New EKOS owner here

[dont slow down]

Picked up a EKOS last week and have been doing a lot of research before this thing even sees the water. I've read about the motors blowing up, the ESC's frying, cooling issues and have been doing what I can to prevent any mishaps when I start running this thing. I've already opened the rudder cooling port and tied some cooling lines into the originals with some Y fittings to get some more water flow. I've gone through all the screws and loctited them. I've ordered 2 of the Turnigy 3S 35C 5000 packs and am waiting for them to arrive. I will likely switch to my Spektrum radio before I run it as well. I'll be getting some collets to put on the shafts just in case the couplers come off. I've also put a small o-ring on all the cooling line fittings to keep them from coming off.

My main question is: Has anyone had as many problems with the newer outrunner motors?

As it is stock, what other issues do I need to address before running it in stock configuration?

Thanks

[Randy Willard]

Sounds like your doing the right stuff. The only problems I have had, is the servo mount glue breaking loose, and the radio quit working. Which the same thing happened to my brother's EKOS. Once we replaced the radios, and re glued the servo mounts, ours boats have been perfect.

[LarrysDrifter]

Completely gut the hull and re-inforce it.Then,throw away all the stock electronics/motors/flex shafts/battery tray/rudder and mount,then re-build it with quality parts.

[jamespl]

Completely gut the hull and re-inforce it.Then,throw away all the stock electronics/motors/flex shafts/battery tray/rudder and mount,then re-build it with quality parts.

That's ok if you have bottomless pockets. I was looking on the venom website at the v380 outrunners and it says under batter type 2-4 cells. I wander if it would work ok on 2x4 cell lipos?

[dont slow down]

Completely gut the hull and re-inforce it.Then,throw away all the stock electronics/motors/flex shafts/battery tray/rudder and mount,then re-build it with quality parts.


As it is stock, what other issues do I need to address before running it in stock configuration?

Thanks

Blah blah blah, replace everything stock, aftermarket is better. Well the boat will still run with stock equipment right? :olleyes:

The battery recommendations for the boat are only up to 11.1v (3S) packs (2 of them). The motors themselves are rated up to 5S voltage according to Venom, and the manual says the speed controls are rated up to 10.9v each. I've read that some people are running 2 4S packs and doing ok, but it's not rated for that much from Venom. So I guess if you swapped out ESC's you could bump up to 4S packs and the outrunner motors should be fine. I'm going to stick with 3S for now and see how it goes.

I have another question, does anyone else's hull not have the metal tabs for the hatch magnets? My hatch doesn't attach to the hull at all. Venom says the magnets aren't supposed to hold the hatch on but the manual clearly states that the magnets should hold the hatch securely in place.

Another question I have is what are these little green donut things that the ESC wires are wrapped around? Is it some sort of signal amplifier or something?

[Diesel6401]

- Don't rely on the magnets. Always use hatch tape.

- Venom does not make anything of their own, unlike Aquacraft and Proboat. Venom re-brands and adds their lables to things. With that being said you esc is a Hobbywing Seaking v2 esc and it will take 4s without an issue. Venom just suggested running at a lower voltage I think because of all the issues they had on the first gen of ekos with the higher voltage which was actually a motor issue not a esc issue. The hull itself is a Dragon Hobby Hull, and should be re-inforced like mentioned above. This is your hull with a different paint job, also the hull itself is 32" not 34", venom just included the hardware for the extra 2" as other measure the bare hull itself. Here's the same hull http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=13774
This http://www.venom-group.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=1398 is 99.9% the same as this http://www.hobbyhot.com/hobbywing-seaking-60a-brushless-electric-speed-controller-c-282-p-1-pr-1670.html the .01% difference is the stickers and venom soldered a ec3 connector on for you. With all that being said the green donut if a filter. The motors I think are Suppo's. At least I know the P1 mono 2000kv motor is a suppo. I had one and I compared it to my Hobbyking Turnigy Suppo outrunner and it was the same besides venoms motor mounting mod.

