dillydilly515

Hey all,
I'm a freshman in Electrical Engineering and I'm currently building an electric longboard for a lab. I'm just curious, my motor is a 300kv Turnigy and the wiring it came with is 12 AWG. However the ESC I'm running, a Turnigy Trackstar 1/5, has 8 AWG wiring for its motor connectors. Is it safe to run 6s power through a step-down 8-10-12 gauge wiring system for the motor? The runs will be relatively short, and venting can be implemented if heat is not a massive factor. Thanks in advance! Pictures to come if this gets any interest!

oliveDrab

I'm interested in response to this thread. In response to your question: "Is it safe to run 6s power through a step-down 8-10-12 gauge wiring system for the motor?" I don't know. I'm waiting for an expert to respond so I can learn something.

A picture would be great.

tntpooof

dilly .. you dont really need any type of step down wire.. you can use a connector like a 6mm castle bullet plug for that connection.. just heat shrink the ends correct so you have no contact shorts..https://www.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=CSEM0003&P=FR&atrkid=V3ADW3A24148B_53255879504_aud-366993099056la-360278699017__221282308989_g_c_pla_with_promotion_ _1o1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAwp_UBRD7ARIsAMie3Xb9CTUtegvJfxM17U-nBydtp7k5jTjh0ONADsotv3k-xxfG4IsmNQMaArdfEALw_wcB

i might be new here . but ive been in rc since 1979..

init4fun

To distill this down to it's most basic point , consider this ;

Your motor , the thing that's actually going to be using the power is wired with 12 gauge wire , so the manufacturer believes 12 gauge is thick enough to properly feed the motor . Now your ESC on the other hand , has 8 gauge to bring it's power to the motor . Since the 8 gauge is bigger than the 12 gauge , and since the motor is only gonna draw what a set of 12 gauge wires can feed it , the "extra" ability of the 8 gauge wire to feed it power will be no problem whatsoever because of it's being thicker wire . Were the situation reversed , If for example the motor had the 8 gauge and the ESC had the 12 , no you would not have been able to use that because the 8 gauge wires coming from the motor might well draw more than a set of 12 gauge wires could feed it .

Generally , unless your dealing with high frequency tuned circuits where wire diameter does make a difference , you can always go larger with the wire size than the load specifies (in this case the motor specifies 12 gauge) and you can never go smaller (trying to feed your 12 gauge motor from a set of 14 or 16 gauge wires coming from an ESC , for instance)

Hope that helped ....

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

Very well explained init4fun! I think I even understand it

Stickslammer

Ok, we`re interested, so send in those pics! Bud Light can optional.

init4fun

Thank You Tailskid , I appreciate the feedback on my post . I may not have any answers of how to fix the economy but I do know electronics and the repair of mechanical devices pretty well

And I'll second Stickslammer's request for pictures , if the electric longboard gets built

jollyroger

My Feedback: (6)

Just think of wiring as a garden hose; the larger the hose....allows more water through it, the larger the gauge the more current it will handle. I see you are a freshman in electrical engineering but obviously haven't gotten too far into such things as this. Don't worry it will only get worse. wait until you meet up with Laplace transforms...
This was one of the first things we learned when studying electronics. Large wire gauges = less resistance.
Had to work with that a lot when working with cable TV systems. I also had to repair many circuits that were fried when too much current was drawn through too small circuit traces.

dillydilly515

Thanks guys for all the replies, and thank you for answering my question! I'll keep tossing photos up as I make it work and I'll be sure to get some good videos when it works! Before you judge, the deck was made on a CNC router out of 3/4 plywood! By no means good looking but good for my use!