PRE-Waterproofed ESC options?

[Spartanator]

Hello OSE buddies! I have been through 4 ESCs since June of 2013.... I run 6s and I am NOT going to step down to 5s or lower. I refuse! I have seen a few 200amp options but I want to know which one are better for the money... First I run a Traxxas Spartan (don't laugh), SPC 60C 5600mah lipos for now, OSE .187 cable. I don't know exactly which prop I want to turn yet but I think it will be a P220, X442, or P215.... I also have the leopard 4082 1600 kv. I have the SK program card and basically run stock settings except reverse and LVC. This is driving me out to sea! lol
I have killed the following Speed controls:
Traxxas VXL-6s (smoked)
another VXL-6s (meltdown)
Seaking 180V2 (smoked)
another Seaking 180V2 (IDK)
I have looked at every option out there but I want to know what YOU are reliably running on 6s or above.... Please? You don't have to have a Spartan or even like Traxxas but I am just very irritated at the ESC history of me. I don't plow water, I run dry, and i am not a wake/wave jumper. The ESC is usually around 80F before running where it gets to 90F (water is cold right now)... I am in Texas so it will need to stand the heat.

[boredom.is.me]

This scares me since I will be putting 5800mAh 6s2p in a Daytona/Genesis with a TM180 (same as SK180) with what will hopefully be a 4082 1600kv.

[jamie]

This scares me since I will be putting 5800mAh 6s2p in a Daytona/Genesis with a TM180 (same as SK180) with what will hopefully be a 4082 1600kv.

T 180 with a cap bank on those with a sensible prop is fine.

[jcald2000]

You simply need a esc rated for MORE than 6s. We learned years ago to never run an ESC at it's max capacity, in volts or amps!

[Fluid]

Castle ICE200LV air controller water-cooled. Been running high amp 6S for years, no problems. Ditto the out-of-production Castle ICE240. Some club members seem to get by with the T180 but most don't last a year on 6S. ]
Other things to try:
- Shorten the power wires as much as practical
- Use high quality gold bullet connectors
- Use adequate cells, 2P helps
- Use an adequate cap bank
- Keep run times to 2-3 minutes tops
- Don't buy used ESCs


.

[Spartanator]

Thanks guys, keep em coming!
I do use 2 SPC 60C packs wires for series... I run EC5 connectors with 4" of wire, my SK180 came with the extra cap bank installed.

No way on the run time suggestion, I absolutely hate having it run for 5 minutes them time for more packs... I think it got wet, I put it in a warm place over night in a rice bag so hopefully it will work today. I do have a Castle cap pack for my next ESC... Been emailing with the repair team back and forth.

[ManuelW]

You simply need a esc rated for MORE than 6s. We learned years ago to never run an ESC at it's max capacity, in volts or amps!

Good that my T180 ESC's dont know about that and I can keep pushing them really hard without extra Caps on 7S....

regards,
Manuel

[martin]

Some use the bec on the 180a esc when running 6s ok but a lot use a separate rx pack.

[Spartanator]

PRE-Waterproofed ESC options?

Good that my T180 ESC's dont know about that and I can keep pushing them really hard without extra Caps on 7S....

regards,
Manuel

You must have gotten a flawed ESC! Lol

[ls1fst98]

Isn't the ec5 rated to 120amps? And I know the 180 is prettybeefy for a cheaper esc. Are they all getting wet? I ask because you ask for waterproofed. Most marine esc are water resistent. Id disable the bec and run either a rx pack or a seperate bec if you are at max cell count on the 180.

[Rumdog]

The Seakings do absolutely fine on 6s. Quit getting them wet, and ya wont have problems.

[Fluid]

I do use 2 SPC 60C packs wires for series... I run EC5 connectors with 4" of wire, my SK180 came with the extra cap bank installed....

- So you are not running the packs in parallel?
- The EC-5s are not high amp connectors, their tiny, thin bails don't conduct well - too many loose surfaces compared to quality 5.5 or 6mm golds.
- "The extra cap bank" may not be appropriate for your amp draw and cells. One size does not fit all, can't say if it is appropriate or not.
- You are using just 4" of wire between the ESC board and the pack itself? Or is it 4" of ESC wire and 5" of battery wire?
- No idea on the SPC cell quality, they may not be up to your amp draw. Inadequate cells are one of the best ways to destroy ESCs.
- What timing setting are you using? To much or too little can cause excessive heat.

No way on the run time suggestion, I absolutely hate having it run for 5 minutes them time for more packs...

Are you actually timing your runs or just guessing at "5 minutes"? If your amp draw is too high then you will continue to have blown ESCs. They heat up constantly, the longer you run the hotter they get. Too much average amp draw and even 3 minutes can overheat an ESC. What is the temp of the ESC and caps immediately after the run - no more than one minute to cool down after off the throttle? You may be pulling too much - or not. Your setup does not seem extreme.



.

[Spartanator]

Considering it is a BOAT IN THE WATER it should be.... I am sure it would be fine for a while if I did not get it wet but again, it's a boat.... Not trying to be rude or anything but considering the RMA company states it is water proof...
LINK

I time them 5 minutes MAX and they usually ring at 3.6 at the end of each run... The packs are used in series. So far everything has been kept 85F-ish due to cold surface water. I am thinking of going with the Castle polarized connectors for lipos and 6.5mm bullets for the motor... My no means is this a extreme setup, at all. I was using the stock prop and that's why the ESC stayed cool. 4" wires attached to ESC and then about 4" wires from the lipos. The ESC is half working at the moment, it works until I try to use reverse and then the red led truns solid red and no response from anything except servo.

I had applied (at least 5) coats of clear plastidip... They are all getting wet, both SK180's have been submerged. It drives me nuts to think that it says water proof but it's is not....:
I never buy used ESCs.... I sold my last melted VXL-6s for $60 on CL, I made off pretty good with that! So farf I have only purchased one VXL-6s and one SK180, the other's were either on RMA or came with the boat.

Say I did want to disable the BEC, how would I approach that on the SK180? Never mind= OSE Forum link

[Rumdog]

Why are your esc's being submerged? Your boat is your radio box. seal it. It's electricity.

[champion221elite]

OP.... are you taping your hatch, or simply relying on the esc to be waterproof? 6s is a good amount of current. If your esc's are getting submerged, its no wonder why they are going up in smoke.

I run a Sprintcat with the same SK180 v2 esc and Leopard 4082, 1600 kv motor on 6s. Granted, a cat runs drier than a mono hull, but that combo has been perfect in my setup. My runs are timed at 3.5 minutes and both esc and motor come back cool.

Btw, I use the built in BEC.