- I do find it shocking that you said they mentioned running only 3s on this hull. That doesn't yield much unloaded rpm for a twin. 2700kv on 3s is only around 29k unloaded which would be great for a single motor, but twins like higher rpms. A 4s setup is more applicable to the stock setup. I have a feeling sense the first ekos was such a nightmare on 4s that they stepped all their ratings down for the second gen even though they used different motors. 1 think I would suggest is ordering some wire drives for your setup. I bet the venom 32mm props on 4s would rock and the 36mm on 3s. JMO of course. The hull is not a bad hull at all and with the outrunners they stuck in the hull it should work great for you. Just take your time, seems like your on the right track. I would like to STRESS that you should reinforce the hull, these China hulls are great for their value, but at higher speeds the can split at the seems. The first gen ekos (same hull) had a issue with this.




*By the way I almost forgot to mention the most important thing: :welcome: to OSE.

[Dragboatdad]

I have an ekes too. I'm also new to this. I have upgraded everything(380 10xl 120esc wiredrives x442 props) Where exactly do they need to be reinforced. I don't thrash this boat but it is capable of speeds that could kite it.
Thanks

[dont slow down]

Where does it need to be reinforced? What do you use to do it? Who offers wire drive kits for this thing? Going to have to put the EKOS maiden voyage on hold till after I move later this month.

[DyrtyByrd]

you should reinforce the bottom of the hull inside the boat with carbon cloth or fiber glass (i prefer carbon) and use the appropriate epoxy to set the cloth. try to go as far foward as possible with the cloth under the front deck, and as far up on the sides of the hull as you can go make sure to get the epoxy nice and smooth (and not too thick) where you plan to mount your electronics. i think jeff wholt makes wire drives for this and ose sells them

[LarrysDrifter]

A good place to research this boat is the Venom RTR threads.Lots of information and build threads there.I said what I said in post #3 is because I have this boat and know all too well its weaknesses.I have a build thread in the Venom RTR section.
To James,I do not have bottomless pockets in any way.
To the original poster of this thread,there is no blah,blah,blah about aftermarket parts being better than factory. The fact is,MOST aftermarket parts are better than Venom puts in their hulls.Venom buys the cheapest parts and re badges them.Most of us have had the worst of luck with our EKOS,only to replace the parts with higher quality parts and got to go faster as well.Its very easy to be $1000 in the hole with this boat. Take the advise of others when they say it isnt worth it. Its a very cool looking boat,but thats where the positivity about it stops.
Others and myself included are more than happy to help you in any way with your build.

[dano1]

ive got mine running good all stock with the exceptions of a rudder kit and props, im thinking of upgrading the motors in mine....its a slow boat but so far dependable and fun to run, good luck on your quest

[Dragboatdad]

ive got mine running good all stock with the exceptions of a rudder kit and props, im thinking of upgrading the motors in mine....its a slow boat but so far dependable and fun to run, good luck on your quest

What rudder kit did you get?

[Jeff Wohlt]

I make the wire drives and couplers to fit the factory set up. Have sold hundreds all over the world.

[dano1]

what rudder kit did you get?

kit was from kintec, break away rudder, sorry i do not have the link, purchaced the boat with the rudder kit, but i think its in the venom section on there site

[forescott]

Only issues I had was the motors. It would be nice to get some feedback on the new outrunners. I replaced mine with feigao 9xl's. But I had the crappy old green inrunners.

[dont slow down]

A good place to research this boat is the Venom RTR threads.Lots of information and build threads there.I said what I said in post #3 is because I have this boat and know all too well its weaknesses.I have a build thread in the Venom RTR section.
To James,I do not have bottomless pockets in any way.
To the original poster of this thread,there is no blah,blah,blah about aftermarket parts being better than factory. The fact is,MOST aftermarket parts are better than Venom puts in their hulls.Venom buys the cheapest parts and re badges them.Most of us have had the worst of luck with our EKOS,only to replace the parts with higher quality parts and got to go faster as well.Its very easy to be $1000 in the hole with this boat. Take the advise of others when they say it isnt worth it. Its a very cool looking boat,but thats where the positivity about it stops.
Others and myself included are more than happy to help you in any way with your build.

