Help! Twin setup wiring

[Alfa Spirit]

Is it a good idea to have shunt wiring between batteries and ESCs? Thanks

[ED66677]

IMO yes and no, yes because if one motor is temporary overloaded then both pack together provide more amp than one and at least both pack will be empty at the same time, no (but it is a very little no) because if you are not carrefull enough with your pack one may discharge in the other, if one gets shorted the other one wil blow off as well!... now lot of people run batt in parallel so I assume it is not a bad idea!

[crabstick]

I personally would keep them separate, if one blows it might take the other out. As long as you have the low voltage cutoff set then I don't see a prob

[BakedMopar]

Run them together. Your system will be much more balanced as both systems sees the exact same voltage.

[Simon.O.]

I do not have twin.....yet, but I am working on one.
I have read all the pros and cons over the last year or so and I may do a single battery (multiple cells in P or S) or power source.
This will be fed to the esc's so that each side gets the same power.
Yes there are risks with this as ther are risks with a fully independant twin system.

Here is my basic risk analysis.
Independant power setup
One motor or esc gives up the ghost and the boat will yaw to that side and you may lose it, flip etc.
Possible damage: 1 motor or 1 esc or one pack or all 3.

Common power to split motor-esc
If a motor goes and the esc survives then all is good so far we still have the whole yaw and possible flip scenario.
If the motor goes and takes out the esc or the esc shiates itself first (same result)

Possible damage: Common power source, i.e all attached packs and at a long shot the other esc.

These are some of the risks as I see them and I am still undecided as to how I will wire my twin when I do one.

[graill]

I would not not reccomend the bottom setup.

[Simon.O.]

I would not not reccomend the bottom setup.

Now I know you have run a BIG cat or two and know your stuff regarding this type of question.

Can you please elaborate as to why you would not run a combined power source.
I have some ideas but good reasons would suit me better.

[graill]

For the simple fact that electricity is lazy and the combined solution is not a combined solution, its a series of small cells strung together to simulate a large single pack, both act differently.

If you have a true single cell, like a giant lake resevoir for example both motors could feed off that, (twinsetups) both motors and both esc however will NOT eat the same amps or maintain the same rpm due to many factors, the one saving grace would be the two single connections coming from a large single purpose built cell, not alot to go wrong or heat up due to cross leveling.

Now bring this down to what we use, take many lakes with the same connections and the potential for failure is much much higher. simply put, this is a very simple example but it makes the point without going into detail you may or may not understand.

Given the fact we already use tons of wiring in high amp applications why add crossover to help heat up one side or the other when they begin to pull from one another due to discharge? It will happen, one notorious example is already out here (sorry schulze, your explanation doesnt cut it )

IF you had a true single pack then yes i wouldnt see much of a problem, but with the amount of wiring already involved the potential is there and we push our luck everyday when we run our boats out of the envelope anyway, why add to the possibilty of failure when its already up there? I doubt there is one of us that does the figuring then says "ok now i will drop performance 20 percent and my safety margin is set", instead we, and this is a quote from one of our famous folks ("we shove as much as we can into the smallest hull to go as fast as we can")

I use large gauge wiring because of my apps, i have went the extra steps to replace the wire sets on all my cells for my big rigs (tab cell to cell wiring) and used 8 and 10 gaugewire with flashover covering on my mains when it wasnt popular, alot of weight, less failure, but then i cant afford to do saw runs like most folks are doing.

Ultimately it is your choice after you do the math and figure out what your potential amp draw and potential amp supply will be and the connections in between, do as you want, it is your wallet after all.

[tiqueman]

I run them together, no problems, and will continue to do so. In my mind, each motor sees relativley the same power and I feel its happier. If something blows and takes out both sides, well, that sux, but, you have to pay to play. And if it blows.. I will wire it up and rebuild axactly the way it was.

This is going to be a Chevy vs Ford debate... it all breaks down to personal preference. I was turned on to paralleling everything to both motors by a very good and successful twin builder. Never even thought of it before... now I wont think of not doing it.

[LiPo Power]

Its 5S2P! Why not??? Double capacity.... Nothing wrong with it....