Castle Hydra Ice Blow Up

[LarrysDrifter]

A friend of mine had his new, never used Hydra Ice 200HV pop before it initialized. I hope these aren't going to end up being like the older Hydras. I just bought a new Hydra Ice 240 and am now afraid to plug the thing in. Has anyone else had any issues or catastrophic failure with these? I realize they haven't been out long, but I know there are a few out there.

[sailr]

Say it aint so!! I was so hoping Castle finally had its act together with these controllers! DANG!!!! At least Castle will replace it. They have always been very good about that.

Keep us posted. Sure would like to know why it blew! I'm sure Castle would like to know too!

[davey]

Ive plug mine in and programmed it...things went OK...just waiting for my boat from Steve

[detox]

Was he using the on board BEC or a seperate battery pack?


...

[LarrysDrifter]

CC BEC Pro.

[scoota]

A friend of mine had his new, never used Hydra Ice 200HV pop before it initialized. I hope these aren't going to end up being like the older Hydras. I just bought a new Hydra Ice 240 and am now afraid to plug the thing in. Has anyone else had any issues or catastrophic failure with these? I realize they haven't been out long, but I know there are a few out there.

:rofl: sorry guys, been waiting and hoping they would get it right with the ice !! but how many years was the hydra out & they couldnt get that right ...Castle ESCs = FLAMES & A SMELLY BOAT ... I guess they charge so much for their ESCs to cover the cost of all the warranty claims :roflol:

Only if they made a HV - T180 :cool:

[LarrysDrifter]

Also, there is no on board BEC on the HV.

[carlcisneros]

If this is the brand new version, (just thinking out loud), does it have the LOW VOLTAGE caps installed by chance?

[LarrysDrifter]

It did initially, but he sent it back and had the correct caps put on. This thread isn't about stirring the Castle pot more than it has been, I'm just wondering of anyone else has had problems with their Hydra Ices. I'm sure he will get a replacement and all should be good after we figure out what went wrong.

[fuse01]

no issue so far with my ice 240 XL .

[scoota]

It did initially, but he sent it back and had the correct caps put on. This thread isn't about stirring the Castle pot more than it has been, I'm just wondering of anyone else has had problems with their Hydra Ices. I'm sure he will get a replacement and all should be good after we figure out what went wrong.

:hornets_nest: the pot needs some stirring, sorry couldnt help it :popcorn2:

[LarrysDrifter]

It doesn't yet, scoota. You can of you like, but let's give these new esc's a chance. So far, its only been wrong caps. Inconvenience, yes, but not a blow up on plug in like the 1st gen Hydras.

[carlcisneros]

one of the guys in my club runs one and has has great results with it.

am sure that CC will take care of you on it.

[scoota]

Look the way i look at it , when you pay top dollar for something you shouldnt be having these problems at all !!!! if it was a 99 buck T180 maybe yes ... why can hobbywing make cheap reliable ESCs ??? i owned 6 Hydras & they all failed , but 1 cause i was to scared to plug it in , its still brand new in the box ...

[keithbradley]

I saw someone else post about frying 200HV on what seemed like a mild setup for the esc...6s lipo and moderate current draw.
I hope these are isolated occurances though. The air model Ices have been great ESCs for me.

[mavdriver]

There was a smal bad batch of 200 HVs that had 35 volt caps instead of the 50 volt caps that were sent out but they are correct now , Castle will replace the esc for free if you have one of the bad units , hope this helps .
http://www.horizonhobby.com/ProdInfo/Files/CSEHYDRAXLHV-Bulletin.pdf

[scoota]

It doesn't yet, scoota. You can of you like, but let's give these new esc's a chance. So far, its only been wrong caps. Inconvenience, yes, but not a blow up on plug in like the 1st gen Hydras.

If you did'nt want to stir the pot & you wanted to give the new ICE a chance , why didnt you just power the thing up , instead of starting a thread on a public forum how your mates ICE blew up , i dont call that giving Castle a chance or doing them any favours!!!!! there are a lot of unhappy 1st gen Hydra buyers out there , im sick of not saying anything about bad products

And im not anti Castle cause there cc/neu motors ROCK !!!!!!!

IMO castle should stick to making plane ESCs & motors .....

[Fluid]

If you did'nt want to stir the pot & you wanted to give the new ICE a chance , why didnt you just power the thing up , instead of starting a thread on a public forum how your mates ICE blew up....

There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking if others have had a problem with their new HydraICE controllers. That is what this forum is for, sharing experiences and helping to prevent/solve problems. With Castle's long history of introducing marine ESCs with initial problems (both Barracudas and Hydras had major issues when introduced) it is not out of line to ask.

What is out of line is pronouncing that all new HydraICE controllers may be bad when only a few are being used so far. The only concrete issue known is the use of incorrect caps on some controller - that's bad enough. The overall ICE platform is great, as many of us who have been using the aircraft versions know.


