picassolsus

Hey guys,

Did a search or two and didn't find a whole lot of info on specifically what other people's motor temperatures are after flying a full pack. So, I'm wondering if mine are in the nominal operating range or not?

After about 7-10 minutes of straight through flying, I use my Cen-Tech infrared thermometer and get between 98F - 125F on the motors, with one usually being more hot than the other (battery pack usually is around 92F). I mean, these motors are at a blistering temperature! You can't touch them longer than a split second. Have any of you guys ever measured your temps?

And as for the heatsink, bought it and tried it and found it virtually useless aside from adding weight. It MAY have lowered the temp 1-3 degrees but seeing how that is the margin of error with this infrared thermometer, I can't even say that conclusively.

I'm not seeing any reduced flight time from this, as the bird has always operated at these temps straight out of the box even before my LED mods or otherwise. The only reason for my concern is, I had a CX before this CX2, and my motors easily hit 110F - 115F after a pack while the display model at the LHS never left 85F. That CX had DRASTICALLY reduced run times (even after motor replacement for troubleshooting) to the tune of about 4 minutes and I always blamed it on the motor heat. I'm worried something similar might start to crop up on this CX2.

Comments? Thanks.

Derek

dbatman

Something doesn't jive with your information. 98 / 125 F is around body temp and would not be "at a blistering temperature" . Warm maybe.
I run my Cx about 10 minutes with various speeds throughout and the motors are just warm to the touch when done.

One thing I wonder about when I read all the concerns about motor temps , is it really that big of a deal. I work with various stepper/servomotors daily , and some of them are about 200F or hotter 24-7 and they never seem to fail.
I realize that if they (CX) were ice cold all the time , there might be a benifit with more power , motor life etc , but is this stuff so fragile that even a 200f temp would kill them?

I agree with you about the heat sink - but it does look nice.

I would tend to think that run times are more influenced by the battery charge than they would be by motor temps.

Take my comments with a grain of salt. I've had my CX2 for 3 weeks now , and am by no means an expert on anything. Except that I hate the EXPLODIUM that the bodies are made from.

picassolsus

You know, that's a good point when I think about it. I would question the accuracy of the thermometer, but it's been pretty spot on as far as anything else I've tested with it (such as a piece of ice from the freezer measuring at 29F).

My motors are definitely too hot to touch for longer than a split second, regardless of the apparently arbitrary number assigned to them by this thermometer. Beyond what in my case I would consider "warm".

I guess I'm just trying to establish a baseline with other CX2's- I'd like to know what the normal operating temperature range is. If mine's within that range then fine, if not, I'd like to get to the root of what's got the engines so hot.

Again, the only reason I even question the temp in the first place is the fact that the LHS unit only read 85F or so....and all numbers aside, my engines when compared side by side by touch alone were clearly not that hot, all other things equal.

Maybe I'll jsut "rev it till the rods are thrown" and replace the motors when it comes to that. Oh well.

dbatman

Perfect opportunity to upgrade to 180's. Of all the times I've bothered to check mine , with and without heatsink , they were never hot enough that you could not keep a finger on them.

My only thought would be that there is some binding somewhere , that is causing the motors to work extra hard. If it were me , I might see what happens if you put a drop of oil on the motor bushings. Those motors look cheap to me , and it wouldn't surprise me if they use crummy bushings.

More work would be to take the motors out all together , and see if both rotor shafts spin freely. Maybe some impact has bent/jammed them into a bind . Although judging from some of the stupid impacts mine has seen , 30 ft down onto a mailbox ( don't ask) , these seem like sturdy little guys. I haven't bent anything other than the flybar.

Or maybe just brag about how you are so good that the stock stuff just can't hold up to your flying skills. I would do that in a heartbeat.

Don

wxup

I would beg to differ with you about the heat sink not making a difference. I have measured the motor temperatures with and without a heat sink using thermocouples surface-mounted to the motors. After a 10 minute run the motors without a heat sink installed had a surface temperature of 128 degrees F. The motors with a heat sink installed had a surface temperature of 113 degrees F. In order to work properly the heat sink needs to be installed properly, with a thin coat of heat sink paste applied.

If your motors are fairly new, they will run hotter until they are broken in. When I first installed my 180 motors without a heat sink they ran at 135 degrees F. So if you are running fairly new motors without a heat sink (or not properly installed) and you are comparing it to a heli at the hobby shop that is broken in and running with a heat sink, you will see quite a difference in temperature.