Esc question...

Gunter

Draganflyer X4
I'm planning a hexa build and just looking at all the esc's available! Daunting for a beginner like me. Do the esc's have to be perfectly matched to the motors, or can I go for the highest amp esc I can afford? That way I could easily upgrade to motors if I need to.

Maybe someone could suggest some figures for me-I'm looking to lift about 1.5kg on a hexa frame, what motors and esc sizes would you go for?

Thanks. Gunter.
 

DucktileMedia

Drone Enthusiast
I am ordering the avroto 2814's with the 30 amp esc from their site. I am not a pro on this by any means but 2 things I have learned are 1) the esc doesnt have to be the same output as the motor as the motor will only draw what you are giving it. But the other way around, obviously, would be bad, you don't want to give more than your motor can handle. And there will be a point where it is inefficient to have too small of an esc for the motor you are using. 2) It is recommended to get a high frequency PWM esc. Most boards seem to be friendly with higher refresh rates than the a lot of the cheapo (hobby king) esc's put out. Can someone confirm this? I am getting this info second hand and it does make sense. Prhaps some of the low end flight controllers dont make use of this but the popular brands will and is therefore worth it to get the best you can afford.
 

matwelli

Member
Hi Gunter

The ESC needs to be rated for a higher current than the motor will draw at full load, because even at part throttle the individul current spikes are still very high

The best of the cheper ESC's are any based on the Hobbywing chip, as they give decent performance, and handle a 400hz update rate.

Turnigy Plush, RCtimer are both Hobbywing based, and so are any of the hobbyking ESC's that are compatable with the Turnigy ES programming card (as those ones use the hobbywing chip) - but i would personally go with the Turnigy plush or RCT as I have had the best relability with them

A 30 amp is a good size to get, also important is the voltage rating, get one that will handle 4S, as quite often you end up going to a higher voltage, and you dont want to be swapping 6 ESc's

1.5kg hexa will take (worst case) 255 watts to hover, on 3S (11.1volts) thats 23 amps total, or bout 3.8 amps per ESC

If you used the RCT timer 750 kv motors http://www.rctimer.com/index.php?gOo=goods_details.dwt&goodsid=523&productname= on 10 by 4.5 props and the 20 or 30 amp esc's you will be fine, http://www.rctimer.com/index.php?gOo=goods_details.dwt&goodsid=146&productname=

you want to aim for hovering at about 30-40% motor power to hover to keep the heat down (as the airflow thru the motors is not as good as in moving plane)
so the above combo will be sweet,
total avilable thrust on 3S is bout 4.8kg so will fly your frame fine,
with room for a camera if you want to add one (dont go over total flying weight of 2.4 kg with that setup, you will need 50% power=75% throttle to hover, and the motors will run warm)
 

Gunter

Draganflyer X4
Thanks for the replies guys. Mat, very helpful info. Would there be any advantage of using 12" props? Would this mean the motors do less work to keep it up?
 


matwelli

Member
12" props, would be slightly more efficient, but not sure how well those motors will spin them, essentially you need 130-170 watts per kg that you want to hover (depends on efficiencies of the system) so the motors will still be working the same.

I have some 12 inch props here, if i get a chance i will spin them up on 3S and see how it goes
 

Gunter

Draganflyer X4
Matt, I'm thinking along the lines of the AC2836 880 KV motor with Arducopter 30A ESC's and running 12" props. It's all Arducopter gear and I can get it at a good price. I can then upgrade if I think it's necessary.

Motor features:
Size: 28 x 36 mm
Shaft: 4mm
RPM/V: 880 Kv
Prop: 12x45
Batt: 2-4 S LiPo
Weight: 72gr
Cables: 35cm/18 AWG with bullets

Thrust specs are on the website: http://www.buildyourowndrone.co.uk/Motor-AC2836-358-880Kv-p/mot-88kv.htm
 

matwelli

Member
152 watts per KG of thrust - perfect, those motors are a good combo, and with the 30amps ESC's lots of headroom.

the one issue i see is with such huge thrust and a all up weight of 1.5kg, your prop speed will be too slow for efective yaw control, you will find it gets better as weigh aproaches 3kg
 


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