Hi,
I am thinking of using the S13V25F12 in a product I make to allow for battery use.
What is the expected life of these regulators?
Can the life be extended by heat-sinking the hot parts of the board? If so which components are most important to cool?
Hi.
We have not characterized the expected life of those regulators, but in general I expect them to work for many years unless they are run near their limits or otherwise stressed. What operating conditions do you expect?
-Claire
I would expect continuous use for periods of 6-12 hours, pcb would be within an aluminium enclosure with other electronics, so temperatures from around 20-50degrees.
I can sink the regulator to the back of the case via a 4mm thick thermal pad. Is it the power inductor (if I have that right - the component labelled SR-1) that will give off the heat?
What input voltage range and output current do you expect?
-Claire
Standard range for a 14.8v nom battery, so about 11-17v. This kind of use case is more unusual however, it would be getting regulated 12v the vast majority of the time.
Output current around 1A
At around 1A output current, I don’t think it’s worth trying to do any heat sinking.
-Claire
Ok great thanks, at what current would you suggest thinking about it (I may also use it in a different housing in the future which will be more like 2-2.2A)
If you want to think about these things, you should get a thermal imager to see how hot which points are getting in your actual application. The imagers are getting much more affordable, and you will see not only how hot things are getting but also how much various heat removal strategies are working.
-Claire
Hi Claire, yes I have been eyeing one for a while, but it is often much easier to ask if these parameters are already known.
I aksed a couple of times above - and it is again something that can be discovered by testing - but can you confirm the component that is most likely to get warm? Is it the inductor (SR-1)?
The inductor and the regulator IC next to it will be the hottest components. The most constraining part (the one getting hottest) moves around depending on your operating points, but on this particular regulator the IC is generally hotter than the inductor.
-Claire
Ok super thanks, many thanks for your replies they have been very helpful.
