My Rio EP Brushless conversion

[hyrulejedi86]

So, my parts for the conversion of my Rio EP have finally started arriving. I have decided to document my progress here and see how things go.

A little background information:
I already have a brushless Mini Rio that I got a kit for and it works great and is fast but because it is so small, it gets unstable at higher speeds. So, of course I wanted something bigger and better. After some research I found the Rio EP with certain features I really liked; i.e. dual rudders with breakaway, stabilizers, a waterproof box and it is light.

My friend who also really liked my Mini Rio wanted a boat of his own but wasn't wanting to spend quite as much as I am for one so we found an Arrow Wind on eBay that others had converted to a brushless boat. This thread will document both boats progress in the conversion.

So, now onto the stats!!

Here is the Arrow Wind on eBay and a you tube video of a brushless version:
Arrow Wind

Brushless Version


Now, Here are the motor and ESC that I ordered for both boats:

Motor

ESC

Battery

So, far the ESC is here but the motor and batteries are going to be here today!

Next Update: PICTURES!!

[soulreaper]

Thanks for the updates. Keep them coming.

Reaper.

[SweetZ28]

Cool that's the motor i should have got for my 24" cat I got a 3300KV and it's to slow the motor you show 3600KV if you read peoples comments they all say it works great on 2S and that's what i was after!
Keep us posted!

[SweetZ28]

Found this looks like the same motor but comes with a boat ESC and it's cheap.
It's a little cheaper on there site also.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Marine-3600Kv-Brushless-Motor-60A-ESC-C66U_W0QQitemZ370277251772QQcmdZViewItemQQptZRadio_Control_Parts_Accessories?hash=item56363e7abc

[hyrulejedi86]

Here are two pictures of each boat stripped down.

I couldn't get that battery holder off the boat so I cut it in half to get the all the cords out without damaging them. It isn't the nicest looking thing but I'm going to put it back together with a little tape, no big deal.

I managed to get all the components out of the container and am waterproofing my ESC at the moment. I can't put the ESC totally together yet because I'm waiting for a heat sink watercooling plate to come in the mail first. But it shouldn't be too much longer before I'm up and running!

[soulreaper]

Hyrule how are you going to use that airplane esc with your boat? Do you use a stix radio or an airplane radio. And last but not least how are you going to waterproof your esc?

[SweetZ28]

Here are two pictures of each boat stripped down.

I couldn't get that battery holder off the boat so I cut it in half to get the all the cords out without damaging them. It isn't the nicest looking thing but I'm going to put it back together with a little tape, no big deal.

I managed to get all the components out of the container and am waterproofing my ESC at the moment. I can't put the ESC totally together yet because I'm waiting for a heat sink watercooling plate to come in the mail first. But it shouldn't be too much longer before I'm up and running!

Looks good ? for you on your 3600KV motors when you turn the motor shaft by hand does it turn easy and smooth or does it have a strong pop effect from the magnet?
THANKS

[hyrulejedi86]

It's nice and smooth.

Does anyone have a turnigy accucel-6?
I am plugging in one of my lipos and setting the amperage and the number of cells right but it keeps saying "connection break" but I am only plugging in the charging plug and it's in all the way. I've tried this on 4 different LiPo batteries all 3s but it keeps saying the same thing. I have gotten the balence charge to work on 2 of them but that's it. Any suggestions>

[soulreaper]

Hyrule I'll answer your question even though you did not answer the question I asked you early. I have the same charger. You have to plug the balance plug into the charger and the charge leads to the battery.

Reaper

[SweetZ28]

It's nice and smooth.

Does anyone have a turnigy accucel-6?
I am plugging in one of my lipos and setting the amperage and the number of cells right but it keeps saying "connection break" but I am only plugging in the charging plug and it's in all the way. I've tried this on 4 different LiPo batteries all 3s but it keeps saying the same thing. I have gotten the balence charge to work on 2 of them but that's it. Any suggestions>

Hi you need to use the balance taps...also on the motor you are telling me you can spin the motors shaft and it turns easy without any force? a good motor should feel like a magnet pole making the shaft hard to turn feeling like how a brushed motor does?...does it feel like a brushed motor when turning the shaft by hand? I was thinking of getting one but if the motor rotor shaft spins very easy and feels like it has no pop from magnets i don't think it will be a good motor probably no tork?

[hyrulejedi86]

Sorry soulreaper I didn't see that post. I am using a clear drying caulk on the small openings on the end of the ESC, it is waterproof and is good to use in higher temperatures. Also, I don't have any special radio for that ESC, I was under the impression that it would work with any receiver, since the manufactueres description on the manual says "it is fully compatible with all transmitters currently on the market"

SweetZ28 I checked the motor again, and it does catch when you spin it I can feel the bumps when the magnets line up. I guess I didn't really spin it enough the frist time, I thought I did when I got it but I guess not. So, basically, I can feel the pop from the magnets, it's not hard to spin but I can feel it.

Also, I did figure out the turnigy thing already, I connected the leads and it works fine now. Thanks for that input.

P.S. I'm sure you can tell from my posts but this is my first real brushless conversion of anything, so that's why I'm sort of shall we say "discovering" these things as I go along, despite lots of research.

[soulreaper]

Hyrule thanks for the response. I hope your charger works for you now. Thanks for the info on waterproofing. Please check to make sure that esc you have will work with a Pistol grip radio if that is what you intend on using.

Reaper.

[hyrulejedi86]

So, far things are okay, I have 2 problems at the moment. First is indeed the ESC and receiver, the motor runs when the receiver is in the neutral position and stops when I pull the trigger back. Weird! But like I said the manufacturer says it is compatible with ALL transmitters on the market so there is no reason to suggest it won'y work. I sent them an email asking about this problem and am awaiting a response.

My second problem maybe one of you can help me out with. I got 5 packs to charge successfully with the accucel-6 but 2 are still getting that same error. I don't know what to do, one battery is new and came in the mail yesterday the other one I have used once or twice and now it also gives me that error.

I have both the plugs plugged into the charger like what was suggested earlier and that message still appears. I did replace the stock plug with a deans connector but if it worked earlier then I can't see why it wouldn't work now.
The two packs that don't work are Turnigy 1300mAh and Turnigy 3000mAh 3s LiPos.

[SweetZ28]

Hi on your Radio make sure throttle trim is in the center and also try reversing the throttle with the throttle reversing switch ...If this don't work try putting your throttle trimm to full one way and tring it again and if that don't work try putting the throttle trim all the way the oposit way and try again...for some reason i have to do this on one of my boats.

Also about the battery maybe try cleaning the power balance tapes contacts.

[hyrulejedi86]

Hmmm, Those are good ideas! I'll give them a try and see how it goes, Thanks!!