Controller Housing.

[tomtag]

Morning all, after a little advise please?
Is there a preferred method to secure a controller within a plastic controller housing (bolted to underside of top tube)? I think mine is bouncing around a little and just wondered what others do to make sure they are secure within the cases? I was thinking of some kind of foam a little oversize which is compressed when the controller housing is screwed back together. But then wasn't sure if that would give me any temperature issues. (MXUS XF08C with KT 36V 250W 6Mosfets 15A controller & KT LCD5)
Thanks in advance.

 

[pajtaz]

I had the same concern and same setup of controller inside plastic housing. I used velcro. I bought velcro hook tape and loop tape (the two different sides of velcro). I taped two pieces of one side of velcro to the controller and two pieces of the other side of velcro to the inside of the plastic housing. Then I simply attached the controller using that velcro to the plastic housing then put the cover on.

Velcro is incredibly strong so even though it seems like controller might fall off, it probably will not, even if you are doing lots of riding where there are lots of shocks. My plastic housing and controller are attached to the seat tube so they are vertical (not horizontal like yours) and at a slight angle. There is less force acting on the controller during riding comparing to your setup but still, I think velcro will work.

Alternative would be to drill holes in the plastic housing so you can attach some sort of clamp or two clamps to hold the controller against the plastic housing. I opted for velcro because it was less work and there was no chance of damage to the housing.

 

[Benjahmin]

Knock yourself out, look at ABS enclosures.

https://cpc.farnell.com/c/electrical-lighting/enclosures-racks-accessories/enclosures-boxes-cases/plastic-enclosures

 

[tomtag]

Thanks very much to you both for the feedback. I might look at the Velcro suggestion to see if it keeps it still. I think my original post wasn't very clear, but I already have an enclosure mounted, just want to know if I'm ok to secure the controller within and how may be best to do it.

 

[WheezyRider]

Thanks very much to you both for the feedback. I might look at the Velcro suggestion to see if it keeps it still. I think my original post wasn't very clear, but I already have an enclosure mounted, just want to know if I'm ok to secure the controller within and how may be best to do it.

I would be reluctant to enclose the controller too much, say in a fabric bag provided by some kit suppliers. The controller depends on air cooling so it doesn't over heat.

I found the best solution was to 3D print a bolt on bracket to fit the saddle tube, and then superglue the controller to the bracket.

 

[tomtag]

Thanks WheezyRider, I had been reading the same regarding heat load of the controllers; but was also thinking of the batteries with integrated controller; they appear to be encased fully in plastic with no issues. But I really don't know if there is any means of ventilation built in to those, or if they are a different type of controller. I have not found the controller housing hot to touch yet when or after riding, but I could be completely oblivious as to what is actually going on inside.

 

[Nealh]

My controllers are in bags either behind the seat or tringle/cross bar slung type, the seat ones I add extra vent holes for air flow and the triangle type I use extra heat sinks for heat dissipation. Using 9 fetters helps.

 

[tomtag]

Thanks Nealh, do you actively avoid the hardcase enclosures for potential heat reasons then?

 

[Nealh]

The hard cases don't particularly look great or conceal wires much.