Elcorio
Active Member
Hello All,
First and foremost, I apologize if this is either the incorrect forum to post this in or has already been addressed. Admins & Moderators, please move or delete if this is the case.
I searched the forums and couldn't find any other threads that did what I did for my ODST helmet, so I thought I would create a thread documenting what I felt to be something uniquely done (maybe?)
While I know the use of fans inside of helmets has been around for quite some time, I didn't want to simply throw some fans inside the helmet and call it a day. I wanted to direct the airflow to or from specific areas within the helmet and this is what I came up with.
The idea was to create a duct system where the fans could either push cool air in from the outside OR exhaust it out from the inside.
I opted for a push / pull set up using three 5V fans. The first up was a single 5V fan mounted in the chin area of the helmet. A box was made around the fan using 5mm foam and cut at an angle to allow the air to blow just above my chin. Using the sculpted lines on the exterior of the ODST helmet, I cut through the little chin "bubble" area just wide enough to allow the fan to "pull" air from the outside.
Using computer fan filter mesh, I created a "grill" and contact cemented that on the inside of the helmet. A little bit of paint to clean up the cutting wheel marks and the chin grill is almost unnoticeable from the outside. Velcro hook sides were then applied on the inside of the chin area and smaller loop strips were cut and placed on the fan housing. All velcro was secured using contact cement as an adhesive.
With the push fan installed, it was now time to work through the ducting work for the pull phase. The fans used for this were 5V blower type fans and those had a hugely significant CFM (Cubic Feet / Minute) rating. Several locations within the ODST helmet were looked at, but I found that the lower rear of the helmet provided the most room when wearing it to mount the fans.
The first duct built was done using a single fan and I used 5mm foam for the whole thing. A spacer was needed between the fans side intake and this was initially done using foam. However, several issues became apparent with this design. First, the width and height of the duct's intake was too small and the fan had to really work to pull the air through the duct. Secondly, the foam spacer tended to want to collapse in trying to "bend" the duct into the curved shape of the helmet. Lastly, with the width and square nature of the duct, any bending of it caused it to collapse inward, thus blocking air flow.
The collapsing issue was easily solved by adding interior "ribs" to duct, but it also further restricted the airflow. The sidewall height of the ducting was then increased using 3/8" foam and this seemed to be the perfect size for allow enough space for airflow without sacrificing the rigidity to prevent interior collapsing.
Next came the fan's side intake spacer. 2" PVC tubing had an identical O.D. (outer diameter) as the fan's housing and was measured at the same height (3/8") and cut. A piece of it was then cut out to create the intake channel and solved the crushing issues associated with bending the ducting and putting undue pressure on the actual housing. Finally, a top cover was made thus sealing the whole thing together.
With the addition of the internal rib supports, the single duct could now be shaped into any curve desired and at certain lengths, could even wrap around on itself without any collapsing issues.
Not really favoring the single duct set up, I decided on pairing the fans side by side and created a dual duct system using the lessons I had learned from trial and error.
The ducting was built larger than needed in length and width to allow me the option to cut it down as needed once I was ready to mount it inside the helmet.
All three fans were then connected to a USB cable which then ran to a 10,000 Mah Dual USB solar portable external battery pack. A stress test was done to test how long the battery bank would push all three fans. 8.5 hours of non-stop use was recorded! The fans were connected to the battery bank (at full charge) and left to run all day sitting next to me at work.
So how did it compare when wearing the helmet? The airflow was INCREDIBLE! The chin mounted fan was just enough air to keep the visor from fogging up without pushing a ton of air into my face. The rear exhausting fans effectively pulled any warm air out and dispersed out the back of the helmet. To be honest, the cool air hitting my neck and traveling down my back felt good as well. On top of all this, I had a balaclava on as well and had no issues with heat or fogging.
Now came the helmet padding issue. Again, I searched far and wide for ideas and even tried a few, but none seemed to fit the bill for what I wanted. Using a hard hat suspension system as a guide, I designed a head band using 1/2" foam and incorporated velcro into it to make it adjustable. A 4 point system was then designed with the center sitting on top of my head and the four "arms" connecting to the headband. A top piece was added with bevels cut in to it to serve two purposes. The first was to allow it to contour to the curve of the helmet and the second was to create channels for added airflow. Velcro was added to all connecting points, thus allowing a truly modular system for customization.
Then aluminum strips were added to give the "arms" a bit if rigidity without being overly heavy or in the way. Everything was put together using contact cement except for the fan to PVC adapter ring. I used Loctitte epoxy compound for the plastic to plastic connections.
I certainly apologize for the lengthy post, but in the end, I also hope it may have ignited more creative thoughts or given someone another possibility into people's fan set up when wearing their helmets.
