NHRCRACER

I still see racers let the magic smoke out every now and then. Check out the top five mistakes people are making that ruin their electronics here.

Heads up: this is a link to an article that I'm sharing because while there are a lot of experienced people here, I believe the info still needs to be passed around. Thanks.

NovakTwo

Potential causes of serious ESC/motor damage:

…poor soldering/cold solder joints
…loose connectors
…defective battery cell, or pack
…low "C"-rated pack

…over-gearing
…weak rotor (demagnetized)
…shorted motor coil
...reverse polarity

...damaged esc capacitor/module
...exceeding esc's input voltage
...repeated crashes/vibration
...water damage/corrosion

Generally, when a product burns up, the assumption is that it is a defective item; it is always tempting to blame the item that is melting down. However, many other problems in your over-all set up may cause excessive current to be drawn through the electronics causing this complete melt down. Continuing to run any electronic product after it has started showing signs of distress will generally completely destroy the item.

You will greatly lessen the potential damage to your electronics by making sure that these problems do not occur.

Timmahhh

iTrader: (15)

Thanks! I've been trying some of my own methods to achieve this, but have been unsuccessful. Ill give these a try.

NHRCRACER

Exactly!

speedin

iTrader: (1)

good read. It said in the article that the motor should never go over 160. Does this apply to all motors, because castle told me that I can gear my rc8 anyway I like as long as the motor temps stay below 200. (mmm 2200) Not trying to argue, just trying to learn.

Cpt.America

iTrader: (52)

Temperature limit isn't an absolute. 160 is just a rule of thumb. The 200 number you heard is ALSO a rule of thumb... But in my opinion, 200 is too high for ANY rc motor. 160 or 170 is a much better line to try and stay under.

NHRCRACER

I suggest 160 F. I personally think you stand to lose more than you gain by going higher. Heat kills the magnets as well as causing other problems

speedin

iTrader: (1)

Ok....I have a temp loop on my mmm 2200... right now its geared 14/50,(rc8t) and I usually see temps around 140-150. If I bump it up to a 15t, then I see temps from 150ish to 170ish depending on conditions and how hard i am on the throttle/brakes. Temps seem to gradually get higher if I run back to back packs. Even though a lot of people told me it will level off. With a 16t, I see temps in the 180's. I don't have any holes cut in the body for airflow. But even if I did would it really make that much a difference?
I don't think a 14, 15, or a 16T pinion is any wear near being over geared but that's just me. Maybe I'm wrong...

ACRBling

iTrader: (29)

Cutting holes in the body will definately help with the cooling. For both the motor and esc.

If you have room, a motor heatsink also does wonders.

NHRCRACER

You're not wrong...as there is no perfect answer for everyone.

What is always right is that the higher temps you run, the greater the chance you have of ruining your stuff.

Also, don't forget LiPo temps. I suggest temps of 130 and below for LiPos. And, LiPos can continue to rise in temps after a run.

speedin

iTrader: (1)

ok where would you recommend I make the holes? And in what configuration so I don't mess up the aerodynamics of the truggy in the air and on the ground.

I tried searching for a nice heat sink for the 2200 and couldn't find any that would fit, only 540 and 550 sized motors. I do have some room and would love to run a monster sized heat sink, I figure it could only help some. Any suggestions?

My esc doesn't get hot at all...although a few times it has come off the track and the fan was on. Made me scratch my head because the esc wasn't even luke warm on the outside. I asked castle and they told me the inside temp is vastly different from the temp on the outside of the case. Never the less the fan has always turned off with in seconds of coming off the track which made me think that it was teetering on/off

Davidka

iTrader: (86)

Novak recommends 175f as max safe temp for their motors. If 170-175 is max, it's better to aim for 140 than 160. Key is accepting the performance that the temperature you choose results in and not pushing it. I find that most motors have faded significantly in the last 2 minutes of a run when pushed to 160+.