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Cooling
11 years ago
My soul and best friend, Tessa the german shepard, just joined me on a Xcountry ski trip... it was -20 degrees. Only after 2 hours did she lift a paw out of the snow in discomfort. And yet, at 30 above, she may pant but she's not really complaining much. How do they do it?
Airflow and liquid cooling, I'd think... and so should a fursuit. It's not easy having a clear path for a fan... ducts and grills aren't exactly something you want to see on a head. On the other hand, there's openings just right... the nose, the mouth, the ears- pretty much nature's cooling paths too. OK, and under the armpits and tail, but we won't talk about those.
Errol has 7 fans, two up the back, one at the tail, two in the snout, and two in the head. I really tried many types, because some NOIIIISY! The tail and snout fans are temperature controlled- 12 volt scroll type units from Memory Express. Since I use a 6 volt battery (for the servos) these fans need a step-up power supply. One of Errol's routines (Dance mode) bypasses the temperature control so they run all the time (but the dance floor is loud enough you don't hear the fans.
The rest of the fans run all the time. The back fans are laptop tray coolers from any Dollar store- very thin once you cut them out of the plastic of the cooler and run quietly from 6 volts (they're normally USB powered. Yes they will work at 12 volts but they're really power hungry and loud) I use a back-pack type of suspension to keep an airway open along my back (and they pull air in from the back ridges)
The head fans are 12 volt units, but I run them at 6 (but not every 12 volt fan will do that) They're pretty quiet and exhaust air out the top of the head.
I've picked up some liquid cooling parts and have heard people tried this- even heard people trying Peltier devices... would like to hear more about it. So far I've done better with the fans. And I really think the whole trick is getting a clear, low resistance pathway for air to flow. And if you had to pick one place for cooling, make it the snout- blow up past your face and forehead. The next best place is up the back... Ahhhhhhh.
Airflow and liquid cooling, I'd think... and so should a fursuit. It's not easy having a clear path for a fan... ducts and grills aren't exactly something you want to see on a head. On the other hand, there's openings just right... the nose, the mouth, the ears- pretty much nature's cooling paths too. OK, and under the armpits and tail, but we won't talk about those.
Errol has 7 fans, two up the back, one at the tail, two in the snout, and two in the head. I really tried many types, because some NOIIIISY! The tail and snout fans are temperature controlled- 12 volt scroll type units from Memory Express. Since I use a 6 volt battery (for the servos) these fans need a step-up power supply. One of Errol's routines (Dance mode) bypasses the temperature control so they run all the time (but the dance floor is loud enough you don't hear the fans.
The rest of the fans run all the time. The back fans are laptop tray coolers from any Dollar store- very thin once you cut them out of the plastic of the cooler and run quietly from 6 volts (they're normally USB powered. Yes they will work at 12 volts but they're really power hungry and loud) I use a back-pack type of suspension to keep an airway open along my back (and they pull air in from the back ridges)
The head fans are 12 volt units, but I run them at 6 (but not every 12 volt fan will do that) They're pretty quiet and exhaust air out the top of the head.
I've picked up some liquid cooling parts and have heard people tried this- even heard people trying Peltier devices... would like to hear more about it. So far I've done better with the fans. And I really think the whole trick is getting a clear, low resistance pathway for air to flow. And if you had to pick one place for cooling, make it the snout- blow up past your face and forehead. The next best place is up the back... Ahhhhhhh.
