Seaking Pro 120A

[Bigford]

I think my turnigy 120 is a rebranded swordfish 120

[CraigP]

Yes it has data logging as well, but the documentation is sketchy for that. Also, this brand does not have great reviews. Many report them blowing up early into using them. When I see that many trouble reviews, I tend to take heed. It does have a good price though! So far, my Swordfish has been bullet proof and the data logging is working great in my application. You have to take it upon yourself to get a warm and cozy feeling about new products, or ones you haven't experienced yet. Remember in reviews, any one review doesn't mean very much. Look at the body of reviews. Be prepared to spend some time on this. Look for commonality in the report of troubles. If you see a pattern, then that may be good info on your buying decision.

I am running a 33" DF Hydro on 8S, 4074/1050kV Motor with a 150A Swordfish ESC. I have it propped (457 3-blade) for right at 90A on hard accel. Best to leave at least a 35% safety factor in both current and voltage rating on the ESC. Run a Cap Bank! The boat is down now for a sponson rework, they are junk... It won't ride rough (race) water at all and the ski jumps they put under this boat stock are a good reason why! But that's another discussion for some other day...

[Insanity Plea]

Since the 120 pro is new without available feedback, would it be better to run the 120 v3? I'm not interested in racing electric (yet), it's just a sport boat to run along with my daughters shockwave. It would be dumb to run my gas boats with her.

From what I can tell, I question the pro cooling inlets being 2.0 vs the v3 3.0 and also it being marketed as "splash proof" as to the v3 stating that it has a waterproof design.

I'm not too concerned about all the bells and whistles, I just want something to hold up for playing, which will include half throttle running to let my daughter catch up and/or full throttle runs on the gps. I do plan to run that 2030kv with it unless I can find a more suitable combo. With knowing that I will not be wide open at all times, should I jump up to a 180 to keep the temps down due to the additional draw? (Not sure if my logic of thinking is correct)

[CraigP]

Your logic is good, just need to verify! The 2030kV can go to high amps fast, so need to keep tabs on that. You should find a prop that will pair up with that nicely and keep within your power budget. Sport boat is great, I haven't raced in a sanctioned event yet, but "race" water means running with other boats, having to run over wakes and such what... That's just what I call "real water".

I wouldn't consider any of the ESC's to be waterproof, that's bold talking for a one eyed fat man! My hull stays dry, so I don't worry about that. I did a lot of leak testing in the bath tub before I put it on the pond. The stuffing box is the greatest challenge. Bath tub won't test that... But if everything else is tight in the tub, and you get water running the boat, then it's most probably the stuffing box or a water fitting. I silicone seal all my water fittings into the jackets, use a bit of Teflon tape wrapped on the fitting before I put the tube on. I use a piece of copper wire wrapped twice (just behind the barb) and twisted tight as a clamp. Just use new wire if you take the fittings off. The motor jacket cooler can be a leak source too. I use a light axel grease on the O-ring before installation, wipe the motor down with a paper towel that has WD-40 on it and slide it on. If it catches going on, you could have cut the O-ring, so keep an eye on that.

The whole point of FE boats is to have fun! But "fun" isn't having to buy ESC's every other time you run. So some work in the beginning will set the stage for many a fine day with your daughter!

[CraigP]

Oh, half-throttle running... That's not an easy thing to accomplish! The ESC tends to run hot under partial throttle. This is because it starts into it's PWM mode of switching. Long of the short of it is, this switching action tends to have very fast high voltage spikes that make the MOSFETS in the ESC breakdown for a brief period of time, but this produces heat. At the current levels of these boats, it is not possible to make that go away.

The Cap Board can provide some slowing down of this spike, thus helping to keep it from the MOSFET's voltage breakdown level. This is part of the 35% overhead I talked about before. I'm an EE and have had to live with those annoying spikes all my career! I build my own Cap Boards that have different types of capacitors, some for the fast spikes, some for the PWM mode and some for the full throttle mode. I also add a device known as a "TVS" or Transient Voltage Suppressor. But you need to study on that it you want to wade into those waters. I do have a setup that has no part-throttle heat problems. My TVS's get hot, but they are made to take it and my MOSFETs stay running cool. I posted some pictures on it in the tips section I think... Search for Cap Board, you should find it if your interested.

[Insanity Plea]

Thanks for the info, I'll stick with an off the shelf plug n go and hope for the best.

[CraigP]

Good play, but use healthy de-rates! Don't believe their current/voltage specs, they all lie!

[T.S.Davis]

Does anyone know if these have been shutting down prematurely like some of the recent units have?