HeliStyle

My Feedback: (2)

I have a brushless motor and esc in my traxxas stampede, as far as the motor, what are healthy motor temperatures, and what is to hot?


thanks in advance

john01374

Most people I've talked to tell me that brushless motors are ok all the way to 200F. I personally limit mine to 160F. My VXL motor has only gotten that hot once and that was when I swapped on some mashers in place of my stock rusty tires and forgot to swap the pinion. I typically see temps in the 140 to 150F range.

HeliStyle

My Feedback: (2)

yeah I have heard a few people say nothing over 140, anything over that up isn't good, and then anything beyond 175 is going to cause damage

thanks for the quick response

fusebmx13

180 is hot, 200 is BAD. It de mags the motor and causes power loss. CC motors don't seem to be fazed by the heat though. We got my brother's 7700 up to 325 when the esc thermaled and didn't work for a day. I was surprised that the motor actually got that hot and still works fine to this day, 2 years later.

warheadforever

Um............wow...........a........yea.........

LOL well, I hope that want a see if you can touch the motor for 2 seconds moment. LOL (the CC system for temp checking.....)

Flux Driver

I put Mashers on my Stampede VXL but didn't change the gearing. But I'm only running a 7cell 5000MAH NiMh pack. That should be alright, right? After about 25 minutes or so of driving, I can touch the motor and leave my finger on it for like 4 or 5 seconds until it's too hot to leave on there. But it's not like burning hot. I just don't have a temperature gun on me at this time.

fusebmx13

That is fine. the Mashers are so close in diameter to the talons that it will not really cause an issue. Especially with just a 7 cell like that. With a 3s though you might want to check it.

Access

160 is where you should start to worry and 180 is where you should stop running. If it gets above 200 there could be damage done. This is what most of the manufacturers say.

HeliStyle

My Feedback: (2)

thanks, thats the answer I was looking for lol

fusebmx13

Not sure what you are saying here ^. But okay

warheadforever

What I mean, was I hope you weren't using the CC system to check the temps......[:-]

DARKWAV

Consistent with what Access said, I like to think of it this way:

Greenline: Up to 160F
Yellowline: 160-180F
Redline: 180-200F
OverTemp: 200F+

Getting into the red may not result in immediate catastrophic failure but sustained operation there does increase the likelihood of failure and will reduce the motors lifespan.

Considering the cost of these brushless systems, purchasing an IR temp gun is a good investment. Plus once you have it, gives you more confidence to test out different setups and know when you've pushed the envelope too far before your stuff starts coming apart!

Access

On thing to keep in mind is that heat does not necessarily radiate evenly and uniformly. If you run a hot motor, the rotor may be shot by the time the out case gets to 200F. It's the same way for LiPo batteries. That's why you always give yourself some margin, stop if the out case hits 180F or is simply rising in temperature too fast. Measure your critical temps at the end of the run, and then 5 minutes and 10 minutes later.

Some motors are much better than others when it comes to temperature. Something like the Castle-Neu motor that comes with the Mamba Monster is a really nice, efficient motor. I managed to get it up to 160F once but most runs it stays in the 130-140F range.

HeliStyle

My Feedback: (2)

Yeah I actually had temps of 128 today on my brushless, I used a traxxas temp gauge which is meant for nitro, which wrap around the cooling head, but I wrapped it around the can. 128 degrees was with a 3 cell lipo

Flux Driver

Did a run with my Stampede VXL again today. Same 7cell NIMH pack. Afterwards the motor was really hot. I was able to hold my finger on it for just under two seconds before having to remove it from it being so hot. But it didn't like melt or mar my skin or anything. I can't tell what temperature it is because I still don't have a temp gun yet and I'm not experienced with estimating metal temperatures by feel. But if the motor surface is hot enough to touch for a couple seconds, it's still alright and won't get ruined, right?

CrazyE

I have a VXL in my slash geared 23/90 It got to 161 degrees on a 4000 mah 2S lipo and 173 on a 5000 mah 3S. should I gear down? I've read on here that people with a lot higher gearing are getting cooler temps. What gives?

Access

It depends on what you are running on and how you drive. If you drive very aggressively, it will heat up more. If you run on a tough surface, or you run tires larger than normal, the same.

CrazyE

Im running Proline Dirt Works on the rear. I run mostly on gravel, dirt, and grass, hardly any street because it tears up tires too fast. Do you think I should drop a tooth or two on my pinion or are these temps alright?

Access

For gravel and grass yeah. When the temp gets above 160F you should think about gearing down. Don't let it get above 180F. 200F and higher can ruin your motor.

transam388

Quite frankly if you are worried about the temps...get a temp guage! Finger tests are OK but not really accurate. For the 20 to 30 bucks that you can get many guages for why mess around.? You had this post which is a good guide so just get the means to measure your temps and be done with it.

Consistent with what Access said, I like to think of it this way:

Greenline: Up to 160F
Yellowline: 160-180F
Redline: 180-200F
OverTemp: 200F+

CrazyE

Thanks. I geared up because the speed wasnt that great with the stock gearing with the 2S anyway. Not that I can go full speed now it just backflips, so whats the point anyway.

CrazyE

I have a temp gauge how do you think I knew it got to 174 degrees. I didnt just touch it and guess.