I just put together my second electric plane, a Dymond/HVP PBY Catalina. I hooked everything up and ran up the two 480 motors. It worked fine the first time. Then I recharged the 8 cell 1700 batery and it ran up ok then went to idle throttle, then would only turn one engine about 10 rpm. I immediatly disconnected the battery and noticed a burnt smell in the cabin. I allowed things to cool and tried again. This time it would not listen to my Tx, not even the servos, it just turns that one engine very slowly. I used a 30 amp Wattage controller (under the advise of onliners and at the hobby shop), GWS 8 channel Rx, and hitec HS-81 servos.

What happened??

Figured it out, the ESC burned up.

The two 480's in parallel did it. Too much current draw. If they were hooked up in series it probably would have survived (less power output from the motors also). You were living on the edge. Not real familiar with the specs on the Wattage ESC but some manufacturers rate their ESC's at peak current not q continuous rating which means it will handle the current draw for a second or two but not for an entire flight. Too bad about the crispy ESC. Back to the drawing board.

I'm not an expert on electrics yet and probably never will be. I learn a little more every day just by surfing the web and then glean out what interests me.

Cool, thanks. Is there any harm in "esc overkill"? I'm thinking I'll just put a 60 amp in there and not worry about it anymore. Also, does anyone have a diagram on how to hook motors up in series??

I suggest you post your question on the Ezone forum for a more intelligent answer than I can give.

Go to www.ezonemag.com
and in the left hand column go to 'discussions' under the "E Zone" heading and ask the experts.

Or contact one of the guys at New Creations Hobby Shop.
www.newcreations-rc.com

They are located in East Texas (Willis). You can get a phone number at their web site. They are an 'all electric hobby supplier' and in fact are having their own brand of esc made.

To my thinking it doesn't hurt to have a "safety factor'. I've been buying 30amp ESC's for speed 400 motors but plan to use the same one for a .05 can motor. If you are planning to go to some brushless motors and play with the "big dogs" a 60amp esc probably wouldn't hurt. But, don't listen to my advice solely. So, check one of the above web sites and get more exact info.