qballdmd

I am very new to electric flight and am a little confused. The few planes that I have, I purchased through tower hobbies and got the recommended ESC to go with the battery and motor combo I was using. I just purchased the ultimate bipe and have been waiting for two months for the silver series ss-25 esc to come in off back order, only because that was the recommended ESC and to avoid picking incorrectly. It's ridiculous that they release two or three new planes that will require that ESC and have it on back order for months. I would just like to know what some good alternates are. I have the 11.1V, 1500mah balancing, 20C battery and the rimfire 35-30-950 brushless outrunner. I have no allegiances or preferences because I know nothing. Any suggestions. Is the Castle 25 ok, or are there other more affordable options. Also, I have the triton 2 charger. Will I require the equinox balancer to correctly charge that pack? Thanks for educating an electric idiot.

skinnerfam95

I got the following SPECs for your RIM FIRE from the Tower site
Input Voltage: 7.4-14.8V
Max. Constant Current: 20A
Max Surge Current: 28A
Max Constant Watts: 296W
No Load Current: 0.8A
Suggested Prop Sizes: 10x5E - 12x6E

The prop will significantly affect your choice. If you stay within the suggested prop range, nearly any 20amp ESC will work fine. I personally haven't found an ESC that was not surge rated for above its advertised voltage.

Different ESCs support different batteries (based on safe cutoff voltage.) Just be sure to get an ESC with a 3S lipo cutoff- based on your battery.

Castle ESCs are fantastic. For up to have the cost, Tower Pro ESCs are also fine. I have 6 ESCs from differnt companies... most of them cheap. I've never had any trouble.

Balancing is a good way to sustain the life of your battery, but it is not essential. So long as you have a good quality battery and you're not running it down to minimum voltage (or overcharging), it is unlikely that you will need balancing for the first 20-30 recharges. But if you have it, it will help with the health of your LIPO.

dabvid

in my minimag i have a 25amp e-watts esc. it is 39 australian dollars, which would be around 20-25 bucks. mine is working great and mine is using a 3-cell lipo aswell. I'm not sure if they ship world wide but her is the url- www.wattsuprc.com.au
regards,
dave

dabvid

sorry i misquoted it is actually 32 dollars from the site.

qballdmd

I got back on Towers site and to avoid any confusion, just ordered the silver series 35 instead of the 25. All of the specs were similar with higher max amps, slightly heavier, and all connections being similar. Then if later I needed the esc for a larger plane I could swap it out. It seemed like a no brainer, for only ten buck more and no waiting, but if I screwed up, someone please let me know. Thanks.

skinnerfam95

That ESC will work great.