I'm not saying Venoms stuff is great. We all know aftermarket is better. There are many people who have had good luck with the stock electronics. So when I ask about how to make the best of the stock equipment and get the answer "replace everything" that's not really that helpful, that's all I'm saying. Of course I'm going to run it stock to see how it goes, then upgrade what needs to be upgraded based on my needs and expectations. I respect that you have had lots of experience with this boat, I'm sure I'll be asking you about things later on, I was just looking for a few tips to get a starting point.

[dont slow down]

I make the wire drives and couplers to fit the factory set up. Have sold hundreds all over the world.

Which kit fits the EKOS?

[dont slow down]

Nevermind, ordered up a set of the wire drives. Have a few things to install before actually running it. How much gap do I need with the wire drives? Less than the flex shafts right? I've heard of the wire drives binding a little if there is an arc in your stuffing tube, true?

[dano1]

I just reworked my kos and put batterys in sponsons and running seaking 60amp esc's, planning on putting in some feigo's but am undecided what ones to run, i want to have one boat that i can run for a bit without temp issues, and boy....she handles really great now, JUST WANTED TO SHARE

[dont slow down]

Still haven't run this thing, maybe next week. Got my wire drives in the mail, haven't put them in or anything yet.

[Dragboatdad]

Nevermind, ordered up a set of the wire drives. Have a few things to install before actually running it. How much gap do I need with the wire drives? Less than the flex shafts right? I've heard of the wire drives binding a little if there is an arc in your stuffing tube, true?

I was told about 1/16" gap is good. Also I don't know what coupler you have , but I had to file a small flat surface on my wire drives for my set screws to keep them from spinning in the coupler. But I have Feigao 380 10xl and x442 props. I also put a 1/16" collar on the drive just after the coupler to keep it from sliding out if the coupler comes loose.

[Jeff Wohlt]

ALWAYS make a slight flat and make sure any couplers you use has 4 setscrews like mine. Otherwise the wire will bore the alum out and bye-bye drive. Also use blue thread locker on everything.

[dont slow down]

Thanks for the info :thumbup1:

[dont slow down]

Well I got the EKOS wet for the first time today, just testing it out. Started with 6S and 34mm props. The pond I ran it in is pretty small and barely had enough room to get the boat on a plane. Got the ESC's programmed and everything ran smooth. Threw on the 36mm props just to see how they were and what a difference! The boat wanted to jump out of the water. Again didn't have much room to get up to full speed but I know the boat works and will try to find a bigger place to run it.

[LarrysDrifter]

Good deal. Can you post some pics of your build?

[dont slow down]

Got some pics, pretty basic. Like I said I just got it and have only run it once, didn't even get up to full throttle. Have done a couple mods: extra cooling lines, flex cable collers, 5.5 bullets, and wire drives (not installed yet). Found a place to try to run it the next day or two. Here's the pics:

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee105/swashbuckler1998/Venom%20EKOS/100_2116.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee105/swashbuckler1998/Venom%20EKOS/100_2117.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee105/swashbuckler1998/Venom%20EKOS/100_2118.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee105/swashbuckler1998/Venom%20EKOS/100_2289.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee105/swashbuckler1998/Venom%20EKOS/100_2291.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee105/swashbuckler1998/Venom%20EKOS/100_2292.jpg

[fallensk8man89]

thats sexy. i just ordered mine cant wait till it gets here!

[dont slow down]

With 6S what amount of timing is everyone else running? I have mine at 0 right now.

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Was doing some electronics tweaking on the bench today and I'm noticing that both motors don't start turning at the same time. The port motor starts right away and if I hold it at a low rpm the starboard motor won't turn. If I give it more throttle the stbd one kicks in. I'm concerned that one motor is working harder than the other. Is this a problem or something that only happens at low rpm?

[dont slow down]

Think I got the motor thing worked out, I think one ESC had the timing set differently. It still does it in reverse though. Anyone run other than 0 degrees timing?

[dont slow down]

Switched to my DX3R and solved the motor sync problems. What timing should I run for 3S packs to get the best speed? My motors came in at about 100 degrees after about 10 min of run time. Batts were at 96ish, speedos were at about 80.