LiPo's and ESC's for brushed motors?
 

Haven't really got into the LiPo scene yet, except for some ARF's already kitted out and would like to convert some of my brushed motor sailplanes to LiPo's to save weight. My question is whwther I can use my existing brushed ESC's or do I need special ones for LiPo's?

Tony

RE: LiPo's and ESC's for brushed motors?
 

If the amp draw is the same...no change is needed. If you are going to up the amp draw..then you have to be certain that the present brushed ESC can handle it..that is all. Many people switch the Super Cub gear from NiMh or Ni cad to Lipos without changing anything else. Rich

RE: LiPo's and ESC's for brushed motors?
 

Remember..........
NO running the motor down till it sounds 1/2 power.
No over charging with a wallcharger.

I strongly recommend you get a REALLY safe to use ....FMA cell Pro 4 cell charger...Before you buy OR USE the LIPO's. It WILL SAVE you money & batteries.

Enjoy

EDIT:

I forgot the most important thing!!
read completly the operators booklet. You can practice getting the ability of pushing the selector button to get to the battery type and and setup you want........WITHOUT PLUGGING IN A BATTERY. It took about 7 tries to get the rythem of pushing the button right ,thru all the steps.

RE: LiPo's and ESC's for brushed motors?
 

Thanks guys for the advice. I already have a good LiPo charger, so OK there but still unsure whether the BEC on my brushed ESC's are safe on LiPo's?

Tony

PS Happy New Year to all.

RE: LiPo's and ESC's for brushed motors?
 

1 last POSSIBLE problem. Voltage differences per cell or per pack can affect speed of prop & current the motor will pull. The BEC may have more heating. Also, the safety.....cutoff voltage.... needs to be reset on the ESC for LIPO.......Done.

Enjoy. :)

RE: LiPo's and ESC's for brushed motors?
 

the esc does not know what type of battery you are attaching. all it knows is voltage. The esc will only draw as much current as the motor needs. If the motor requires more current than the esc can handle, it will burn out the esc.

If the esc can handle the voltage (7.4 v 2s or 11.1v 3s) and the motor will not draw more current than the esc can deliver then all should be fine.

brushed esc are relatively cheap.

I ran a 25 amp brushed esc in a parkzone spitfire on stock motor (480) with 11.1v 2500mah lipo with no problems.
hope this helps