EXT2Rob

My Feedback: (1)

I'm curious. For those of you who have been running brushless motors longer than Ihave (I only got into brushless 6mo ago), how many hours have you put on your motor? My understanding is that these brushless motors should last ALMOST indefinately, providing it isn't abused in some way. I've gotten a couple messages from folks here who think 200hrs on a brushless motor is its expected lifetime. Ithink a brushless motor should last in the neighborhood of THOUSANDS of hours, not hundreds. What is your experience?

t9dragon

My Feedback: (11)

Several of my brushless motors are over 5 years old and still running strong.

dragnse7en

All of mine are fine as well. One's about 5 years old too, and the other three are about 3 years old.

I sure do not miss polishing comms and replacing worn brushes and springs - that's for sure!

porterdog

Maintenance is required, but do that and you should be golden.

ElectricGuy007

Depends on what brand they are. I have a Tekin setup that I have never removed outa one car still works fine
been in the car almost 3 years. Novak motors last a long time too, I have 2 that still work fine.
I have a cheaper LRP A.I. system, the motor still works but the motor screw holes need to be retapped,
other than that the motor still works. LRP A.I. Speed control still works too.


If you buy those cheap TACON china made motors the bearings are the first thing that's gonna go out.
After that your windings will start to break down til the motor offically dies. Buy cheap you get cheap, remember that.

Paxdad

My Traxxas Velineon brushless lasted from Christmas to last week and then threw a magnet.   I hope Traxxas will stand behind it.

NBCTANK

I have one from Mtroniks over 6 years old. It's been in...
XTM Xcellerator, broke a few axle pins.
Emaxx
Stampede that pissed me off when a wheel fell off, then I sent over my Mammoth to ram and crash it, knocked off the end bell. slapped it back on.
TC4 drift car
Now it's in a Traxxas 4x4 Slash, still kicking.

ThunderbirdJunkie

My Feedback: (3)

Currently the oldest brushless motor in ThunderbirdJunkie's stable that's in use is his Trinity D3 10.5, and it's about a year old. It's been run pretty hard, and still solid.

dragnse7en

A few years ago, I read a how-to guide on cleaning BL motors. I took my CCCM36 7700kV motor and removed the three endbell screws, and tried to remove it. Something's not letting it come off, so I stopped right there. It's still sitting in storage in a box, but before I tried to take it apart it ran fine. I just wanted to follow the guide to learn how, and I'll look around for more how-to guides to finish the job.

Speaking of, if anyone has some good resources, please share it here!

e123

I started out with a LRP motor that died after about 4 months. Replaced that with a Novak that is still going strong 3 years later. I also have a "cheap" tacon motor then I have been running for over a year with no problems. There is a difference between a cheap price and poor quality. How many tacon motors have you ran electricguy?

ThunderbirdJunkie

My Feedback: (3)

Strange that your LRP motor died that quick. What model was it? The X11s and prior had some issues, but the X12s and newer motors are bulletproof, supposedly.

e123

It was an Eraser...9.5 I think.

ralph289

What maintenance ? New guy needs help with that, what can you do on a brushless motor. I'm don't want to oil the end bearings I'm afraid it will only attract dirt. Am I wrong on this ?
Thanks

dragnse7en

I wouldn't be afraid to oil the bearings. My two LRPX-12s are the only motors that have vented slots in the can, but they're nowhere near either bearing.

EXT2Rob

My Feedback: (1)

Hmmm.... Okay, so the majority opinion is that they SHOULD last. Question is, how long, in terms of hours-of-run-time?

Or maybe to put it another way: What would you say is the expected norm, in hours of run-time, of a good motor's life? 1000hrs? 10,000hrs?

EXT2Rob

My Feedback: (1)

If your pinion & spur are under a cover, it's unlikely you'd get much, if any, dirt on/in the motor shaft bearing, save for any slipper-clutch dust.
But yeah, WHAT maintenance? That's supposed to be the *****in' thing about BL, right? NO Maintenacne? I mean, what, besides the bearings, can go bad?

Anyone? Beuler? ......Beuler? .......

ralph289

I emailed Reedy to see what they say about oiling...........will let you know when I get a reply.

ThunderbirdJunkie

My Feedback: (3)

Maintenance-wise, just keep it clean. Motor windings can short, rotor can demag...numerous things can happen.

cummins driver

My Feedback: (31)

What else exactly is there to go out? The bearings are the only wear item in a brushless motor. Unless something shorts or the bearings die it should be golden...

Regardless, the guy with the Losi XXX-SCT with a 3800kv Castle SCT system in it wasnt laughing when my lowly Evader with the Tacon 3930kv motor and 35a ESC was spanking him across the parking lot, both running 2s lipo's.

Apparently, you shouldnt buy castle motors either though:

dragnse7en

I bet they'll say that they will have no problem with that, as long as you don't void their warranty and pull the motor apart to do it I feel your pain! Both my motors have lived quite well past their warranty, and if I get the right how-to guide, I will certainly do it myself!

ralph289

Reply from Reedy:
Ralph,



You shouldn’t have to oil the bearings, but it definitely doesn’t hurt.



Thanks,

Chris Jarosz

Associated Electrics Inc.
Customer Support Specialist
26021 Commercentre Dr.
Lake Forest, CA 92630
949-544-7500 (xt 2115)
949-544-7501 (fax)

Ttowntoolman

The only brushless motors that I have had go bad are those I was intentionally beating the hell out of......a 13.5 novak run on 3s repeatedly until the windings melted. I have brushless motors that are 5 years old with concrete dents in the cans and they still work just fine. I have not reached the end of life on a brushless motor with normal usage yet....most of my systems are novak and I do own a VXL system from before they were waterproof, that also has concrete dents in the can, works great yet and I beat the hell out of it on 3s lipo.

Scottgir

I've never known someone who owned a Tacon motor that actually didn't like them. I've owned 4 (2200, 3200, 3500, 4400 (rounding to the 100KV)) and they are going as strong today as when I bought them (oldest being almost 2 years old). I put a tiny piece of electrical tape over the exposed bearing (not pressed against the bearing, just the can) and I run covers on all my cars.

I've owned Novak SS5800 & SS4300, Castle CM36 4600 and 5700, HPI Fuze (which was a castle motor) LRP x11 13.5, Trinity D1, D2 and D3 of different winds. Each had it's own performance level out of the box but I've never had a single motor fail on me, outside of the SS4300 which was a different issue. The can was a black plastic can and had nuts in the can for motor mount screws. The can eventually cracked.

That said, my favorite motors in order have been
Trinity D3
Tacon
Trinity D2 & D1
LRP 13.5
A cheap hobbyking 13.5
SS5800
Castle
SS4300 (great motor except for the issue I described)

dragnse7en

That's awesome!

My favorites, from top boss down:

LRP Vector X-12 17.5 Stock Spec (like the motor so much that I now have two - smooth, balanced, and great braking)
CCCM36 7700kV (insane speed runs to terrorize the asphalt and kill small animals if they get in the way, but always runs HOT)
CCCM36 4600kV (for my road rash basher)

rclugnut10

My Feedback: (1)

i've baked on motor that i had for 2 years but it was over geared and i was running it really hard, so thats user error, and another one i got used that ran HOT no matter what i did the windings came apart... picked up a castle more go, runs smoother and all around a better motor...

the lug