First and foremost, I apologize if this is either the incorrect forum to post this in or has already been addressed. Admins & Moderators, please move or delete if this is the case.
I searched the forums and couldn't find any other threads that did what I did for my ODST helmet, so I thought I would create a thread documenting what I felt to be something uniquely done (maybe?)
While I know the use of fans inside of helmets has been around for quite some time, I didn't want to simply throw some fans inside the helmet and call it a day. I wanted to direct the airflow to or from specific areas within the helmet and this is what I came up with.
The idea was to create a duct system where the fans could either push cool air in from the outside OR exhaust it out from the inside.
I opted for a push / pull set up using three 5V fans. The first up was a single 5V fan mounted in the chin area of the helmet. A box was made around the fan using 5mm foam and cut at an angle to allow the air to blow just above my chin. Using the sculpted lines on the exterior of the ODST helmet, I cut through the little chin "bubble" area just wide enough to allow the fan to "pull" air from the outside.
Using computer fan filter mesh, I created a "grill" and contact cemented that on the inside of the helmet. A little bit of paint to clean up the cutting wheel marks and the chin grill is almost unnoticeable from the outside. Velcro hook sides were then applied on the inside of the chin area and smaller loop strips were cut and placed on the fan housing. All velcro was secured using contact cement as an adhesive.
With the push fan installed, it was now time to work through the ducting work for the pull phase. The fans used for this were 5V blower type fans and those had a hugely significant CFM (Cubic Feet / Minute) rating. Several locations within the ODST helmet were looked at, but I found that the lower rear of the helmet provided the most room when wearing it to mount the fans.
The first duct built was done using a single fan and I used 5mm foam for the whole thing. A spacer was needed between the fans side intake and this was initially done using foam. However, several issues became apparent with this design. First, the width and height of the duct's intake was too small and the fan had to really work to pull the air through the duct. Secondly, the foam spacer tended to want to collapse in trying to "bend" the duct into the curved shape of the helmet. Lastly, with the width and square nature of the duct, any bending of it caused it to collapse inward, thus blocking air flow.
The collapsing issue was easily solved by adding interior "ribs" to duct, but it also further restricted the airflow. The sidewall height of the ducting was then increased using 3/8" foam and this seemed to be the perfect size for allow enough space for airflow without sacrificing the rigidity to prevent interior collapsing.
Next came the fan's side intake spacer. 2" PVC tubing had an identical O.D. (outer diameter) as the fan's housing and was measured at the same height (3/8") and cut. A piece of it was then cut out to create the intake channel and solved the crushing issues associated with bending the ducting and putting undue pressure on the actual housing. Finally, a top cover was made thus sealing the whole thing together.
With the addition of the internal rib supports, the single duct could now be shaped into any curve desired and at certain lengths, could even wrap around on itself without any collapsing issues.
Not really favoring the single duct set up, I decided on pairing the fans side by side and created a dual duct system using the lessons I had learned from trial and error.
The ducting was built larger than needed in length and width to allow me the option to cut it down as needed once I was ready to mount it inside the helmet.
All three fans were then connected to a USB cable which then ran to a 10,000 Mah Dual USB solar portable external battery pack. A stress test was done to test how long the battery bank would push all three fans. 8.5 hours of non-stop use was recorded! The fans were connected to the battery bank (at full charge) and left to run all day sitting next to me at work.
So how did it compare when wearing the helmet? The airflow was INCREDIBLE! The chin mounted fan was just enough air to keep the visor from fogging up without pushing a ton of air into my face. The rear exhausting fans effectively pulled any warm air out and dispersed out the back of the helmet. To be honest, the cool air hitting my neck and traveling down my back felt good as well. On top of all this, I had a balaclava on as well and had no issues with heat or fogging.
Now came the helmet padding issue. Again, I searched far and wide for ideas and even tried a few, but none seemed to fit the bill for what I wanted. Using a hard hat suspension system as a guide, I designed a head band using 1/2" foam and incorporated velcro into it to make it adjustable. A 4 point system was then designed with the center sitting on top of my head and the four "arms" connecting to the headband. A top piece was added with bevels cut in to it to serve two purposes. The first was to allow it to contour to the curve of the helmet and the second was to create channels for added airflow. Velcro was added to all connecting points, thus allowing a truly modular system for customization.
Then aluminum strips were added to give the "arms" a bit if rigidity without being overly heavy or in the way. Everything was put together using contact cement except for the fan to PVC adapter ring. I used Loctitte epoxy compound for the plastic to plastic connections.
I certainly apologize for the lengthy post, but in the end, I also hope it may have ignited more creative thoughts or given someone another possibility into people's fan set up when wearing their helmets.
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