How to choose an ESC???

[dortoh]

Hello All,

I am getting back into FE boats after a long time. I Have recently done some electric car racing so I'm somewhat up to speed with the Lipo's. What should I take into consideration when choosing the esc?

I know what motor I want to run. I know what batteries I want to run.

• How do I select an ESC that will be up to task?
• How do I know how many amps it will need to handle?
• Should I select an ESC based on the max amps rating listed for the chosen motor(s)?

I don't want to just buy the biggest ESC I can afford and hope for the best. Please help.

Regards,
Dortoh

[urbs00007]

Hello All,

I am getting back into FE boats after a long time. I Have recently done some electric car racing so I'm somewhat up to speed with the Lipo's. What should I take into consideration when choosing the esc?

I know what motor I want to run. I know what batteries I want to run.

• How do I select an ESC that will be up to task?
• How do I know how many amps it will need to handle?
• Should I select an ESC based on the max amps rating listed for the chosen motor(s)?

I don't want to just buy the biggest ESC I can afford and hope for the best. Please help.

Regards,
Dortoh

you came to the right place. post your boat and motor. then ask what esc, battery, propeller , would be recommended for your particular set-up ( straight-a-way, racing, or just running for fun )

[kfxguy]

A good all round choice is a SeaKing 180. Really hard to recommend something without knowing what boat and everything you have.

[dortoh]

Thanks urbs00007 and kfxguy,

I wasn't really looking for recommendations at this point but it will most likely come down to that. I want to learn what to look at/for in determining what specs I need in an ESC. Since the boat ESC manufactures don't provide info like the car guys do I thought possibly the max amp rating for the motor would help in making the determination.

I used to help people a lot with RC cars. If I were helping someone pick an ESC for their car I would say something like... Amp draw will vary depending on conditions and gearing. With that motor being a modified you will need something that will handle X amount of amp draw to be safe. And since you want to run a 6s battery pack the ESC will need to handle aprox 23 volts. Additionally the ESC manufacturers for cars will often tell you what wind motors their ESC will support making selection a bit easier. I would follow that with A, B or C would be your best choices in that order, in my opinion.

I really want to learn what parameters to look at when choosing an ESC but I am open to recommendations.

This power system if you will, will be used in different hulls. I'd like the ESC to have logging. I want to put together a system that will propel the average mono hull to speeds around 65-70mph. Initially I won't be racing since there is no action in my area. I have a hard time sitting still so this boat will be mostly for my amusement while hanging on the pier with the wife. And the faster the more amusing.

Motor selection has been narrowed down to:
Leopard 4092 1730 Kv
or
TP Power 4060 1690 Kv

Leaning towards the TP.

Batteries:
6s 5000mah
and
6s 10,000mah

Regards,
Dortoh

[kfxguy]

If it were me, I'd still go with a SeaKing 180 and add s data logger. You can try a swordfish 220 with the data logging feature. I've never used one myself so.its hard for me to recommend it. A castle ice 240 would be a good one to use as long as you keep it dry. Don't really have kv ratings like cars. Props is sort of like gearing except much harder on the esc and motor. I'd still pick a SeaKing 180 tho.

[kfxguy]

And 65-70 mph in an average mono is a wee harder to achieve than you'd expect. You should start with (again, I haven't had one but I know someone who does) a 30 plus inch delta force hull and with some tweaking you could attain your goal.

[dortoh]

I was looking at this ESC. It's rated at 160A for max. continuous current with 200A max. peak current (5 sec.). Is that enough to handle either of these motors?

[kfxguy]

I was looking at this ESC. It's rated at 160A for max. continuous current with 200A max. peak current (5 sec.). Is that enough to handle either of these motors?

In short, I'd say no. Mgm controllers are supposed to be the cream of the crop, the best you can buy. I have not owned one but going by those specs you are cutting things way to close. Say your motor is supposed to pull a max of 160 amps (well that's under normal circumstances and a boat is abnormal circumstances lol) and say your controller is rated at 160 amps. You'd think, ehh...that's ok, it'll work. Maybe. What happens if it's running on the edge and you get some weeds caught in the prop? Oops. See where I'm going with this? For that motor you listed (I'm considering the tp because it's your better choice in my opinion) you should plan on a 200 amp or higher esc. The seaking I've recommended to you has shown to be very durable and hold up under harder use than what it's rating is. Maybe the mgm is the same way, I'm not sure. If your stuck on the mgm, I'd get one a step about that. If you weren't looking to go 65 - 70mph I'd say that one may very well work. However....I myself just broke the 70mph mark and getting there the first time is a rush bit it's not as easy as you'd think to do it reliably. Especially with a mono and no prior boating experience. I have a 70mph 1/8 scale buggy and a 70mph 32" cat. I can tell you this, it's ten times the rush making a boat go 70 than my car going 70. It's also a good bit harder lol.

[dortoh]

That's what I thought, and marginal is not my style. I'm not married to that unit or MGM, just something I saw while cruising the interweb. Don't really want to invest that much coin but the features and weight (or lack there of) are attractive. So how would I add logging to the Seaking (are we talking the v3)?

[jcald2000]

Look at SWORDFISH 300!

[kfxguy]

That's what I thought, and marginal is not my style. I'm not married to that unit or MGM, just something I saw while cruising the interweb. Don't really want to invest that much coin but the features and weight (or lack there of) are attractive. So how would I add logging to the Seaking (are we talking the v3)?

You can add an eagle tree logger to it