Somewhat new to FE... Motor, ESC, Battery & Boat Setup Advice

[pcressey]

Boat: Apparition Catamaran (800mm)
Prop: 38mm x 1.4
ESC: SeaKing 180A
Motor: Leopard 3674 2650KV 2.5D
Batteries: 2 x Turnigy 5200mah 2S 30C (Series)

I originally ran this setup with a SeaKing 120A ESC and it was getting up to 140F, and the caps were hitting in the 165F's. I don't quite understand why the ESC was getting so hot. The motor was around 100-110F and the batteries were around 100F. I ran the same motor and ESC in a shovelnose hydro with 2 x 4200mah 2S2P 65C (Series) batteries, and everything was around 90-95F, and this was on a 42mm x 1.4 prop. The boats weigh about the same.

I have been reading about how to calculate the amps from the motor, and then trying to match the ESC and batteries, but I just don't quite know if I am getting it. As the scenario above confuses me.

Can anyone help explain this, and if this is a decent setup for my boat? I would much rather run the 120A ESC, as the 180A is a very tight fit. I have linked all the electronics to their specs. Also, what do the caps actually do, and why would they get so hot?

Thank you!

[lenny]

Hi.
Post some pictures of the setup in the boat and the transom hardware to,
That is a high kv motor for a 4s setup for one.

[pcressey]

I don't have the boat with me... but here is a pic with the motor and old 120A ESC... I added a dual inlet and extra outlet for the ESC cooling. The transom photo is off the website. I will post up-to-date photos if needed over the weekend.

I know the KV is pretty much peak for a 4S setup. Only reason I ran this setup is because I had this motor and ESC in my shovelnose hydro (that I retired).

Thank you for the help.

Inside.jpg
Transom.jpg

[tlandauer]

The reason your shovel nose ran cooler is that it is a hydro, only 3 points are rubbing on water: the 2 ride pads and your prop, it has much less drag than a cat. Now if you run this setup in a mono, you might have seen smoke already. Mono hull has even larger wetted area and the motor/ESC/batteries work even harder. You are right on that the kv of your motor is too high. Also you need to make sure your timing is set "low". On a "D" wind motor some set as low as 2*, you should use the HobbyWing Program box to set your timing. I don't think HobbyWing goes that low, but the factory setting of 15* is too high for this motor. Now of course you may have already set the timing correctly for a "D" motor, then just ignore my suggestion.

[tlandauer]

Might I add that the 120ESC in a boat this size is over working anyway in my opinion. The 180 should be much happier provided if the kv is lower. I understand that you want to use whatever you have on your hands, but for sport running, you will be better off with a lower kv motor such as 4074 or 4082/2200kv on 4s setup.

[pcressey]

Thanks for the tips... makes sense about the hydro... half the time it wasn't even the water, just look at my avatar.

I actually set the timing on my ESC to 0*... my HobbyWing programmer goes that low.

I ran the boat once with the 180A, and the all the temps were 86-95F on the batteries and ESC, except the motor got to 110F... safe enough I think. I have a few mods to do to the shaft and prop angle, then I will give it another go with this high KV and see where things land. The 3674 motor touches the lid, I don't think going to a 40mm diameter will fit?

[tlandauer]

I don't know well enough about this boat, but I agree that you might have clearance issues with a 40mm can.
110F on the motor is really very good. If you keep your eye on the temp with the 180ESC, you might be able to get way with the motor's kv. I run 2200kv on 4s for all my sport running boats. The temp never gets out of hand but my first time running 4s2p I got carried away ( 8 minutes long run) and sure enough the capacitors on my 180ESC bulged a bit, replaced them with an addition of a cap bank. This is on a MG with Leopard 4082/2200 and a m445 prop. 4s2p.

[lenny]

Good call Tim,

And yes updated pictures would make things easier to see what else is going on.

[pcressey]

Here are a few pics of the boat after today. I had to shorten the brass tube and the flex cable so I could adjust my prop angle. Any changes you would make with the setup? Didn't get a chance to run it today, it is raining in Los Angeles.

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[lenny]

In picture #3 the strut is not level with the hull bottom,
And if it is run the way it is setup now it will be pushing the bow down and lifting the transom.
So that will make the boat run wet and have less speed and higher temps to.

Also dutch the deans plug and go with 5.5 bullets all the way,
The setup will have less resistance and should run better and a little cooler to.

[rickwess]

Can't tell what caps you are using, but the wires coming from them look awful thin. You need to use 14awg minimum,.

[pcressey]

Thanks Lenny. I will be adjusting the prop angle at the lake. When the boat was shipped the tube and flex were too long preventing me from being able to level it out, and causing the bow to lift quite a bit. In the photo it is at a big angle... Just after I epoxied the brass tube back in place.

I have a few of those Castle 5.5mm connectors... I will try them out.

Thanks for the tips!

[Southwest]

Wires on caps are the same size which attach to esc board. You cannot see the cap wires.-----BTW---- those thin wires are the wires from esc to rx which are black or brown, red, yellow which depends on the manufacturer of the escs.

[pcressey]

Those caps came with the ESC from OSE (SeaKing)... They are really thin... Should I put some 14 or 12 gauge wires instead?

[rickwess]

Those caps came with the ESC from OSE (SeaKing)... They are really thin... Should I put some 14 or 12 gauge wires instead?

Not knowing the size of the caps, I would say to remove the shrink and take a look. Assuming that they are 1000uf each, the wires will need to be upgraded. I have no idea why SeaKing sells it like that.