any thoughts on this castle esc/motor combo pls?

[pmdevlin]

Dear all,

I recently had a brand new castle barracuda 80 amp smoke after 4 minutes light use. I am thinking of getting the hydra 125, but before I spend the money, I would
appreciate any feedback on my set up.
4 foot heavy 6kg ply scale fast boat. Align 600bl brushless,1620kv, 1.5:1 ratio, prop still experimenting, but starting small and working up, with nimhs 52mm 2 blade X was fine, everything was stone cold , but now using 2 x 3 cell 5000 mah turnigy lipo, wired for 22.2 volts,
I want reverse, hence hydra.
I am waiting for castle to come back to me with advise, but for now, any advise appreciated, Dont really know trhis lipo/brushless game!
thanks!

[sailr]

Smoking an esc is indeed frustrating but all of them do it just with more frequency with some brands. There are a number of factors that could cause an esc to smoke.

Motor drawing too many amps due to friction in the driveline.
Too big a prop.
Motor locks up which will take out an esc in a flash.
Using more lipos (volts) than the motor manufacturer recommends.
Bad solder joints at the connectors setting up high resistance.
consistently running at less than full throttle can heat everything up too!

Lots of variables. Wish I could be more helpful.

[Fluid]

That is a very large boat for a single 'small' format motor, even geared. I assume the prop is fully submerged and the boat didn't get on full plane. It is no wonder the 80 amp controller burned up, you were certainly drawing plenty of amps. LiPos will deliver a lot more amps than Ni cells with the same setup.

I don't know what to tell you without more information about your setup - the hull, prop placement, how many Ni cells were you using, what is the C rating of the LiPos....... I would not go for a 120 amp controller unless I had a better idea how many amps I am actually drawing. Certainly go with a smaller prop or a numerically higher gear reduction. That means less speed, but speed means higher amp draw.




.

[pmdevlin]

thanks chaps, apologies to anyone who might have previously seen these pics, but I think it will help to see the boat.


This is the boat, submerged prop, running at the time 2 x 9.6v 4600 nimh, at 19.2 volts. THe motor is good for 6 lipo cells, the gear ratio is currently 1.5:1, I can easiy swop to 2:1. Its a perfect direct drive line, no friction or drag, I was just hoping that the lipos would give that bit more edge, and was going to start with a very small prop, working up after very short runs, temp testing etc. Given the gear ratio, I would have thouight the motor was well within tolerances, but point taken!:thumbup1:
The gearbox is pre tidied up paint! and for some reason the photo needs clicking on to open.
The lipos I have are 2 x 3 cell turnigy 5000mah, to run as 22.2v, motor is good for 6 cells, and so is the esc, I would have thopught the 125amp esc would have plenty of headroom, motor is :

Align 600BL

Instructions: Specification:
1.High efficient brushless motor for large electric helicopter, use 6cell Li-Po to perform super torque and power, great economical and efficient choice.
2.Maintenance free, high torque, high efficiency, stable and quiet.
3.High-speed ball bearings, powerful magnetic outrunner rotor.
4.These new brushless motors are designed with a new radiator system. The motors are built with an integrated cooling fan and has air ingress/egress vents, circulating cool air inside the rotor continuously. The motors efficiently lower operating temperature.


●Input voltage: DC25.2V 6cell Li-Po
●Max continuous current: 65A
●Max output power:1500W(prox.)
●KV value:1620KV
●Dimension: spindle 5x61.5x43.3mm
●Weight: 280g (prox.)
Accessories:
●Socket screw(M3X10)X2
●Washer(Φ3XΦ8X1)X2
plus
●ALIGN standard 4mm gilt terminal x 3set(Max. current 80A)

Many thanks

[pmdevlin]

thanks sailr for the suggestions, I can rule out everything, except bad solder joint causing resistance, can you possibly explain this in more detail? I waas wondering about this,
thanks

[sailr]

If there is a bad ..or.."cold" solder joint, it will can create a hot spot due to high resistance. In some cases enough to melt the solder.