3S Lipo on Stock RS10 ESC

[FroadnFab]

So I ran rig tonight at a local spot and put the truck through its paces for a solid 30 min trying to test the factory speed control and its rating of 8.4v max to see if a 3S lipo would burn it up but just like every other time i have run it (which i've done conservatively til this point) the speed control just gets a little warm just like it does with an 8.4v stick battery.

Now the banebot 380 motors on the other hand were very hot by the end of the run. Since i put it through some tire binding holes time and time again trying to perfect a line constantly stalling the motors, which i wanted to do intentionally anyways to test the speed control.

My point being is that the 8.4v rating is conservative "in my opinion", try what you want at your own risk. This is just to inform not to persuade.

[DinoCrawler]

Ya I am trying 3S also and so far so good. It seems to be an easy way to get the power the RS10 so badly needs. I also switched to the 8T pinion. Now it's very respectable. ESC is working fine.

[Santa Cruz Jeff]

Are you guys running a cutoff with those 3 cells??? I switched to 7.4 and am running a Novak 2 cell cutoff and with good results. Clod stall is still a problem though. I may try the 3 cell again but I need a different cutoff for that. Even if the ESC burns up at least they are cheap to replace. Keep us posted.

[DinoCrawler]

No cut off yet. Thats the next step. Right now we are checking the voltage with a meter being very carefull. Already screwed up my first Lipo by being stupid. Glad to hear you like the Novak.

[Santa Cruz Jeff]

The Novak cutoff is programable and easy to use and is like $25. On that Lipo you ruined put it on your charger as a NICAD or NIMH just long enough for the voltage to reach the 7.4 or 11.1 and switch it back to Lipo charge and it will charge normally. Just be carefull and don't do it all the time. That will save the battery if you havent thrown it away yet. When I put my cutoff in I wired a couple of Castle creations plugs and heat shrinked the female end so I can switch back and forth between Lipo and NIMH. Even though Lipo is way better I didnt want to waste my old batteries so I can still use them when I need to.

[DinoCrawler]

I just called our LHS and they have two cut offs on hold for. I will try the battery thing. Thanks

[Santa Cruz Jeff]

If you plan on going back and forth Just make sure that you put the female end of the plug on the battery end and heat shrink the outside when you put in the cutoff ,You do not want the connectors coming in contact with eachother when not using Lipo.

[matholland618]

I just tried putting a 3s in my rs10 and when I turn it on, steering and fans work just fine...it wont move forward or reverse though...well it will if you hold forward or reverse on the remote, then turn the rs10 on it will go for about 2 seconds then stop...what gives?

[MountainStorm]

Originally Posted by matholland618

I just tried putting a 3s in my rs10 and when I turn it on, steering and fans work just fine...it wont move forward or reverse though...well it will if you hold forward or reverse on the remote, then turn the rs10 on it will go for about 2 seconds then stop...what gives?

I burnt my ESC up in a few seconds testing out a 3s Lipo. You should make sure it still works with 2s.

I would not advise running the stock ESC on 3S. There is a cheap ESC on eBay that can handle up to 4S if you want to run higher voltage.

[Pat M]

get a lipo alarm, cheap (get a couple batterries and charger here also

Radio Control Planes, Helicopters, Cars, Boats, FPV and Quadcopters - Hobbyking*


.

[infodragon]

Do not use the internal BEC with anything more than 2S. This is the part that burns up due to excessive heat.

You also need to connect the fan to the external BEC. It runs off the battery power and the little thing just cannot handle the higher voltage. It burns up then allows the ESC to run at higher heat which causes more problems...

A middle ground may be a 3S LiFePO4. It's what I've used for quite some time and you do not need to disable the High Voltage Cutoff.

[Mikey307]

I'll vouch for the HobbyKing lipo alarms and batteries as well. All I run is Turningy Nanotechs and have never had an issue. I plan on ordering a RS10 shortly and I will be running it on 950mah 45C 3s Turnigys and a Castle 10-amp BEC. I am overly nice to my trucks so I can imagine it will survive just fine.

