Cleaning Comm. + New brush breakin

[Orph3o]

Hey guys,

a quick question, I have been digging the forum and the web for a great way to clean my comms (and overall brushed maintenance).

I see cleaning pens/sticks
Commutator cleaning brushes
Lathe
red and wet sandpaper...

I only have motors for my XR10 (rest is nitro 1/ so I don't feel like buying a lathe tool.
However, everyone seems convinced by either the pen, the brushes or a bit of red sandpaper on a slowly rotating comm.

I don't mind spending a buck, just want to make sure I am giving as much love to my HH motors as they deserve


Also, when replacing brushes (Stand up) do I need to "break them in" as in turning 10mn at 3v then cleaning the whole motor?


Thanks

[TEDROCKZ]

Here is like the boring thread ever on the subject.should be something in here to help you

Cutting a motor commutator & motor tweaks

[Orph3o]

Thanks, I dug into this one too
I need to learn this (I can rebuild a nitro engine without any problems or doubts, but this is all new to me).

I'll keep on digging.

Thanks!

[EddieO]

Uh, where do you get everyone seems convinced on pens, brushes and sandpaper? Certainly nobody who knows what they are talking about on this forum. While a comm stick/brush can help you finish the day, sandpaper should never be used....none are the proper way to take care of your motors.

Don't pay attention to the idiots on youtube telling you to use sandpaper to clean it or water to break it in. The guys making those videos are the laughing stock of RC.....they claim to be big time racers, yet nobody has ever heard of them.

The proper way is to use a lathe.....cut the comm, replace brushes when they get too short. There is an entire thread on this forum about cutting a comm.

Brushes need to be broken in to work at optimal performance. 3 volts for 5 minutes is a good start on most brushes, some take longer....just have to go a minute at a time after the 5 and check.

Later EddieO

[anuthabubba]

I recently cleaned a couple of stock MRC motor comms/brushes by spininning the armature, with my fingers, while holding a bit of gray scotchbrite around the commutator. One was bad enough that I made a wooden scraper by cutting an angle on a toothpick to knock the big chunks off. Scraped the brushes with a small Victorinox pen knife. Ran both for a few minutes (neither ran before cleaning) on a couple of AA dry cells. Haven't tried 'em in a truck yet but they seem okay.

[Orph3o]

Didn't want to offense anyone
Lathe is quite of a frightening thing to me, I can already see myself ruining a fine motor!

I'll keep on digging!

[TEDROCKZ]

Originally Posted by Orph3o

Didn't want to offense anyone
Lathe is quite of a frightening thing to me, I can already see myself ruining a fine motor!

I'll keep on digging!

You've offended no one. Eddie, Holmes and many others who chime in are just sincere when it comes to maintaining high $ motors. It's like them sending their kids off to school or something, they wanna be sure they are in good hands Don't take much to get led down the wrong road.

As far as lathes, they aren't to hard to operate. Just buy some cheap old motors from Ebay or the like to practice with.

[Charlie-III]

Originally Posted by TEDROCKZ

You've offended no one. Eddie, Holmes and many others who chime in are just sincere when it comes to maintaining high $ motors. It's like them sending their kids off to school or something, they wanna be sure they are in good hands Don't take much to get led down the wrong road.

As far as lathes, they aren't to hard to operate. Just buy some cheap old motors from Ebay or the like to practice with.

+1.

Besides, a used (but decent) comm lathe can help keep even cheap motors running OK for quite a long time.

Read through the linked thread on "cutting comms" and go from there.

PS, if John Holmes or EddieO tell you to do/not do something with a brushed motor, you should REALLY listen.

[EddieO]

Lathe's are extremely easy to use and learning how your motor works is well worth your time. I watch people at every comp get screwed by worn out motors that have not been properly cared for.


Later EddieO

[mark32]

is it better to just send ur motor to john and what should i use to clean and oil it with. how often should i clean it. i have searched and searched but every body gives different answers and it gets overwhelming

[JeremyH]

Originally Posted by mark32

how often should i clean it.

It's best to blow it out with compressed air after each run....and cut the comm after every few runs. At least, that's what I try to do. I usually end up cutting the comm every month or so...

[Orph3o]

Thanks all.

I'll try and find a lathe, meanwhile I'll just open and clean/oil them tonight.


Thanks.

[EddieO]

If you learn to take care of your motors on your own, you will know. Its easy to spot when you know how the motor works and such. There is no definitive answer to how often, as there are many different motors, trucks, and enviroments they are used in.

Trust me, John or I love the $10 a motor for rebuilds, but I would rather people learned to do it themselves. It's really easy and quick with a little practice, and pretty cheap since you can find good lathes for $25-$50 pretty easy.

Later EddieO

Originally Posted by mark32

is it better to just send ur motor to john and what should i use to clean and oil it with. how often should i clean it. i have searched and searched but every body gives different answers and it gets overwhelming

[mark32]

thank you for the reply i will look into a lathe

[SINister]

Some info about motors - RC Motor Info - HobbyTalk

There's also some excerpts from Big Jim's Black Book which is no longer in print.

[EddieO]

I have the PDF of big jims book to anyone who wants it. Rccars.com forums still have tons of stuff too, much more than hobbytalk did, both are a good resource.

Later EddieO

[Colgout]

I just start learning how to use the lathe (see my thread on comm lathe in this section), and if you look harder on ebay, it is not hard to pick one up for reasonable price (less than $50-70). I missed a Hudy one from UK $60 shipped to Australia. I am sure you can pick some nice one within US pretty easy. I am still keeping my eye for a Fantom or hudy one....

Yes, they are fairly easy to use, I understand your fear of ruining a good armature, just get a burnt or used silver can and keep cutting the comm until there is no more copper, you will be more comfortable by then.

At the end of the day, if you still not comfortable, I did try to used a normal eraser to clean the carbon residue on the comm and it did give a tiny bit of improvement.

[Colgout]

Originally Posted by EddieO

I have the PDF of big jims book to anyone who wants it. Rccars.com forums still have tons of stuff too, much more than hobbytalk did, both are a good resource.

Later EddieO

I wouldn't mind a copy of the book if I can...

[EddieO]

Check your local race tracks. The brushless revolution happened pretty quick so many people got stuck with the lathes before they could sell em, so they are just sitting in the closet.... The fantoms are out there, but they didn't sell a ton of them compared to other lathes, so they can be tough to find. Hudy is the other to snag, but the slot car guys buy these and convert them for slot use. The track is a good place to score old stock motors nobody wants, so you can get some practice arms pretty cheap or free.

Email me at info@teambrood.com for a copy of the PDF.

Later EddieO

[KJ10]

Originally Posted by Colgout

I wouldn't mind a copy of the book if I can...

Ditto. I've been curious about this stuff for 3 decades but could never find a copy of THAT book and I'm leery of web info most of the time. Sorry John, you might not be seeing my motors again, if I get a copy of Big Jim's book. I'm a machinist, I can build my own lathe. I guess I will need a motor to run it though.