Magic smoke And 2 - 240's

[ozzie-crawl]

i used to here a lot off people go on about cheap chinese crappy esc,s, but over the last 6 months i have seen a swing towards people using the himodel/turnigy 200a because the ccs are going up in smoke.
for me to buy a hydra 240 iam looking at around $360 a.u for that i could buy 6.5 himodel 200a esc,s
fair enough you mite get the odd one that may give out the smoke but its cheaper for me to replace one of these than to send a hydra back for repairs.
i also here people saying dont run 6s on the lv hydras yet a cheap chinese esc has no problems with running 6s
i would be very interested to know what the $300 more expensive esc does that is worth that extra $300
just my 2c

[domwilson]

When I bought mine, they were one of the few relatively inexpensive controllers that could handle 6s without a pistix. People raved about them. Then Castle changed the specs and warranty. Now I'm not so sure.

[Jeff Wohlt]

Well, sorry for my candid approach but caps no caps....whatever....they should be WELL aware of this stuff. You should not have to second guess a controller like this.

Harsh as it is... We are all getting milked to be beta testers...upgrade and again and new firmware....that is so total BS!

They can't justify the cost...right...how many thousands do you think they have sold? If you can't do the R&D and QC then get out of the market place.

Warranty is not the saving issue here...maybe that is why they have it. Maybe it takes them $40 worth of parts to make so they can afford to replace them 3 times and still make a profit....which is probably the case.

[Eodman]

These two esc's are the same ones I used last summer and this summer - as I said the only thing that changed was the hyperion batteries!

[Flying Scotsman]

This is a sad story, i have a barracuda 80 and a hydra 120, no problems on 4s and 5s with conservative set ups. Why Castle ESCs go boom on plug in is I presume a voltage problem or bad components, but Eodman's problems are very interesting...Joe any answers?

Douggie

[Team FFRB]

ESC's

I remember talking to someone at Castle and he said that they don't sell enough boat controllers to justify investing in designing new model. If you look at Schulze, their controllers are universal - they come with switch settings for air, land and water use. Plus, they now got real built in spark eliminator circuit, no need to mess with soldering your own resistor.
My experience with Castle controllers has been hit and miss. My 120 HV ran at 150A fine until it went diving. My 180 HV burned with same setup after a while. MY 240 HV burned within seconds with same setup. You see the progression? It could be that my LiPos were getting older and developing higher internal resistance... BUT why can't the controller monitor this and shut down to protect itself? Where's real motor short circuit protection? Why can't it gradually reduce throttle when battery voltage is getting low and not abruptly cut it and get my boat stranded at the lake? My new 40.160 offers that feature.

I totally agree!

I have ordered more MGM and Schultz esc's to use simply because they are flawless.

I got to the point of hating fast electrics because of all the problems with Castle Creation marine products.

All I want to do is put my boats on the water and go for it.

[Team FFRB]

Love me long time esc's

i used to here a lot off people go on about cheap chinese crappy esc,s, but over the last 6 months i have seen a swing towards people using the himodel/turnigy 200a because the ccs are going up in smoke.
for me to buy a hydra 240 iam looking at around $360 a.u for that i could buy 6.5 himodel 200a esc,s
fair enough you mite get the odd one that may give out the smoke but its cheaper for me to replace one of these than to send a hydra back for repairs.
i also here people saying dont run 6s on the lv hydras yet a cheap chinese esc has no problems with running 6s
i would be very interested to know what the $300 more expensive esc does that is worth that extra $300
just my 2c

Yes you are very right about Himodel esc's. I have been using them in a few race boats with out a problem.
I have been water proofing them and installing water cooling plate with great success. It is a must!!! They don't like even a drop of water.
On 6s all so with out any problems.

[EPower]

I wonder if Joe Ford is watching this thread i think he should chime in i bet you he won't i put castle in the same class as Etti rubbish
Team FFRB i will give that 200 amp esc of your's a good trashing with my stup and see what happens i'm sure it will outlast my etti

[Joe Ford]

When I bought mine, they were one of the few relatively inexpensive controllers that could handle 6s without a pistix. People raved about them. Then Castle changed the specs and warranty. Now I'm not so sure.

Actually we changed it so you could run 6s under warranty. Just want to set that straight, and I personally had a hand in doing it.

And yes, Epower, here I am. Not a chicken @#$%...raised by a lifer Marine. If anything I run INTO the firefight. I am taking note of these failures, and now that I personally am running boats I'll be able to investigate these myself. Have a 240HV that smoked on plug in headed to me right now to check out where the damage is occurring and see if there's anything we can do to alleviate the problems. I agree with you all, as costly as our controllers are you should not be having to deal with these (hopefully) easy issues. And yes, capacitors are one thing I will be looking at. Spark arrestor circuits I am on top of already. Talking w/engineering about adding a 1 ohm 5W resistor and extra connectors, or at least offering it as an option for those who wish to have it.

[domwilson]

Actually we changed it so you could run 6s under warranty. Just want to set that straight, and I personally had a hand in doing it.

And yes, Epower, here I am. Not a chicken @#$%...raised by a lifer Marine. If anything I run INTO the firefight. I am taking note of these failures, and now that I personally am running boats I'll be able to investigate these myself. Have a 240HV that smoked on plug in headed to me right now to check out where the damage is occurring and see if there's anything we can do to alleviate the problems. I agree with you all, as costly as our controllers are you should not be having to deal with these (hopefully) easy issues. And yes, capacitors are one thing I will be looking at. Spark arrestor circuits I am on top of already. Talking w/engineering about adding a 1 ohm 5W resistor and extra connectors, or at least offering it as an option for those who wish to have it.

Thank you Joe for the reply. Unfortunately, I've had my controllers in their boxes until two weeks ago because of the reported issues. So they are out of warranty. But it is good to know that you guys are aware and taking care of these issues.

[Joe Ford]

Send them to me. I'll make them warranty as long as you're just barely out. They too will help me figure out what's going on and resolve this.

[domwilson]

Haven't put them on the water yet. Been scared (yes, I'm a chicken) to run them because of the reported issues everyone has been having. But now I feel more confident to run them. I will let you know if I have any issues. Thanks for standing behind your products.

[Joe Ford]

Ah, ok. Well give them a go with the new 1.04 software, and make sure you calibrate the ESC to the radio. Very important. If you don't see a solid red LED when you go full throttle (do it without a motor attached) increase your high side endpoint on the radio to say 120% and do it again. Been running mine in a couple fairly hot setups without issues for a few weeks now running each boat 1 or 2 times before the sun goes down (just got addicted...stinks that it's getting cold!).

PS- if you don't have a Castle Link to check firmware version/download the 1.04 software let me know. I'll send you mine.

[AntronX]

Hello Joe, nice to see you posting here. Could you check if Hydra's aluminum heat sink plates are enough to remove heat from so many tightly packed FETs? Is it possible for Castle to offer 240A controllers with copper heat sink plates and water tubes?

Also, friend of mine just had 240 LV fail in a new way I didn't see before. It did not burn, but it fails to boot up. He says it makes constant ticking in the motor when battery is connected. That controller is a replacement by you guys for his previous one that burned. Would you be willing to take at look at it? His setup is 6S2P 12,000 mAh with extra caps, but it ran pretty hot pulling 140 - 160A continuously with some peaks beyond his 180A data logger limit.

[Ub Hauled]

Joe, all these measures you are taking towards resolving the issues are greatly appreciated... at least I know I do...

Danke