Will this work? ESC-Motor-Battery combo..

[ScarabChris]

For my scale build. Will this work? Two motors, one ESC and one battery. The motors will probably be running only at half their capabilities. The battery is a 22 volt 6s

[Fluid]

Maybe. Some boaters have success running a single ESC on two motors, some do not. Some ESC makers say it’s okay, others do not. In order to work, both motors must be as similar as possible, meaning higher quality motors have a better chance of working.

One comment, if by “half their capabilities” you mean extensive running half throttle, that could cause the ESC to overheat and burn up. A better solution would be to choose props or motor Kv which allow full throttle running. If you mean running at half the maximum amp draw, that’s fine.



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[ScarabChris]

The motors are pictured, they are brand new and identical. The ESC and battery are also pictured. Hydra Ice 240 and a 6s 22.2 volt LiPo. By "half the capabilities" I mean they will likely not get the amount of power (volts/amps) they can handle.

[Fluid]

The point is, the motors may not really be identical. Due to manufacturing tolerances (and Leo’s don’t have the tightest tolerances) they may have Kv values too far apart...or not. It is common for two “identical” motors to have slightly different Kv values. How far apart they are will help determine if both can be controlled by the same ESC or not.


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[ScarabChris]

Understood.....thanks for the clarification.

But assuming the motors are close enough. Do you think that 240 ESC and 6s LiPo will accommodate the two motors with regard to power?

[Jesse J]

Chris, if you do try this, please post the data logging. I'd be interested to see what the esc thinks is happening.

[CraigP]

I wouldn’t run one ESC on two motors... the timing of the switch release relies on a very finicky detection of when the coil inductance impedance matches the rotor magnetism which happens on a unique position. I’m sure it’s been done, but I think that’s asking for a blown ESC, or worse.

[ScarabChris]

Hmmmm...well one thing I don't want to do is blow that brand new Hydra 240. I bought three of them when I did my 54 Fountain build, the extra was a spare. I have this pair of Hobby Wing 180's that I modified with caps. I made these for 54 Fountain project but they weren't strong enough for the massive motors in that boat, they kept going into overload protection and shutting down so I went with the 240's. I don't remember if I blew one but I guess I'll find out.

I was hoping to keep this build clean and simple but I guess it will have to get complicated now. LOL

[CraigP]

Ive used the T-180 many times. It’s a great ESC in my opinion. If you have two of those, that’s a safely combined 300A running the boat. I’m thinking that will work for good sport boating. Does anyone think that’s not enough?

BTW, I added caps to mine exactly like you did!

[ScarabChris]

Ive used the T-180 many times. It’s a great ESC in my opinion. If you have two of those, that’s a safely combined 300A running the boat. I’m thinking that will work for good sport boating. Does anyone think that’s not enough?

BTW, I added caps to mine exactly like you did!

Good enough advise for me. This is the setup I will go with. Amazingly I found out I have 4 of these but one looks like it's blown, smells like it too. I think what I did back then was tried using them for the 54 Fountain, but blew one and bought two more and added the caps. But then decided to go with the Hydra 240's for that boat instead so I think the ones pictured were never actually installed so they should be good.

[CraigP]

I’m not sure of your hull length... I know you mentioned a 54” Fountain... with the larger boats, you want to raise your voltage to drop your amperage requirement. For me, if I was sport boating that 54 I would have 10s in it and prop it back to about 110-120A max. That way you get excellent run time. If you run a combined 300a on a boat, then you either need a huge battery pack or live with very short run times. This is the distinct advantage of raising voltage, something Fluid has mentioned quite a bit on this site.

Just for comparison, I would probably put in SW 150A Pro ESC’s to each motor on that 54. Each motor would only need about 60-70A max to really make it scoot on that voltage. Good rule of thumb: current breaks parts, keep it low and reliability goes up.

[CraigP]

Racers have to live with low voltage and high amps, sport boaters get to go fast with high voltage and low amps!