SV3 or BR-XL

[Francois]

Hello guys,

I have a question and cannot find the answer.
Rig is SCX10 JK 3 cells, motor 27or 35 turns. Light crawling or some trail fun.
I know ( and owned one) that the BR-XL is one of the best or maybe the best ESC for trail rigs.... But cost the double of the SV3 who is waterproof now.....
So any idea to help me to decide...price is one thing ( 63$ against 110$) but I don t want to do a mistake....

[Francois]

You know what, I think that my choice is made but you can still comment....
It will be BR-XL....why...just because I received an e mail from John Holmes, owner of Holmes Hobbie and he s a really good guy and with an awesome customer service, it s why my choice is done, a small company with human relation and great products ( BTW, castle creation have a great customer service too but is not crawler specialist)...Trailmaster 27 turns and BR-XL waterproof ESC

[bbaxter51]

I have one of each. The sidewinder is nice because you can go brushless or brushed.

The BRXL is silky smooth at real low throttle where the SV3 is a little jumpy. Since I only run brushed in my crawler, the BRXL is worth the extra $$ all day long. Add in the customer service of the Holmes and I'm a HH customer for life.

[Francois]

Originally Posted by bbaxter51

I have one of each. The sidewinder is nice because you can go brushless or brushed.

The BRXL is silky smooth at real low throttle where the SV3 is a little jumpy. Since I only run brushed in my crawler, the BRXL is worth the extra $$ all day long. Add in the customer service of the Holmes and I'm a HH customer for life.

Yes great cistomer service and brushed only for me because sensored brushless are not water friendly...

[K_Willis]

Also don't forget with the sidewinder, you have to add in the cost of an external BEC since the internal one is basically useless on 3s.

[RebelRacer]

Originally Posted by K_Willis

Also don't forget with the sidewinder, you have to add in the cost of an external BEC since the internal one is basically useless on 3s.

You dont HAVE to run a BEC, but yea if you wanted one you would have to add that but it would still under the cost of the BR-XL. I personally have 3 SV3's, i love every one of them and they have never gave me any problems. It is kinda nice being able to switch between brushed and brushless also.

[k7zpj]

If you are running brushed motors the BR-XL is worth the extra money.

There are crawler specific features such as the active hold break that you don't get with the SV3.

Also there is a replacement service for the BR-XL in case it ever smokes once it is out of warranty so you aren't out the cost of a new BR-XL.
Holmes Hobbies LLC

[Valreesio]

I bought a SV3 last week and had it out for its first run today. I have never used the BR-XL, but the SV3 is great. I have zero issues with low speed throttle control and the drag brake worked terrific. I need to get a castle link to set it a little higher than 40%, but it works good for now. Also I did not have the money to throw down on the BR-XL.

[Francois]

Originally Posted by K_Willis

Also don't forget with the sidewinder, you have to add in the cost of an external BEC since the internal one is basically useless on 3s.

The BRXL is 5 amps ESC but with qn unefficient Savox servo it s better have an external one....so it s around 90$ so just a little bit under HH....I checked on Castle web site and they say 40% of drag brake max....so for price difference....it s really difficult to choose...BRXL....is maybe a food option..
Is the HH internal BEC is enough for a Savox 1252 and 12 LED?

[midnight_f150]

Bump this old thread I'm trying to pick between the two and could use some update info to help make my choose.

[raceeng18]

BRXL I have four, no failures. AND they are on sale for $79.99 today.

[Gravebane525]

I just made the same choice. looking for a waterproof esc for use in a scaler the sv3 and the brxl with holmes waterproofing were my options. I'm pretty new to RCing and was looking for something that I could grow into. the cost of the SV3 was nice but the additional features of the brxl won out. no 540 motor restrictions and accepts up to 6s lipos. I can go faster if I want to slower if I want to. maybe get a 55t motor on 6s to have decent wheel speed and monster torque (maybe.. I think thats how it works)

[treys1]

I have had BR-XL's in several scalers and I will continue to use them in brushed trucks.

I know it goes against the "you always need a BEC" thing, however, I use the internal BEC for a ~200oz steering servo + winch + lights with good results. The BEC is actually one of the reasons I like the BR-XL so much, less clutter and one less piece to fail.

[Charlie-III]

Originally Posted by treys1

I have had BR-XL's in several scalers and I will continue to use them in brushed trucks.

I know it goes against the "you always need a BEC" thing, however, I use the internal BEC for a ~200oz steering servo + winch + lights with good results. The BEC is actually one of the reasons I like the BR-XL so much, less clutter and one less piece to fail.

Not really against the "thing", the BR-XL is known to have one of the best internal BEC's going, thus it is recommended for a bit over the "200inoz+ you need a BEC" rule of thumb.

NOTE: the new "mini BR" NEEDS an external BEC.

[el_Fernando]

I had this exact same ESC's in my view while building my Wraith. I went w/ BR-XL. Brushed just seemed the way to go with it. I know that either the SV3 or BR-XL are great on their own. Most trail rig peeps are using an external BEC anyways so that shouldn't be an issue either way you go. AND they are both CastleLink compat.

My BR-XL has been solid outta the box. I had to recently tune down the break and that was a easy peasy!

[craddock35]

I had a couple of castle esc' and got rid of them after getting a br-xl and now I have almost all HH br-xl. I have one rig that has a Tekin FXR in it that will eventually get changed to a br-xl.

[midnight_f150]

Originally Posted by craddock35

I had a couple of castle esc' and got rid of them after getting a br-xl and now I have almost all HH br-xl. I have one rig that has a Tekin FXR in it that will eventually get changed to a br-xl.

What about the BR-XL made you pick it over the castle esc and Tekin FXR?

[mjc597]

Tha brxl esc's haven't got a motor turn limit (I'm pretty sure) and can handle up to 6s lipo with no problems... I've got one coming for my scx10 along with a 35t..

[craddock35]

Originally Posted by midnight_f150

What about the BR-XL made you pick it over the castle esc and Tekin FXR?

No motor limit, it can run up to 6s, his trade in deal, the programming, the difference in the drag brake, and it seems to be smoother with the throttle. Oh and the fact that I went through 3 from castle before one of them even worked right from the start. My friend tried it also and he had to send his first one in to get warrantied also before he could run it. I like the fxr but it is only good up to 3s and doesn't have as good of a drag brake as the br-xl. The sv2 had a great drag brake but the sv3 doesn't. I guess if you don't care about drag brake you could go with it but I want mine to stop if I let off the throttle on the side of a hill especially one that has a 20+ ft drop off 5ft away.

[2003EDGE]

From all the reading that I have been doing, there will be HH products under the hood of my rig! This coming from a guy that has run Tekin EXCLUSIVELY in all of my other vehicles. From all the good comments it is hard to make any other choice.