[infodragon]

Remember to disconnect the fan from the ESC and run it from the BEC! Do not use the internal BEC in any way! Heat is the ESC killer especially when you are running it over specs.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, the ESC shuts the motors off when you go over the High Voltage Cutoff. You have to disable the HVC before you can use 3S. Follow the ESC instructions

http://www.redcatracing.com/manuals/E401.pdf

[Mikey307]

Good to know thanks.

[infodragon]

Originally Posted by MountainStorm

I burnt my ESC up in a few seconds testing out a 3s Lipo. You should make sure it still works with 2s.

I would not advise running the stock ESC on 3S. There is a cheap ESC on eBay that can handle up to 4S if you want to run higher voltage.

Were you powering stuff off the internal BEC? I've found this is the weak point of the Lansu 401 ESC. I have one where the magic smoke escaped and it was the BEC.

Higher input voltage makes the BEC work harder to step down the voltage; less current through the BEC produces less heat, which is what burns these puppies up. There is no guarantee that 3S won't burn it up even if you don't use the internal BEC but I'm curious as to what your setup was.

I'm running dual Lansu 401's right now on a 4200mah 3S LiFePO4, I'm going to a 4S soon and will report the results.

[cabron]

good info on the bec issues with the stock escs infodragon.


dual lansu escs? how long have you been using them? how do you have them set up?
as in y-ed into the same channel or using
a different tx/rx setup.
i like dual escs and 4whs so i am using a spectrum 6 channel stick radio

[infodragon]

Originally Posted by cabron

dual lansu escs? how long have you been using them? how do you have them set up?
as in y-ed into the same channel or using
a different tx/rx setup.
i like dual escs and 4whs so i am using a spectrum 6 channel stick radio

I've been using them for about 3 months now. I trail/crawl on a mountain biking path in Pleasantville NY, it's quite challenging hiking as well.

I use the Taranis stick radio. I cannot express how much I enjoy this radio. The ability to mix inputs is quite amazing and the open source community is incredibly helpful!
Taranis X9D-products

I have a 4 channel rcvr for the RS10 and so I can independent 4whs and throttle.
V8R4-II-products

I routinely check the temperature of the ESCs using the sophisticated technique of the back of my finger. Since I stopped using the internal BEC they run noticeably cooler, even in warmer temperatures.

I also have the BaneBot 395 motors, they are rated at higher voltage and I plan on going to 4S LiFePO4 (13.5v) with these ESCs. I'm waiting for the plastic gears to strip out before I order the steel gear set, it will be interesting to see how long it takes.

I'm considering putting up a build thread but I keep running out of time due to either running my rigs or modding them! (I have an XR10 for more serious times on the rocks)

[MountainStorm]

Originally Posted by infodragon

Were you powering stuff off the internal BEC? I've found this is the weak point of the Lansu 401 ESC. I have one where the magic smoke escaped and it was the BEC.

Higher input voltage makes the BEC work harder to step down the voltage; less current through the BEC produces less heat, which is what burns these puppies up. There is no guarantee that 3S won't burn it up even if you don't use the internal BEC but I'm curious as to what your setup was.

I'm running dual Lansu 401's right now on a 4200mah 3S LiFePO4, I'm going to a 4S soon and will report the results.

I was a running a CC BEC wired direct to the battery plug. Like you said even with an external BEC you might smoke it. But you've provided some good info.

I'm using a cheap 320A ESC off eBay that is not as smooth as the Lansu but it runs cool and handles up to 4S (which the little RS10 cans might not like). I use a Nano 3s Lipo and it works for me.

[infodragon]

Originally Posted by MountainStorm

I was a running a CC BEC wired direct to the battery plug. Like you said even with an external BEC you might smoke it. But you've provided some good info.

I'm using a cheap 320A ESC off eBay that is not as smooth as the Lansu but it runs cool and handles up to 4S (which the little RS10 cans might not like). I use a Nano 3s Lipo and it works for me.

How long did it take for the ESC to smoke? Did you have the fan connected to the BEC?

[matholland618]

When I tried a 3S in mine, it would only steer...Nothing else would work...Never smoked the ESC, but it never did anything either....My neighbor still has it and runs just fine.