daveopam

My Feedback: (9)

I have been flying 20 years but this is my first electric. I put a few pics on for refference.

The motor to speed control? I get it that the three yellow wires from the motor go to the three from the ESC. But in what order? Does it make a difference?

Deans conector to battery pack? There does not seem to be a lot to solder to. Any hints on this? Also should I put the female on the pack or the ESC?

I think I understand the balancer. I read the book and will re-read it a few more times. Same on the ESC. It has a pretty detailed book. The motor had nothing with it. They assume you know what your doing already.

Any help is great. Please feel free to give me any details you think I may need. The LHS put all this together for me. They are a big help but it's 100 miles each way to get there. BTW this is an Extreme Flight 48" Yak. I bought everything but the RX. I hope I have everything I need.

Thanks David

-pkh-

My Feedback: (2)

The three wires between the motor and ESC don't make much difference. Wire them together temporarily to verify proper rotation direction. If rotation is the wrong way, just switch any two leads to reverse it. You want counter-clockwise rotation looking at the front of the prop, just like nitro/gas planes.

You never want exposed connector pins on the battery pack, especially if it's a LiPo pack! This means you should use the female Deans connector on the battery, and the male connector on the ESC.

daveopam

My Feedback: (9)

That makes a lot of sense. Thank you for the reply. I am going to do a little soldering this afternoon. I think a have a little better handle on things now.

David

altavillan

My Feedback: (1)

Red and black goes to the charger from the equinox. The adapter goes into the equinox and to the balance lead of the battery. The HD wires from the Bat. go to the esc. using deans plugs. The motor is three phase so it works either direction. The esc's red, white, black, go to the motor. The servo lead goes into your Rx's throttle channel. See proper servo travel direction notes below. What I don't see is a prop hub. Most motors have a hub for each end. and you choose which way to point it depending on how it mounts in the plane. Then plug the wires in till you get proper rotation. Before putting a prop on it confirm the motor and throttle servo direction work correctly. Reverse the servo/esc. if needed. Or you will have an unguided missle raising havoc in your shop. Did that once, prop on, it went straight into the trash can and commenced to empty it. Was a hoot after I got the bleeding stopped on my knuckles.

daveopam

My Feedback: (9)

Thanks Villian. I was able to solder what I needed this afternoon and get one of the battery packs charged. I have not mounted the motor yet so I have not checked the motor direction. If you look at the first pic you will see two small bags with the prop shafts in them. This motor mounts with the motor shaft facing forward. Should have it in the weekend. The book that came with the ESC says Futaba radios need the throttle servo reversed. I will be sure to do that when I set the radio up.
Thanks for the help again. I may have a few more questions before its ready to fly.

David

tIANci

Dave ... welcome to the Dark Side ... much to learn have you but soon a great warrior you shall be! Hehehehehee ... Enjoy the Yak she is nice even though I still prefer the Extra 300. As for the ESC settings leave it on stock since it works fine, programming it is quite a chore.

daveopam

My Feedback: (9)

Thanks for the tip. When I read the book on the ESC I was little confused. I will start with it stock for sure. The guy at the LHS keeps telling me I will be suprised at the power of this thing. WAs that your impression on your first electric?

David

tIANci

Dave ... the programming of the BOSS ESC is a pain, you go to one parameter, select the choice then its set. It does not take you to the next parameter, so if you need to program a few things then its a long long day for you. My first impression? So smooth, a linear throttle and so much power is available. My largest so far is a 80" Midwest CAP 232. I finally got rid of all my GP stuff and now its 100% EP. Testing out EDFs now.

Tell me what you feel on your 1st flight.

daveopam

My Feedback: (9)

I may be ready this Sunday. Will let you know.

David

tIANci

All the Best! She is very slightly snappy and is a lively plane. Not a handful to fly but that is how I describe her compared with the EF Extra 300. Landings are a breeze anyways.

daveopam

My Feedback: (9)

Got the maiden done today. The power to weight is very good. Just under 2:1 I would say. Some of the supplied hardware is giving me trouble so I only got one flight on it. First imressions are 8 out if 10 for flight. That could go up or down after 10 more flights.

David

tIANci

Dave ... welcome to the world of EP! You have successfully crossed over to the other side.

kid chuckles

Welcome. to elec. flight instant power and long as batt. is up motor will not die on you during flight and has instant power and instant power down.
Not much to clean up or load up either lol.

dashunde

Hey Dave, I'm a bit late with assembly, but I got a couple of tips for you anyway (for future or otherwise)
On those Deans, I guess by now you found the tiny little "+" and "-" on them?
If you buy a pack with a Deans connector already on it, you'll obviously want to be sure things line up before connecting it.

A flying tip...
Compared to glow, which hopefully is always running, the combination of that E prop, the large cowl on the Yak and the fact that e-power goes dead-stop at bottom throttle, you will probably want to trim your throttle all the way to the bottom, then connect the lipo and finally trim up till the prop is turning.
This will subdue super-quick speed bleed off and will also prevent the throttle-up delay that most esc's have when they are allowed to come full stop. The torque of restart from stop can also upset a slow plane.
All of this is particularly useful when approaching to land... helps keep things smooth.

Couple questions...
What Lipo pack is that? 2100 or bigger?
That looks like a Torque 2818-900 motor?
What prop are you running?

daveopam

My Feedback: (9)

I did not notive the + or - on the Deans. I will have to be very carefull in the future. I did noticed what you are talking about on the throttle. My first landing dropped in from 18" and bent the gear a little. My radio has a throttle cut function. I am going to try and set it at the bottom end so it will tick over with the stick all the way back.
The battery is a 2170mAh 11.1 LoPo. The motor is a Torque 2814/820 from Extreme. The prop is an APC 14x8.5E.

