Added Fan to Reduce Heat

[mdfled]

Has anyone added a fan or heatsink to their Eisy to reduce the temperature of the device.  When my eisy has been running I can barely touch the case because it is so hot.  I used to have it hang on the wall, but I've moved it and propped up one end of the case to get more airflow around the device.  I can't imagine that the heat isn't shortening the life of the device.  My ISY never ran this hot, are others finding their eisy extremely hot?

[larryllix]

I do not have an eISY, but two polISYs and they get warm also. I found routers that would crash on warmer summer days despite A/C in the house but, standing them vertically worked very well for increased cooling.

I have several USB run muffin fans that I plug into other boxes to keep them cool. One was created out of surplus 12Vdc desktop box fans, however two are attached by permanent wiring, and one was purchased with USB attached from amazon.

If there is cooling holes in the bottom, devices can lay flat on top of the 5 inch muffin fans with some standoff spacer legs.. The attached double units have a speed switch that was inside the media PC's case. I just run the fan on the low speed. It's enough to move the air.

[Brian H]

My NVG448BQ installed by Frontier. Was laying on its side and was getting very warm and even smelled hot. The information on the ARRIS web site said it should not be laying on it side as it has ventilation slots on both side. I mounted mine vertically as the installation sheet said. It it is now just slightly warm.

[Geddy]

15 hours ago, mdfled said:

Has anyone added a fan or heatsink to their Eisy to reduce the temperature of the device. 

Not directly attached to the device, but I added a (small) USB fan (from Amazon for ~$10 at the time) to circulate air through the cabinet that houses my electronics. It just helps circulate the air in a piece of furnature not really built for electronics, but there were vent holes in it so this seems to move enough air that things don't "cook".

With the ZMatter dongle on the eisy it's difficult to stand verticle without props (IMO). There were rack mounts in the box, but never attempted to add them or make something that might elevate it.

I've had the eisy running in the same spot since its release and don't think (expect) heat has been an issue. The mini computers are designed to specifically pull the heat to the surface. They will feel warmer on the surface, but should be well within operating temp internally just from their design. 

[mdfled]

Thanks all, I had my eisy mounted on the wall with the brackets that came with it, but felt things were too hot so like I said, I have it propped up so it gets more air around it, but it is still hot.  Compared to both Raspberry Pi's I run for my 3D printers, HA installation, and other small SBCs the eisy seems to run hot.  I've got some large aluminum heat sinks that I think I'll try first and see if that cools things some.  I've never been a fan (pun not intended) of the combination of heat and electronics; the TV above the fireplace design has always made me cringe whenever I see it.

[evilpete]

I placed a cheap ($11) usb fan from Amazon on top on the unit have had zero problems


With the ambient temperature on my desk is around 71°
 

[admin@eisy ~]$ ./get-temp.sh
CPU0      26 C / 78 F
CPU1      27 C / 80 F
CPU2      26 C / 78 F
CPU3      27 C / 80 F
TZ0       27 C / 80 F

Quiet 90mm Router Fan Cooler  $11.99

2Pack Quiet 80mm USB Fan Dual-Ball Bearings $19.99

[elvisimprsntr]

I don't have an eISY (MeLE Quieter3Q), but do have a MeLE Quieter3C running Ubuntu with Homebridge. The cooling fins on the top of the unit are plastic, not aluminum.  I simply mounted it to the back of a monitor with a VESA mount.  Hasn't been a problem after 2.56 years.

root@mele-ud22:~# sensors
coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Package id 0:  +49.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 0:        +41.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 1:        +41.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 2:        +41.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 3:        +41.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)

acpitz-acpi-0
Adapter: ACPI interface
temp1:        +27.8°C  (crit = +119.0°C)

nvme-pci-0200
Adapter: PCI adapter
Composite:    +41.9°C  (low  =  -0.1°C, high = +84.8°C)
                       (crit = +94.8°C)
Sensor 1:     +41.9°C  (low  = -273.1°C, high = +65261.8°C)
Sensor 2:     +46.9°C  (low  = -273.1°C, high = +65261.8°C)
Sensor 8:     +41.9°C  (low  = -273.1°C, high = +65261.8°C)

root@mele-ud22:~# nvme smart-log /dev/nvme0
Smart Log for NVME device:nvme0 namespace-id:ffffffff
critical_warning			: 0
temperature				: 42 C (315 Kelvin)
available_spare				: 100%
available_spare_threshold		: 5%
percentage_used				: 11%
endurance group critical warning summary: 0
data_units_read				: 1,495,531
data_units_written			: 41,693,437
host_read_commands			: 21,305,919
host_write_commands			: 1,899,017,040
controller_busy_time			: 1,898
power_cycles				: 36
power_on_hours				: 22,418
unsafe_shutdowns			: 12
media_errors				: 0
num_err_log_entries			: 1,098
Warning Temperature Time		: 0
Critical Composite Temperature Time	: 0
Temperature Sensor 1           : 42 C (315 Kelvin)
Temperature Sensor 2           : 46 C (319 Kelvin)
Temperature Sensor 8           : 42 C (315 Kelvin)
Thermal Management T1 Trans Count	: 0
Thermal Management T2 Trans Count	: 0
Thermal Management T1 Total Time	: 0
Thermal Management T2 Total Time	: 0

Not sure if the eISY comes with the original warning label on it, but here is a pic from a 3Q review.

 

 

Edited 21 hours ago by elvisimprsntr

[apostolakisl]

The heat sink on these things is the chassis.  So I think it is a little deceiving compared to other devices with internal heat sinks.  With these devices you actually touch the heat sink with normal handling of the unit.  With internal devices, you are touching plastic that is well removed from the source of heat.  I think if you opened your PC (or similar) and touched the heat sink, you might get the impression that it is also too hot even though it is working as expected.