Double Heat Sink

Double heat sinks, often colloquially referred to as "freezers" throughout the Inner Sphere, operate in much the same way and for the same purpose as regular heat sinks. The difference is that a double heat sink offers twice the heat dissipation capacity of a standard heat sink. They are incompatible with standard heat sinks; a given unit must be equipped exclusively with either standard or double heat sinks.

Double heat sinks were commonly available during the time of the Star League but became Lostech over the course of the Succession Wars. Although the technology was essentially extinct, it was probably still used in some individual cases and the secrets of its production were apparently being rediscovered by the end of the Third Succession War. Rumours abound that the Bounty Hunter's Marauder and a handful individual BattleMechs from Wolf's Dragoons may have been equipped with double heat sinks, and the Capellan Confederation even fielded their BJ-3 variant of the Blackjack in the Fourth Succession War, a regular design sporting double heat sinks. Following the discovery of the Helm Memory Core and the subsequent dissemination of lost Star League knowledge throughout the Inner Sphere, double heat sinks have become a staple of 'Mech construction again and were extensively used in retrofits and new designs.

Associated rules

In game terms, a double heat sink counteracts two points of heat instead of one while retaining its mass of one ton.

The drawbacks of double heat sinks are that they are more expensive and that those that are not built into the reactor (i.e. only those that occuply critical hit slots) occupy more room than a standard model: Three slots for Star Leage/Inner Sphere double heat sinks, while a Clan one takes up only two slots. The benefits far outweigh the risks and virtually every 'Mech is equipped with double heat sinks after 3058.