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Cooling issues ASI1600 MM-C


Shahd

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Good day,

I've recently got the ZWO ASI1600 MM-Cool and I noticed something odd with the camera cooler. It cools down to the target temperature but cannot maintain it for more than a few minutes (using 100% of the power). When I touched the camera's body it was very hot. I tried to change the target temperature to -10, -20 C, with no change. 

The ambient temperature is about 30-26 C. What do you think is wrong?

 

Thanks.

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I assume you have plugged in 12V power, and it can supply the necessary current?

From memory these can cool by 20C.

so, when ambient is 30C, the best the camera could manage to cool to would be 20C - and at 30C it's going to be working hard to do that.

Does the software you use allow you to read the camera's temperature? just to check it is cooling

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First check to see if you are using proper voltage supplied to camera cooler - it should be 12V and at least 2A.

Second - do monitor your ambient temperature. Best I could do with ASI1600 is bring it somewhere delta T of 40-45C at 100% power (for example at ambient around 24C I could not maintain cooling of -20C, power was at 100% but sensor would warm up to -19C or -18C). So if your ambient temperature is or above 30C, camera will struggle to maintain -10C to -15C.

Also check if something is preventing proper airflow, and if fan is working properly.

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3 hours ago, iapa said:

I assume you have plugged in 12V power, and it can supply the necessary current?

From memory these can cool by 20C.

so, when ambient is 30C, the best the camera could manage to cool to would be 20C - and at 30C it's going to be working hard to do that.

Does the software you use allow you to read the camera's temperature? just to check it is cooling

Yes, I got the ZWO cooler power cable with the camera (12V, 5A). And yes, SGPro allows me to read the camera's temperature and it is cooling. The problem is that it doesn't maintain the temperature for long. 

3 hours ago, vlaiv said:

First check to see if you are using proper voltage supplied to camera cooler - it should be 12V and at least 2A.

Second - do monitor your ambient temperature. Best I could do with ASI1600 is bring it somewhere delta T of 40-45C at 100% power (for example at ambient around 24C I could not maintain cooling of -20C, power was at 100% but sensor would warm up to -19C or -18C). So if your ambient temperature is or above 30C, camera will struggle to maintain -10C to -15C.

Also check if something is preventing proper airflow, and if fan is working properly.

When should the fan work? I just checked and it is not working at 50%. 

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3 minutes ago, Shahd said:

When should the fan work? I just checked and it is not working at 50%

Mine is working as soon as I plug in the power cord if camera is connected to USB. I did not notice it changing speed - it always operates almost silently but you can feel the breeze when you hold your hand next to cooling fins.

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31 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

Mine is working as soon as I plug in the power cord if camera is connected to USB. I did not notice it changing speed - it always operates almost silently but you can feel the breeze when you hold your hand next to cooling fins.

Mine is connected to USB and power cord but the fan is not working. I installed the latest ZWO driver and it's still not working. Even in ASCOM camera settings there is nothing to control the fan. 

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16 minutes ago, Shahd said:

Mine is connected to USB and power cord but the fan is not working. I installed the latest ZWO driver and it's still not working. Even in ASCOM camera settings there is nothing to control the fan. 

That might explain why casing is getting too hot. There is no setting to control the fan btw, but it should run as soon as you connect everything, regardless if you actually turn on camera and start taking exposures. I guess there is some kind of hardware problem with the fan.

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1 hour ago, Shahd said:

Mine is connected to USB and power cord but the fan is not working. I installed the latest ZWO driver and it's still not working. Even in ASCOM camera settings there is nothing to control the fan. 

Thats the reason, a peltier need to get his heat away. The fan blow the heat away from the fins. Passive cooling don't do it.

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Your ambient temperature is too hing for your camera. Try cooling it less (use max 80-90% of the power to make sure it has some power to spare if ambient temperature rises). Camera is supposed to get hot, heat from the sensor has to go somewhere.

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If the fan isn't running all the time there's 12v power supplied, it's faulty.  Contact your supplier and get a replacement camera.  I have two ASI1600MM-Cool cameras and they get warm but not hot even at 100% cooling.

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The fan should run ALL the time the camera is connected, regardless of whether you are cooling or not. There is a risk of damaging the peltier if you keep running the camera without the fan working.

I agree with Gina. Contact your supplier.

Steve

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  • 1 year later...

I noticed my ASI1600 was not holding the temperature (-20 C) after an hour of use last couple nights and also noticed that the fan was not on.  I contacted OPT, the supplier, and am sending it back for repair.  It is only 7 months old and under warranty.  Only problem is it will be couple months maybe sooner...

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On 27/10/2017 at 13:29, Shahd said:

Good day,

I've recently got the ZWO ASI1600 MM-Cool and I noticed something odd with the camera cooler. It cools down to the target temperature but cannot maintain it for more than a few minutes (using 100% of the power). When I touched the camera's body it was very hot. I tried to change the target temperature to -10, -20 C, with no change. 

The ambient temperature is about 30-26 C. What do you think is wrong?

 

Thanks.

This is a classic symptom of the fan either not spinning fast enough or not spinning at all. You need to check it and if that is the case stop using the camera until the fan is replaced or you will damage it!

Edit: Did not read the entire thread before replying!

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