/

[scoota]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking if others have had a problem with their new HydraICE controllers. That is what this forum is for, sharing experiences and helping to prevent/solve problems. With Castle's long history of introducing marine ESCs with initial problems (both Barracudas and Hydras had major issues when introduced) it is not out of line to ask.

What is out of line is pronouncing that all new HydraICE controllers may be bad when only a few are being used so far. The only concrete issue known is the use of incorrect caps on some controller - that's bad enough. The overall ICE platform is great, as many of us who have been using the aircraft versions know.


/

Never said there was anything wrong asking a question Jay , look at the thread heading , if he has the right CAPs which we all know about HOW can WE AS A GROUP prevent/solve problems unless he plugs it in :doh: maybe send it back to castle so they can run it in a boat ?

[scoota]

The POT was stirring with the thead heading thats all im getting at ....At the end of the day i will never buy a castle esc again

[LarrysDrifter]

Scoota, you need to go back and re-read the posts. His esc NOW has the correct caps on it. Also, we did try to power the esc up. Our intentions were to run a newly built boat believe it or not. Don't come here stirring the pot. I'm asking questions about others experiences. I'm not here bad mouthing Castle or even warning people about Ice controllers. You are free to start a negative thread here about whatever you like. As far as my new Ice 240, soon as my hull and more parts get here, I'll post a build thread. I'll be plugging my esc in when I'm ready to do so.

[scoota]

What i was getting at about the caps , if YOURS are the correct ones , what other signs could there be (being a sealed unit) , to let you know you have a bad esc , you wont know till you plug it in if there is something wrong . Anyway dont want to start a war over this , so good luck with the first plug in , maybe wear some gloves & safty goggles

[Accordnut]

We had 2 hydra ice 240 fail and burn they had the correct caps

[T.S.Davis]

Guys, try not to condemn an entire company because some have had issues. The people who have had problems are usually frustrated and make the most noise. Sometimes the companies hear us too. They don't want the press either. The guys that run them with no problems don't usually go on line to tell how the product is working just like it's supposed to.

My Hackers were unpredictable. Never did figure that out. At the time they weren't warranting much of anything.

I had a LOT!! of trouble with the Barracuda speedos. My Hydras were fantastic. Bullet proof even. I currently have an ICE that wont fire. Going to send it in.

I set a record with a Himodel once and then while waiting for the tech it burst into flames. Tub of goo. Did it fail or was it a success?

Shultze service let me down. Should I hate on the whole company? I don't think so. Their products are awesome. They're like buying a Porsche.

My point is, they all have issues. Don't decide any of them is the source of all evil based solely on what you read on the forums. You'll find success and failure stories with every manufacturer. More often than not you don't hear the success story at all.

[Fluid]

While I do not have a HydraICE, I have been running Castle ICE controllers for over a year - two 100s and one 200, all with PiStix. One ICE100 has been in my P Limited boat with a UL-1 motor, logging average amp draws of 80-90- amps. Zero problems with just a 25mm fan for cooling. Never over 200*F even on a 104*F day, mostly much lower. (That's the internal logged temp, not on the caps after a run.)

The ICE200 has been even more impressive. It's been in my big P Sport Hydro for over a year, dozens of race heats in HOT weather, never a glitch. The average amp draw in that boat is 180/185, fan cooled only. Last weekend at a race I thought it had blown. It was 104*F and I had to do a penalty lap - the motor and ESC were HOT when I got back to the beach. The next heat the boat died - darn, burned controller. Nope. The Neu 1521/1.5D finally shorted a winding after three years of abuse. Put in a spare 1521 and the controller runs like new. Try all this with an old Hydra 240....

The ICE platform itself is great. Perhaps the HydraICE needs some more work, perhaps not. I do know that many problems with Castle controllers in the past were due to owner error - incorrect settings, incorrect binding, momentary reverse polarity, cheezy packs, etc. Few are honest enough to admit it. But I have no doubt that some problems were due to Castle - the cap error does not bode well. I don't need a HydraICE right now, but I won't hesitate to buy one when I do.



.

[BakedMopar]

All of the air LV ICE controllers I used performed flawlessly both in the water and in the air. I have witnessed a few HV ICE controllers blow up at the flying field. Most on plug in.

Overall they have stood behind their products 100%.

[RandyatBBY]

I have had good and bad results with all most all company's I have dealt with. It sucks when they do have problems like before mention. I have been scared of the HV ESC's so I just do not go there. Some people have had good luck with them some have not. Definably Castle has made a plenty of money off there ESC good or bad. I have really trusted the Hydra 240 LV to race my 4S boats and still do But I would never run a 5S or 6S setup with them. We have a Hydra Ice 240 35V that we are running in a 4S Sport we will see how it will work.

Thanks for the info on the caps it is good to know.

[fuse01]

Randy i have been testing Hydra Ice 240xl and had good results.

this will be transferred to the boat which you will build for me and my buddy.


thanks in advance

[tarnold69]

i have the 8cell 240 no problems plan on buying 2 more 200 hv they are working great for me.