Ugh, servos are so expensive

[Hoss81]

So I run a 23kg blue PowerHD in my Kraton with a Castle BEC @ 7.4v and she's lasted for a few years. I think one of the challenges with the crawlers is that there is no servo saver, so there is nothing to "give" anywhere. Ideally you probably want a servo with really hard and durable gearsets. Budget servo's on ESC internal BEC's all suck, and if you are running factory XL5 electronics, that kind of power draw can roast your ESC.

[Benp]

Forgive my ignorance, but what is a “servo saver?”

I saw mentioned a few up that the plastic gear in one of the servos above can act as an internal one.

Is it just a mechanism attached to the servo that will break instead of the servo?

ETA - just looked them up and kind of get the drift.

Are there different types?

[Hoss81]

Originally Posted by Benp

Forgive my ignorance, but what is a “servo saver?”

I saw mentioned a few up that the plastic gear in one of the servos above can act as an internal one.

Is it just a mechanism attached to the servo that will break instead of the servo?

ETA - just looked them up and kind of get the drift.

Are there different types?

Yeah, it's basically a mechanism with a spring of some sort that allows under a certain extreme load to rotate without harming the spline of the servo. Most every modern vehicle has a servo saver, Crawlers don't and I imagine it's so you have maximum control of your turning direction. A weak steering servo would "unload" if you had the tire on the face of a rock and tried to turn it into the rock.

[Benp]

Originally Posted by Hoss81

Yeah, it's basically a mechanism with a spring of some sort that allows under a certain extreme load to rotate without harming the spline of the servo. Most every modern vehicle has a servo saver, Crawlers don't and I imagine it's so you have maximum control of your turning direction. A weak steering servo would "unload" if you had the tire on the face of a rock and tried to turn it into the rock.

Thanks!!

I didn’t realize it was a common item on non crawler vehicles.

[mr_alister]

Here is a couple (bad) photos of servo savers. One from my 2wd stampede and one from my 4wd slash. The stampede one is really basic and gets installed on the servo spline instead of a horn. The slash one is more complicated but you can kinda see the springs and whatnot.

[Benp]

Ok!

That makes sense.

[Inspector86]

You can spend a little on a budget servo and replace it several times when it fails, or you can pay a little more for a quality servo and only buy it once. Ultimately, you will spend less in the long run on a quality servo.

[rag6]

That depends. I've rarely had anything but stock servos fail. If I get 5 years out of a savox 0251 for 30$ in a trail trail truck, and it's still going, how is buying an 80$ servo saving money? I do understand I would get more power for the extra 50$. If you need an extra strong servo for competition I get it, but the average basher really doesn't require it...

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[mr_alister]

I look at this way. If i had 100 bucks to spare id probably buy a kick ass servo. But i rarely have a 100 bucks to spare. So the only way i get a 100 dollar servo is if my cheap one dies at a time when i have 100 bucks to spare

[o0wiz0o]

Savox SW1210SG & Savox 1256TG here...both five years old and been in wet conditions. They are both still going strong. :-) Not super expensive... especially when you divide the cost over the years.

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

If you ever need another one, I have the ECOPOWER WP120T for $70 USD and it is great! has around 400oz at 7.4v!


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[Drewmtb29]

As the above comments. Don’t waste your money on the cheaper servos like those you mentioned, you’ll go thru enough of those to spend more $ than you would have on a solid one in the first place. I run a Savox 1210 SG on mine at 7.4V, has more than enough torque. Waterproof. Runs about $110 CAD.


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[Ninomaniac]

I spent money for a decent servo once, a Hitec 7955TG and it was miles better than the cheapo stuff of the same specs, but still burned out after a couple of years. Most of my buddies run cheap DS and JX and whatever 20kg servos, I have one too, and we never had one fail. They are overrated in the specs but for the money they're good. I can get 5 of those instead of one "big name" servo.

Where was I going with this... dunno.

[themountain]

Originally Posted by Drewmtb29

I run a Savox 1210 SG on mine at 7.4V, has more than enough torque. Waterproof. Runs about $110 CAD.

..and you can hear him from 50 meters away

[tuxstang]

Have around 10 trucks, my servos budget ranges from $15 to $30 ... trailing, rock-crawling, bashing, running underwater, never had one failing ... so feel no need for 10 $100 servos and saves me from tar and feathers

[MOguy]

Originally Posted by themountain

..and you can hear him from 50 meters away

I am running 4 Savox Servos, 1212, 1256 and 2 1230S. When I used my TRX4 controller the ones I had in that truck were loader and always looking for center. They would also heat up and have end point issues. I dumped the TRX controller and now use a DX5 rugged and no more heat, no more centering issues and no louder than other servos. The Savox servos were also controlled by a couple other Spectrum controller, a DX5c and one of there cheap ones and they are not loud and perform just fine.

I think that many issues people have with servos has allot to do with their controllers and receivers. Changing to a decent controller made a huge difference for me.

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Originally Posted by themountain

..and you can hear him from 50 meters away

Yup, my Savox that I had for 2 runs before it stripped was really loud


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