FINALLY, got to run my Spartan

[dag-nabit]

I was at the lake yesterday doing some chores and hoping the wind would die down enough to get in a couple runs with the Spartan. It finally dropped off late in the afternoon but the water hadn't really settled down completely when I hit the water.

This is running my Red Spartan with CC1515 2200kv motor, T180 ESC, .078 wire drive, and P215 prop on 4S.

1st Run


2nd Run


The wind picked up again by the time I downloaded my Eagle Tree data and loaded a fresh set of batteries so both runs were in pretty rough conditions, I wasn't able to get any long WOT runs on either run and my best top speed on this setup, and in these water conditions, was 52 kph (32 mph).

Amp draws were reasonable with only one spike in the 160 amp range but for the most part peaking out in the 100-125 amp range and averaging 25-35 amp draw. Based on this data I'm not too concerned about trying this setup on 5S, but will be watching the data closely when I try it.

My first run (approx. 10min) I ran to LVC (set at 3.0) and it pulled the batteries down a bit too much (7.4v and 18% capacity for residual) on the second run I timed it for a 6 minute run and had 7.8v and 57% capacity left in the batteries.

Looking at the eagle tree data it looks like about 8 minutes run time would be reasonable on this setup.

My 5S batteries are in transit, so should have them by the time I'm ready for another outing. I hope to run the 4S setup on some calm waters first just to confirm amp draws on WOT.

Only two runs on the wire drive but happy with the performance so far and lots of grease residual on the both the wire and the stub shaft after 2 back to back runs.

Kevin

[Boss777]

hear is what i got where can i get this fix? i mean where can i get parts for it ?
P1110151.jpg

[Rumdog]

Ose

[sanyijr]

Kevin,

I think this is one of my favoite threads yet. BUT, i don't think you got the memo..... It might have been on the back of the TPS Report. "Your Flex cables, ESCs , hulls and Batteries are NOT candy. So don't go through them like it's Holloween

Man, as long as this doesn't cause you financial strain or increased blood pressure (it would for me!), enjoy. It really sounds like you guys are having a great time.

But I too agree it might serve you better and give you some more runs to drop down a cell or motor KV. Love-it though. And the Pics and Vids!!!!

[dag-nabit]

Thanks for the compliment sanyijr.

I certainly don't have unlimited funds, but I'm fortunate to be at that point in life where I do have some disposable income to "play" with.

Some guys are out there doing the same thing to cars. Tweaking them, sometimes pushing them beyond their limits, and compared to the cost of doing that, our hobby is a drop in the bucket.

I'm having fun, and I post here so others can learn and/or benefit from my experiences.

Kevin

[dag-nabit]

Update:

I sent two T180 ESC's back to HK for warranty consideration.

I have received a warranty credit for one of them. The other is still being evaluated.

Kevin

[dag-nabit]

Got a couple more runs in this weekend with the CC1515 / wire drive setup on 4S. The weeds are matured now and tall enough that I was having some problems with weeds hanging up on the rudder, so I had to stop often and clear them off. The weeds really affect turning and cause enough drag to slow the boat considerably.

Despite the weeds still had fun running.

My 5S batteries showed up while I was typing up this post. Debatable whether or not I'll get a chance to run them before the cold weather hits. I'm have to cover holiday relief at work and won't be out to the lake for about 3 weeks. I'm hoping for a nice long autumn season.

First Run:
Glass smooth water, batteries about 1" forward of center.
Really nice run, lots of WOT, boat very stable and able to make high speed turns without fear of flipping.
Max Speed: 53.5 kph (33 mph)
Max Amps: 144.5
Average Amps: 79.3
Motor Temp 25 *C (77 *F)
ESC Temp 25*C (77 *F)
Battery temps 27-30 *C (80-86 *F)



Second Run:
Bit of chop on the water, batteries approx. 1" ahead of full rear position.
Another real good run, boat was faster, still good stability but had to be a bit more careful of cornering. More on / off throttle with shorter WOT runs.
Max Speed 58 kph (36 mph)
Max Amps 116.5
Avg Amps 35.8
Motor Temp 25 *C (77 *F)
ESC Temp 25*C (77 *F)
Battery temps 25-27 *C (77-80 *F)



The amp draw is understandably much lower if the hull is not running wet. When I run the 5S setup I will be positioning the batteries toward the rear of the boat to help keep amp draw as low as possible. The 5S batteries are considerably larger and heavier than the 3S batteries, so it will take some experimentation to find the best positioning.

Kevin

PS the wire drive performed flawlessly again.

[dag-nabit]

Had an opportunity to run my 5S setup today. The water was really rough (probably too rough to be running) but I wanted to try the 5S setup so I took it for a run anyway.

Got in a good run, but no chance for WOT, so no idea what kind of top speed to expect yet. I had a few minor flips, nothing serious though.

Sorry no video, I was running solo.

