OK to paint the controller black?

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badnewswade
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OK to paint the controller black?

Postby badnewswade » Sat Mar 28, 2009 12:31 pm

Hi there, a quick bit of advice - I'm painting my moped and was wondring if I should mask off the controller or if its' OK to paint it? Wouldn't painting it black cause it to get hot, and therefore be a bad idea, or can I have it any colour I want? What if I painted it a bright colour (I was thinking of bright yellow or purple, something outrageous anyway)?

Here's a pic anyway, so you know what I'm talking about:

Image
34 Watt Hours per mile, or > 700 MPG. What, me, smug?

MalcolmB
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Postby MalcolmB » Sat Mar 28, 2009 2:04 pm

Curiously enough, the colour with the highest emissivity in the infrared range is bright pink.

microman
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Postby microman » Sat Mar 28, 2009 3:55 pm

Perhaps, depending on the shade, but not as high as a true black body radiator which has an emissivity of unity. So matt black (a non colour) is usually better than anything else which is why most heat sinks are anodised or painted black.

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badnewswade
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Postby badnewswade » Sat Mar 28, 2009 7:53 pm

But won't black absorb heat from the sun? I'm now thinking of that dirty shade of day-glo yellow or green, so if that helps keep the heat off the controllers electronics, all the better. I was inspired by a photo I saw of a survival bike where they actually painted the engine that colour but I cant find it again... doh!
34 Watt Hours per mile, or > 700 MPG. What, me, smug?

microman
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Joined: Sat May 24, 2008 7:58 pm
Location: Durham

Postby microman » Sun Mar 29, 2009 3:48 pm

Yes, in the sun black (and any colour) will absorb heat. So overall you'd probably be better off leaving it shiny aluminium and relying on conduction to the ambient air - that's what the fins are for. Unless the surface is very hot the major heat loss is conduction and not radiation especially when you're moving.


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