I have modified my EZ Star as a waterplane (see Epic Fail... in Waterplanes if interested). It has an inrunner Hyperion motor, 25A Atlas ESC, 6x4 APC, and uses Hyperion's CX 2100 mAh 3s. My concern is that the ESC gets really hot. Takeoffs are a full throttle affair and take me several attempts. After a few minutes of flight, I notice a significant drop in power and immediately bring it down. That's when the ESC is hot.

I measured the electrical parameters with my Watts Up meter and got the following:
servo 1; 0.23A 2.5W (moving it quickly)
servo 2; 0.25A 3.0W (same)
motor; 20.5A 244W (full throttle, 5 sec)
everything stopped, 0.05A 0.7W

Anything stand out as a problem? I don't see anything, but I'm still early in the learning curve. If everything is nominal, then the likely culprit seems to me that all the electrical gear in packed into what amounts to a very well insulated compartment and normal heat generation is building up. If that's right, I think a heat sink stuck on the ESC and exposed to the exterior should resolve the problem. That's if something else isn't at play here, hence the post.

Thoughts?

Jeff

Is your ESC mounted outside or inside?
My ESC is mounted outside so it gets some wind cooling.
Here is what I am using. HXT2835 2700kv inrunner Hextronic 36 amp esc
It doesn't hurt to use an ESC larger then needed, it will stay cooler and more easily handle the amps needed by the motor.
You might post here as there are a million Easystar pilots and will have many answers.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1167272
Well, maybe not a million but a lot.

I thought about posting to that thread, but the size of the thing made me think that a separate posting might be better. We'll see.

The ESC is mounted inside the canopy, as per instructions. That's why I didn't give overheating much thought, as these planes have been around so long that I assumed that just following the manual would be sufficient. I guess my modifications render that assumption void. I thought that a brushless motor, being more efficient than the stock brushed speed 400, would create less heat. However, if I'm pulling more watts than stock (it'd better be! That was the point in the waterplane mod), even if more efficient, more power can be more heat.

Jeff

This is my 20A ESC mounted externally. Never had a problem with it until it went down in a saltwater bay (pic2)...

Originally Posted by Democritus

I thought about posting to that thread, but the size of the thing made me think that a separate posting might be better. We'll see.

The ESC is mounted inside the canopy, as per instructions. That's why I didn't give overheating much thought, as these planes have been around so long that I assumed that just following the manual would be sufficient. I guess my modifications render that assumption void. I thought that a brushless motor, being more efficient than the stock brushed speed 400, would create less heat. However, if I'm pulling more watts than stock (it'd better be! That was the point in the waterplane mod), even if more efficient, more power can be more heat.

Jeff

The Easy Star, while a fantastic airframe, needs to have a nice cooling hole cut up front in order to cool down the electronics. If yours is a seaplane, then you need to mount it ontop of the power pop, like in the above pictures, and wipe it off after flight. Lack of cooling with anything will cause heating problems.

@ bart those hc 2200kvs are good motors, have one in another plane.

Originally Posted by Xpress..

The Easy Star, while a fantastic airframe, needs to have a nice cooling hole cut up front in order to cool down the electronics.
...

If you use suitable equipment, there is no need for cooling holes on a model like the EasyStar - not even during "NiCd days".

Jürgen