Recap of the current setup: Castle CC1515 2200kv motor, Turnigy T180 ESC, Jeff Wohlt .078 wire drive, Prather 215 prop, Turnigy Nano Tech 5000mah 5S 45-90C batteries wired parallel.

Got in about 11 minutes of run time with 50% capacity remaining in the batteries. I stopped running before LVC because of the water conditions.

Max Speed 51 kph (31.5 mph)
Max Amps 180 (only one spike that high)
Avg Amps 25.5 (running pretty easy due to water conditions)
ESC Temp 23 *C (73 *F)
Motor Temp 22 *C (71.5 *F)
Battery Temps 20 *C (70 *F)



Kevin

[Chrisg81983]

Thanks for all the good info

[Chrisg81983]

i have a blue spartan but i had a hard blowover and i split the hull. for some odd reason i bought a new red one the new hull was completely different they both have castle systems right out of the box but the new red one had a deck that is flat not sloping down and the v at the stern is 1.25 inches deeper. they also made the hatch less prone to blowing off by making the toungh that slides into the hull longer. the new red hull is much more stable. here are some pics

[dag-nabit]

Got a chance to get in one short run with the 5S setup a couple days ago.

Not my best run, I was pushed for time and was being a bit too rammy on the new setup with it not being dialed in yet.

Lake was reasonably calm, for our lake, so I had hoped to get in some good WOT runs to see what this 5S setup would do for top end speed. Got in a couple short bursts, but lake was just rough enough to make the boat skip, and then chine walk like crazy. I definitely need to work on fine tuning my setup.

Flipped it a couple times, spun it out a few times, and ended a pretty short run by popping the hatch and bouying the boat (even with hatch taped).

After I finished running, I noticed I also managed to separate the hull a bit on the last plunge.

Eagle Tree confirms 75.6 KPH (47 MPH) top speed and 166 amps max amp draw, so it looks like this CC1515 2200kv motor and P215 prop might be an OK setup running 5S in the Spartan.

I only ended up with 4.5 - 5 minutes actual run time between all the flips and stopping to reposition the batteries. Batteries were showing 80% capoacity left when I put them on for a storage charge.

The first big gap is when I changed battery position, the second gap is when I flipped it first time.


Hull separating


And.... a cheesy little video of the Spartan running 5S

[Chrisg81983]

I split my first spartan it was a real pain trying to get something tho bond really well tho the plastic let me know what u use

[martin]

Try Devcon Plastic Weld, Its made specifically for plastics inc ABS. Its a 2 part glue that you mix together, Very strong indeed & really sticks well to plastic. Available from hobby stores. Martin.

[Chrisg81983]

Ok I I got some of that I was just wondering if that is the best thing for plastics thanks

[martin]

You have to be very carefull bonding ABS plastics as some adhesives bond by melting the plastic together & you can ruin some things with this. The Devcon dosnt have such an effect on ABS, This stuff really does stick very well on plastics as that is what its designed for. Martin.

[dag-nabit]

Had some beautiful fall weather at the lake yesterday, and a rare opportunity to run the boats on very calm water.

This was the last run of the season and I got in two back to back runs on the 5S parallel setup running the T180 and CC1515 2200kv motor and P215 prop. I think I can say, with reasonable confidence, that this is a solid setup, and the Eagle Tree data I have collected to date supports this.

I placed the batteries a bit further ahead on both these runs to help stabilize the boat (just a bit rearward of the center position). the boat ran very stable with only a bit of chine walk if I crossed my wake or other disturbance in the water. Unfortunately running wetter on the hull sacrificed some speed and I only maxed at 70 kph (approx 43.5 mph).

ESC and motor temps were nice and cool @ 20 *C (68 F) for ESC and 15 *C (59 F) for the motor. The batteries were hotter at 40 *C (104 F). I also noticed the wires between the ESC and Motor were running pretty warm at about 46 *C (115 F).

No flips or ditching for two good solid runs but the hull had separated again where I had repaired it. The boat stayed dry inside despite the separation.

I ran both batteries on the Eagle Tree without clearing the buffer between runs, I only got about 8 minutes to LVC on the first set of batteries, and then a wire broke off the Eagle Tree about 3-4 minutes into the second run. The Eagle Tree graph below shows approx. 11 minutes run time from both batteries.

I had the LVC set at 3.2v but I'm going to bump it up 3.4V for this setup. My batteries were pulled down a bit more than I want to see with only 12-15% residual capacity remaining. This is going to further shorten run times, which is a bit disappointing with the parallel setup, but this setup is power hungry.

Will have to try running the 1500kv setup on 5S parallel next season to see what the run times are like.

This will be the last run of the season for us. I brought all our boats home with me to "winterize" them for storage and do up any minor repairs required.

EAGLE TREE
Top Speed 70 kph
Max Amps 146
Avg Amps 83


Kevin