Thanks for the help. It's never to late to learn something new.

David

tIANci

Dave ... don't do the throttle cut thingy, EP planes do not have idling motors! Heheheheehehe ... just remember to hold a few clicks of throttle as you come in. Its a normal problem when you first fly EP. Enjoy yourself ok ...

daveopam

My Feedback: (9)

OK, I will learn to fly it in. I still only have one flight on it. Waiting on new gear to come from Extreme Flight. I tried to fix the gear and snapped it in two. I have the rest of the bugs worked out on it. I also need a better charger. The one I have takes an hour for each pack. I noticed one for $90 on the E-Flight page. Will have to look into it.

Thanks again, David

dashunde

Wow... big prop Dave.
Is that the recommended size?
I ask because my motor is the 2818-900 (only 100rpm more per volt), and mine draws 40amps and 450watts from a FlightPower 2500 25c using a APC 13x6.5E prop.
Seems like that 14x8.5 may be a bit much for the battery and motor...??

Check your Deans again... the + should be at the wider/sideways end of the connector. Its also the one I solder first, then I turn the plug sideways and do the neg side... it is a bit helpful to notice that the solder posts are both off-set a little to the sides - put the wires on the side(s) with the most room.
If yours are backwards, practice up with the soldering... swap the wires around. (Just heat, pull apart, clean and rework)
Also.... DO NOT simply take cutters and snip off any connector from any lipo pack all at once... the cutters will short the pack. Cut them one at a time. Same goes for the balance connectors.

About an hour for each pack is fairly normal Dave.
If you want a new charger, I'd recommend the CellPro 4s... very smart, simple charger. Its about $85 w/ the charge plug adapter. I have 2 of them and think they are great. The CP's are only 12v though, so you either need a spare old car battery or a 3 amp power supply.

daveopam

My Feedback: (9)

I know squat about the right prop size on these electrics. I went to the LHS and he helped me pick the plane. Then I told him to get me what I need to complete it. So he picked the servos,batt,motor,prop,etc...etc.. I guess I'll know after several flight if the prop is right or not. I will keep track of how long the pack will fly the plane and how it pulls from a hover. Maybe you can tell me then if it's the right set up or not.
David

FERNDALE AIR FORCE

Dave, an hour per pack is about right, mine vary between 45 min and 90 min depending on the amount left in the battery. You might want a watt's up meter. You can hook it up between the pack and the esc and read watts, Kv, amp draw etc. For example if you are pulling too many amps your prop is probably too big, but you don't want to leave too much on the table so if your only pulling 15a max and you have a 30a esc, you could change the prop diameter of pitch. Most motors say what props they like.

Here's a link to a freeware motor calc type program. http://www.drivecalc.de/

Tim

dashunde

I did a bit of quick reading over at EF on their torque motors.
Basically, their specs are very conservative, but even that being the case, that 14" prop is probably too much for your lipo. My 2500's are warm after turning my 13x6.5... I'd only figure that your 2170's will be downright hot turning that 14x8.5

I'd strongly urge you to get a watt/amp meter and grab a couple of props for testing (13x6.5 and a 13x8).
In fact, I would not put it in the air until I knew what kind of power that prop is pulling.
The money you spend on the meter ($50) could save your $70 packs, plus it will be useful for any other electric builds you tackle.
(If you get 40amps on the meter right away, like at 75% stick, forget it, test another prop)

Another thought...
That big prop is going to draw alot of current during static testing (expected due to its length), but its relatively high pitch of 8.5 will also draw plenty of juice while just cruising around, even further compounded by the drag of the large cowl.
So on that note.. be sure to have a large enough opening in the fuse that will allow the air that comes into the cowl to escape, it will also ensure plenty of airflow to keep your gear cool.
If you can, make your opening(s) close to the battery tray so that the battery is in the airflow.

A quick lesson: These motors strive to attain a certain rpm based on the voltage applied to them. So even without a prop on at all they will not spin up to their destruction, they will simply reach their "desired" rpm and stay put while drawing little to no current (amps). On the other hand, when they are loaded down with a prop they will still try to reach the same rpm at a given voltage/throttle position. The difference is that with a prop they draw amps, and amps is the true power behind the system, and its also the main source of heat in all parts.

Right now your packs are the weakest links in your power system, but we still dont know what esc your using?
If its 40+ amps your probably in the clear, but if its 30-35a that 14" prop might smoke it up at some point, and if that happens you may lose power to the bec/Rx - bad news all the way around if your in the air.

tIANci

Yeah the 14x8.5 is a little too much forthe motor, the 13x6.5 will be just nice ... charging at 1C is usually about 80 mins. David ... you should get a watt meter, its worth every penny.

daveopam

My Feedback: (9)

I thought I was in over my head. Now I know I'm in over my head. I understand what you guys are saying for the most part. I am at work all day today. I will look on Friday and see what ESC I have.
The LHS is 100 miles each way so if changing the prop is a must I am grounded for a while. I have 100% confidence in the man I deal with. We can all make mistakes. I may give him a call later and discuss his rational on the props.

David

dashunde

Ok, here is a safe fix for your problem until you can get new props to try...
Simply cut 1/2" or a little more off of each end of the prop, sand and feather the tips back to thin'ish and balance it while final sanding.
Do a quick balance check after your first cuts, and snip until its close, sand from there to a decent final balance.
It wont be the best performing prop out there, but it will reduce the load on the motor and get you by for a few days.

daveopam

My Feedback: (9)

Not a bad idea! I have repaired a few APCs in the past. The tips are pretty thin anyway. I may give that a try once the gear gets here.

David