[cbale2000]

Originally Posted by ArtemusMaximus

Thanks cbale2000,
It was useful. It makes me want to do similar experiments.
What did you use to measure temperature and which part of the compressor you were checking for the temperature?

I used a multimeter with a temperature probe on it to get the reading. Don't know if its the most accurate but it seemed to work well for comparison at least. As far as where the probe was placed, I used the top of the heat sink since that's where the compressor seemed to get the hottest (and thus would show the greatest variation in the tests).

Originally Posted by MechEng83

Good info. Has anyone done a trial to compare fan direction? I wonder if drawing air up from the heat sink provides less or more cooling than blowing down.

Unfortunately in my test the fan direction was dictated by the mounting solution required for it on the robot. That said, however, on this years robot we were using an identical compressor and a slightly smaller fan (80mm or 100mm, not sure) with the fan mounted above the compressor and the compressor was cool to the touch immediately after coming off the field, so top mounting seems to be effective as well (Though the compressor on our robot this year may also not have been working as hard).

I do agree though that it might be worth another test to see what, if any, difference direction makes to the mounting position of the fan.