PLEASE HELP ME stop melting my boat down!!!
07-10-2010, 01:10 AM
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PLEASE HELP ME stop melting my boat down!!!
So....
I picked up this Great Planes Wildcat from a friend who found it NIB. It's like 15 years dicsontinued. But it's a fun little boat. 26" catamaran, twin 550's, mechanical speed control, two 7-cell nimh packs.
Ran it and messed around and melted the stock can 550's.
Swapped in a Traxxas EVX2 esc and two Titan 550's 21T's (not marine) and ran that for a while until the motors cooked (one first, other one is OK but I didn't run it with one bad motor.)
Picked up a pair of brushed Trinity Epic 27T stock motors, thinking that the brushed design and high turns would keep things cool and safe.
Shortly thereafter the forward control in the EVX2 smoked. This was a 'land' esc so I figured it was a heat issue inside the boat.
Sent back to traxxas, paid my $45 and they graciously sent me back a marine version EVX2.
Set that up with dual water cooling circuits over the last few days and ran it today.
Noticed right away that I had low top speed compared to previous runs and the boat would pull to the left under power, so it looked like maybe a motor was going bad. Ran for about 5 minutes, took it esay, however the batteries still got very hot and the motors (at least one, maybe both) were smoking hot, literally. ESC is water cooled, motors are not.
So I figure the EPIC 27T's are not a good match for this little boat.
So help me out.
Current setup: Twin 3300mah 7 cell packs, Traxxas EVX2, Aquacraft RIO EP propellers, dual EPIC 27T brushed motors, 26" plastic catamaran.
I have gas boats but this little electric boat was fun and easy and I would like to make it reliable and run it for fun.
I think everything is good except my motor chioce, but I don't know.
Anyone out there suggest what motors might be a good match for this setup, or maybe if I am running to aggressive of a prop what one I might try? I am pretty sure I need at least one new motor so suggestions for a new pair are welcome. The props require a 1/8" shaft.
Here are some photos of the current setup, thanks for taking the time to read this.
I picked up this Great Planes Wildcat from a friend who found it NIB. It's like 15 years dicsontinued. But it's a fun little boat. 26" catamaran, twin 550's, mechanical speed control, two 7-cell nimh packs.
Ran it and messed around and melted the stock can 550's.
Swapped in a Traxxas EVX2 esc and two Titan 550's 21T's (not marine) and ran that for a while until the motors cooked (one first, other one is OK but I didn't run it with one bad motor.)
Picked up a pair of brushed Trinity Epic 27T stock motors, thinking that the brushed design and high turns would keep things cool and safe.
Shortly thereafter the forward control in the EVX2 smoked. This was a 'land' esc so I figured it was a heat issue inside the boat.
Sent back to traxxas, paid my $45 and they graciously sent me back a marine version EVX2.
Set that up with dual water cooling circuits over the last few days and ran it today.
Noticed right away that I had low top speed compared to previous runs and the boat would pull to the left under power, so it looked like maybe a motor was going bad. Ran for about 5 minutes, took it esay, however the batteries still got very hot and the motors (at least one, maybe both) were smoking hot, literally. ESC is water cooled, motors are not.
So I figure the EPIC 27T's are not a good match for this little boat.
So help me out.
Current setup: Twin 3300mah 7 cell packs, Traxxas EVX2, Aquacraft RIO EP propellers, dual EPIC 27T brushed motors, 26" plastic catamaran.
I have gas boats but this little electric boat was fun and easy and I would like to make it reliable and run it for fun.
I think everything is good except my motor chioce, but I don't know.
Anyone out there suggest what motors might be a good match for this setup, or maybe if I am running to aggressive of a prop what one I might try? I am pretty sure I need at least one new motor so suggestions for a new pair are welcome. The props require a 1/8" shaft.
Here are some photos of the current setup, thanks for taking the time to read this.
07-11-2010, 07:20 AM
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RE: PLEASE HELP ME stop melting my boat down!!!
i would say run a less aggressive smaller prop. See how that works, if all your temps on the motor and esc are fine then your could take another step up in your prop choice. Since it is a twin system, if you are running really aggressive props it could be causing alot of draw on the esc causing it to fry.
I had a similar situation in my shockwave. I was unsing too large and aggressive of a prop and if caused my esc to fry.
Another thing i would suggest is checking your temps more often, before burning something up. At this point if I were you in trying to figure out whats going on i would check my temps every 30 secs while running, until you find a compatible set up that keeps everyhting in cool running condition.
07-12-2010, 03:33 PM
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RE: PLEASE HELP ME stop melting my boat down!!!
Everything that has been suggested to you so far is correct.
I think what you need to do is step back and think about the problem. It is obvious that you have a large amp draw on your current set up. So what ever is causing that , needs to be addressed.
As Umi mentioned, make sure you do not have a drag on the drive line. Pull them drive shafts out, make sure no rusting, do they turn readily without the motors attached to them>
As Dan mentioned, you really should have the motors water cooled. It really will not make a big difference with regards to the problem you are having now, as it appears that the heating problem is greater than the lack of water cooling. But once you find the problem the water cooling will reduce the wear on your motors and improve your run time a little. Keep in mind, R/C car motors usually do not do so well in boats. It is the strain placed on the motor requiring more torque. Check out this site for a list of some motors and how to evaluate motors for a boat. [link]http://www.wopba.com/motors.htm[/link]
A picture or discription of the prop might be helpful, but if this was NIB, I suspect that the props are correct for the size of the boat.
I think what you need to do is step back and think about the problem. It is obvious that you have a large amp draw on your current set up. So what ever is causing that , needs to be addressed.
As Umi mentioned, make sure you do not have a drag on the drive line. Pull them drive shafts out, make sure no rusting, do they turn readily without the motors attached to them>
As Dan mentioned, you really should have the motors water cooled. It really will not make a big difference with regards to the problem you are having now, as it appears that the heating problem is greater than the lack of water cooling. But once you find the problem the water cooling will reduce the wear on your motors and improve your run time a little. Keep in mind, R/C car motors usually do not do so well in boats. It is the strain placed on the motor requiring more torque. Check out this site for a list of some motors and how to evaluate motors for a boat. [link]http://www.wopba.com/motors.htm[/link]
A picture or discription of the prop might be helpful, but if this was NIB, I suspect that the props are correct for the size of the boat.
