3s to 6s... potential issues?

[rustyrooster]

Building an moa and I have 45t motors, 12 tooth pinions, br-xl esc, and 3s. It looks like that is going to be a good setup for the crawling I will be doing. However, I can see traveling to a friends house or campground where there might not be as technical area to crawl, so I will want more speed. My thought is I could just add an extra pack in series to give me the extra zip I want without any setup time. I am wondering if there are any areas of my build that would have potential issues with 6s? I don't know what gauge wire is on the esc but I assume 12ga? If my batteries each have 14ga can I make a harness with 14ga or do I need to go larger? Is it ok for my motors to have 16ga?

Thanks in advance for the input.

[JeremyH]

Originally Posted by rustyrooster

I am wondering if there are any areas of my build that would have potential issues with 6s?

Yes, you will kill your motors. I have smoked quite a few 540 motors on 5S and even one on 4S. On those higher voltages, I have either melted the epoxy or the solder on the commutator....

[EvilTwin v2]

Even if you weren't going to kill the motors, how much wheel speed is really useable?

I know with 3s on my 35t handwounds, I can barely control my crawler over any uneven terrain at full speed. Trust me, I use every bit of power that I have, but I've never felt that I needed more.

[tigman250]

Originally Posted by JeremyH

Yes, you will kill your motors. I have smoked quite a few 540 motors on 5S and even one on 4S. On those higher voltages, I have either melted the epoxy or the solder on the commutator....

How manny packs do you get through before you start experiencing issues? From the way he has it worded I believe it's a once in a while kind of thing, he does not intend to run like that all the time.

On AC motors when you increase the voltage the amperage goes down, apparently this does not hold true on DC motors??? How is John Holmes getting away with 6s on 55t's then?.......(i'm sure he is not running an average out of the box motor LOL)

thanks for your help!

[JeremyH]

Originally Posted by tigman250

How manny packs do you get through before you start experiencing issues?

On 5S, I was killing motors almost every run. On 4S, the motor lasted quite a while (at least one comp season) before it died....

[tigman250]

Originally Posted by JeremyH

On 5S, I was killing motors almost every run. On 4S, the motor lasted quite a while (at least one comp season) before it died....

Sounds expensive!

[EeePee]

Originally Posted by rustyrooster

I am wondering if there are any areas of my build that would have potential issues with 6s?

Yeah all the parts that spin.

[Longhair]

If you want crazy speed, you are better off getting a Savage Flux or convert an older Savage to BL.

[rustyrooster]

Tigman is right. I would like to take my rig wherever I go for potential backyard bashing. The vast majority of time I would be doing some technical crawling. However, I can think of a couple places that I would go where the technical aspect is not there. I might be climbing a ditch bank with loser dirt, or a hill climb in a gravel pit……or the kids plastic slide on the playhouse. Two and three “s” is not going to cut it on those things that required wheel speed and momentum. I am guessing 6s would open up some possibilities.

I have the HH esc so I know I am ok with 6s there. For now I am willing to risk breaking gears or axles but it is berg stuff so I expect it to be strong. That leaves me with motors, wiring, and servo. I assume the BEC in the esc will protect the servo…..can someone confirm that please? I would expect if I made a series harness out of 12ga wire that would be enough to get the juice from the batteries to the esc, but I was wondering if someone knows if I could get away with 14ga? I also thought I could get away with smaller wire to the motors. If not I would be willing to run 12ga to them. Now the question of the motors….is anyone else burning up motors on more than 3s? what motors out there can handle up to 6s? I assume some of the HH stuff, but it would be nice if the cheaper HH stuff would hold up too. Would a 35t hold up to 6s abuse better than a 55t or does turn count not matter?

[EvilTwin v2]

Originally Posted by rustyrooster

Tigman is right. I would like to take my rig wherever I go for potential backyard bashing. The vast majority of time I would be doing some technical crawling. However, I can think of a couple places that I would go where the technical aspect is not there. I might be climbing a ditch bank with loser dirt, or a hill climb in a gravel pit……or the kids plastic slide on the playhouse. Two and three “s” is not going to cut it on those things that required wheel speed and momentum. I am guessing 6s would open up some possibilities.

I have the HH esc so I know I am ok with 6s there. For now I am willing to risk breaking gears or axles but it is berg stuff so I expect it to be strong. That leaves me with motors, wiring, and servo. I assume the BEC in the esc will protect the servo…..can someone confirm that please? I would expect if I made a series harness out of 12ga wire that would be enough to get the juice from the batteries to the esc, but I was wondering if someone knows if I could get away with 14ga? I also thought I could get away with smaller wire to the motors. If not I would be willing to run 12ga to them. Now the question of the motors….is anyone else burning up motors on more than 3s? what motors out there can handle up to 6s? I assume some of the HH stuff, but it would be nice if the cheaper HH stuff would hold up too. Would a 35t hold up to 6s abuse better than a 55t or does turn count not matter?

Unless you've upgraded the gears and axle shafts, bergs are not that strong.

No, a 35t would burn up far faster on 6s than a 55t. The fewer the turns, the more heat they develop. I'm not sure how well the 55t will handle 6s, either...it'll be better, though.