own cable into the chocolate block / wago  ( aka overkill ! )

I have set up a single fan like this and run at 90% using PWM for a good few hours.  The cable isn't even room temp warm i.e. it's colder.  So it seems fine.  I ask only because I know that jumper quality is variable at best ( this particular cable has 8-strands ) and I loathe to cut off the fan PWM connector and use a thicker cable if I don't have do.  But if I'm going to cut, it might as well be now. I don't want to revisit this in a few months with melted cables

 

TIA

Edited January 15, 20242 yr by hilt_ctn

Getting there.  PWM control works a treat

Edited January 19, 20242 yr by hilt_ctn

Hi guys,

I stumbled upon an automation within Home Assistant's HACS that claims to auto adjust the fan speed based on a certain temp.

I don't really have a need for this but perhaps it would be useful for some here:

HACS ->Automation -> + Explore & Download Repositories -> Search for "Auto Fan"

or

https://github.com/UbhiTS/ad-autofanspeed

Has anyone considdered using a temp probe clipped onto the heatsink to measure or do we just use HA to tell us it's time?

I'm struggling to find fans that are affordable. I also don't find many 92mm fans about.

@Stixx I like what you have done too.

I'm thinking of ducted air to some degree as the air in garage is already quite warm.

34 minutes ago, shaun99 said:

I'm struggling to find fans that are affordable. I also don't find many 92mm fans about.

I've used 2x 120mm fans on each of my 5kw inverters. I simply cable tied them together and they're resting on top of the inverters. Yes, at some stage I'll have to come up with a proper mounting kit, but there's no reason to not use larger fans.

45 minutes ago, shaun99 said:

I'm struggling to find fans that are affordable. I also don't find many 92mm fans about.

@shaun99, not sure about the quality but these fans work fine since Des 2023:

https://www.bobshop.co.za/item/601662812/12V_AXIAL_FAN_92sqx25mm_SLEEVE_60CFM_LEADS_XY9225SL.html

1 hour ago, shaun99 said:

Has anyone considdered using a temp probe clipped onto the heatsink to measure or do we just use HA to tell us it's time?

I'm struggling to find fans that are affordable. I also don't find many 92mm fans about.

@Stixx I like what you have done too.

I'm thinking of ducted air to some degree as the air in garage is already quite warm.

For a standalone installation ( i.e. no HA reliance ), you can certainly use a dallas temp sensor to do the reading.

Some random googling:

• This isn't using ESPhome or actioning PWM, but only to point out that it can be done.
• This is a someone who has created some code and left a place holder for a dallas. His needs are a bit more complex than what's required here. Again though, just to show it can be done

For me it would have been moot as HA already has a sensor I could work with that's accurate i.e. the inverter temp

I ended up using 3x 80mm Cooler Master Sickleflow fans as affordable 92mm PWM fans seem to be like Hen's teeth !

Edited February 12, 20242 yr by hilt_ctn

48 minutes ago, DeonBez said:

@shaun99, not sure about the quality but these fans work fine since Des 2023:

https://www.bobshop.co.za/item/601662812/12V_AXIAL_FAN_92sqx25mm_SLEEVE_60CFM_LEADS_XY9225SL.html

Depends on the need.  Those aren't PWM capable. So they're either on or off. 

To be fair, most ( but not all ) PWM fans don't turn off completely either. Even when set to off in HA, they "idle" at around 20%.

Edited February 12, 20242 yr by hilt_ctn

I am amazed by how well this hack works!
I installed this the cheap and nasty way.
Bought 4 x 12cm Ø cooling fans on bid or buy . co . za for R50 each.

Cable tied them together

Used an old 12v 2000mAh CCTV power supply and connected the 4 fans together.
I'm seeing approximately 15 degrees lower temperatures!

My inverter is installed inside a cupboard so I plan to use another 2 fans to push hot air vertically through the top of the cupboard. There is a ±30mm gap on the bottom of the cupboard so it should pull cool air in from the bottom and hot "exhaust" air to go out the top. Thus cooling it even further.

I was looking at the same fans. I'm sure they are not PWM type, but hey, at that price... Mine is in the garage and it gets quite warm in there. Open rafter IBR.

My next plan is to fit an extraction powered vent to suck hot air out and add a few smaller vents to let air in.

There are are enough gaps around the garage door so thats not too critical adding inlet vents.

Thanks

On 2023/09/09 at 5:46 PM, Carl Anthony said:

Ok guys...I may have ordered a slight bigger fan that I thought...120mm...size does matter? 🤣

 

So I have just test fitted them - they are both laying direct on the inverter...with just the one fan on the left slight hum...with both definitely noticeable.

Which is a problem because the system is in the study, where I work daily...so need to figure how to mount them so they like 1cm from the inverter.

Just running them for 30min like this 10 degree drop in temp between 17:00 - 17:30...true test will be midday tomorrow when PV is BOOSTING.

 

I could maybe get away with just having 1 fan per inverter instead of 2...will see how it goes with testing over the next few days...

 

Hello does the fan you installed above the inverter aspire air?

Edited May 13, 20242 yr by wifi75

51 minutes ago, wifi75 said:

Hello does the fan you installed above the inverter aspire air?

The idea (at least for the 5K models) is to get the warm air away from inverter and let cooler air enter from the bottom so yes, mine moves air from the top of the inverters towards the ceiling.