"Mini *!**Outboard *!**Motor" *!** First Impressions

[daveives]

http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pro...prod=OSE-80980

Buying experience - Rates a 3S for "Steve's Sudden Service"
Ordered Friday 10AM, delivered Monday 11AM
I was so impressed that I bought another the day the first one arrived
Ordered Monday 10:30 PM, delivered Thursday 11AM

Build quality - Phenomenal, a work of art!
The screws holding the lower unit together protrude slightly,
but they are above the waterline which goes through the
prop centerline

Value - Includes a motor and superb CAD work and finish
Very modestly priced at $75
Another source wants $80 plus $9.50 for the prop

Size - About a third the weight of most electric outboards
so it is appropriate for a total weight of about 26 to 32 ounces
This fills a niche with only plastic alternatives
The motor is rated at about 3S lipos (12 volts) and 400 watts
with rough equivalents selling for $15 to $35 on the Internet

Modifications -
An extra spare cable/shaft is recommended since there is only
one grub screw holding the cable/shaft in place
Liberal use of "Corosion-X" is recommended

A plastic prop @ $1.45 is recommended for initial testing.
http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pro...?prod=oct-x431
http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pro...?prod=oct-y534
http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pro...?prod=oct-y531 (currently out of stock)

[jcald2000]

What Diamenter is the flex shaft cable?

[daveives]

Mini Outboard Flex Shaft & Mounting Plate Measurements

Shaft starting at motor end:
square flex .101" of length ~ 15mm
round flex .122" ~ 3.08mm
bearing section .155" ~ 3.95mm of length ~ 23mm
prop shaft .123" of length ~ 23mm
136mm overall length

Mounting Plate:
Milled holes to allow vertical adjustment, bolt centers spaced horizontally at ~ 24mm
Spaced vertically slot goes from ~ 12mm to ~ 24mm bolt center spacing
Bolt thread OD ~ 2.83mm

The Graupner GTX-500 bolt horizontal spacing is about 22mm to 23mm

[Vortech C5]

I am also very impressed by this outboard. What tunnel hulls are available for such a small set up? I can't seem to find a project for it. Thanks!

[daveives]

An H&M Micro Cat tunnel hull is suitable for this motor.

I have one currently fitted with a Graupner GTX-500 plastic cable drive lower unit,
a MEGA ACn 16/15/3 motor, a Traxxas 2065 (actually waterproof) servo,
and a 2S 2300mah LiPo for an overall weight of 28.5 ounces.

Steve's mini-outboard weighs about 1.25 to 1.50 ounces more than the Graupner,
but that difference is small compared to the overall weight.

I bought my H&M Micro-Cat and H&M Skater XL from Fine Design about six years ago,
and was completely satisfied. H&M is a high quality manufacturer in my opinion.
This Forum includes comments by others on Fine Design.

Type "micro cat" and "micro kat" into a YouTube search box for lots of videos.

[fatbill69]

That is the Hor Racing outboard unit. It is the same as the tfl unit except for the cavitation plate. These units work very well, however not for modification.

[tsenecal]

i too recently purchased this outboard from OSE. I have installed it on a classic MRP budlight tunnel hull. that is a vac-formed 22" tunnel hull originally powered by a 12 cell 600 size brushed motor on a proprietary OB motor made by MRP back in the late 80s to early 90s.

I ran it on a 3 cell lipo with a hobbyking 120 amp esc, and only got speeds in the low 20's. I will be adjusting the motor height and angle to see if i can get it going faster. at 22mph, i am only pulling 26 amps max, so there is definite room to improve performance.

the motor itself is apparently intended for a 400-450 size heli, it is 3000kvm, 28mm x 36mm, and has a fan built into its "top".

installed.jpg

[tsenecal]

I adjusted the motor so it is 1/8" higher, with a slight nose down angle. also ran with a smaller (2200 vs 3700) 3s 35c battery, and tried 3 different props:

stock prop: 27.3 mph, octura x632: 26.9 mph, grimracer 36x55: 30 mph. in all setups, i pulled between 66 and 52 amps max, with an average draw of around 30 amps.

[tsenecal]

video of it on saturday, wind coming from the right side of the video, didn't want it to blow over, so full speed passes are from right to left... 30+mph