Hello,

I have recently upgraded my Parkzone Corsair/Trojan/Mustang from the stock 480 motor to the Eflite Power 10. As Iīm already spending to much money on this hobby (at least according to my wife) I am thinking about keeping the stock 30A E-flite ESC (I do realize that it would be a greater cost to replace a crashed plane then to buy a new 40A ESC to begin with but bear with me ;-). I have a couple of friends who have done the exact same thing and have had no problems with this setup.

Today I had the time to test my wattmeter, which I recently purchased, and going WOT on the Power 10 with the Trojan/Corsair prop. pulled 30,5A (about) with a fully charged battery. This is of course on the ESC-limit but I never go WOT all the time while flying, itīs just not my style, and the ESC is stated to be able to handle 35A burst.

Just for the fun of it I also tried the wattmeter on my Parkzone 300 Extra with stock motor (15-size), ESC (Eflite 30 A) and prop. To my surprise going WOT pulled 35A. Obviously Parkzone does not expect you to go WOT all the time on this beauty.

As Iīm still rather new to all this, purchased my first plane a year ago (addiction comes fast) I have the following questions:

1. Is it completely wrong to measure amps "on the bench", i.e. will the plane pull more amps during for example a vertical climb?

2. Am I wrong in assuming that the problem with putting to many amps through an ESC is that it will generate to much heat, eventually causing the ESC to shut down?

3. If my above assumption is right, the way the ESC handle amps is to some part depending on the airtemperature and cooling of the ESC. Living in Sweden, where it actually snowed today, I should have fewer issues from overheating the ESC then someone living in for example in the Arizona desert?

4. With my DX8 I have the opportunity to put a tempsensor on the ESC to monitor it during flight. Which temperatures should I be looking out for?

5. Is the ESC:s capability to handle amps in any way affected by the fact that all my planes have separate BEC:s?

Best regards from Sweden

Robert

(I do realize that some of the above questions can be answered by searching this site. If that is your suggestion then please just ignore this post. Also English is not my first language so I apologize in advance for any misspellings. Please feel free to move this post to another forum if this is an incorrect one)

#1 Ok the amps bench tested on the ground would represent the amps being pulled when you would first apply full throttle and the plane is NOT moving because once it starts moving the motor/prop unload and then amps go down by how much not sure.

Thats why some even when rolling takeoff do not apply full throttle.

#2 More amps does mean more heat. MY DX8 and stock PKZ with E-Flite 30A only pulls around 23A and the temps generaly stay around 85F. The max operating temps are generaly in the 100-120f with motor going higher.

#3 Most esc rated amps specs are based on some X amount of air circulation so cold air does help the esc to stay cool.

#4 You got awesome radio, you will luv as I luv mine. I got my temp sensor set for 100f

#5 What happens with esc and bec is that the esc can handle a certain amount of heat and the some will shut down when the heat is greater then normal. What happens with BEC is that depending on the size of the main pack the bec also generates heat and this adds to the esc heat and may cause it to shut down earlier then a esc that did not have a bec.

If you only swap the motor to a power 10 BUT kept the stock prop you will see improvement in performance ans should be good with the stock ESC. Since WOT is not applied all the time and should not even using the stock setup.

Thank you very, very much Freechip for that quick and clarifying response, awesome.

Happy landings!

Robert

Interesting discussion. As a new T-28 owner I'm curious why you changed motors. Perhaps after I've flown mine more I could see why you'd want to replace it but right now she flies like a dream right out of the box.

I totally agree with you ZackJones, the T-28 flies great stock. The Power 10 merely gives it that little extra kick thatīs always nice when outrunning your buddies at the field :-). Itīs by no means a "must" upgrade, although I really enjoy it. The real difference is with the Mustang. Upgrading to a Power 10, the Corsair/Trojan prop and a 2200 mAh battery really made that bird scream!

The most concerning thing about the E-Flite 30A esc is not really the esc amps BUT the limited BEC output. Even if its labeled as a Switching bec it is only good for 700mah YES 0.7A make sure you follow the servo amount recommendation other wise you're setup is going to be prone to brownouts.

Yes, I was a bit surprised when I saw that. That is actually the main reason why I have external BEC:s (3A Switch BEC:s) on all my planes. With the addition of two extra servos for flaps, lightning system and telemetry it just seemed wise (if not necessary :-).

Agreed, I had added one servo for bomb drop module and the addition of the TM1000 unit for my DX8 Telemetry would cause the RX to flash after a full battery flight imdicating lose of power. Must of been minor because never even notice it but still concerning. Then after talking to someone and they comment that I should realize the the TM unit also needs power to function ant that maybe I was excedding the BEC limits is when I looked into it and found out the limited output of this esc.

The funniest thing is that PKZ`s new plane P-47 comes with the same esc and you can also get functioning flaps (2 servo) and electric retracts for it so 2 more servo.

I commented on that thread about the lack of BEC output and a representative responded by saying it was tested and worked fine. Not surprising that the TM unit would draw a little more power since its transmitting but owners still need to be aware if they opt to use the FLAPS or Retracts or both and the TM telemetry for those with the DX8. Oh well.

That does seem rather strange. So even without the telementry that would mean 2 digital servos, 4 analog servos and the 10-15 size retracts (with a current draw stall of 0.2A) on a 0.7 BEC? Looking at the specs in the ESC-manual they do seem to be pushing it a bit (or the BEC:s capacity is intentionally understated). Well, not my headache :-)

Well the retracts do function like regular retract servo and so when they are extended or retracted they do not use power but if you have flaps that means 2 working servo that puts you at 6 servo when the HOBBY recommendation is 4 servo or more use BEC.

Originally Posted by E-FLITE

E -flite’s 30-amp Pro SB brushless ESC offers up to 30 amps of continuous current with proper airflow and a peak of 35 amps. It drives up to 5 analog or 4 digital sub-micro servos with the BEC on any recommended input voltage

Last time I counted 4 servo for the plane plus 2 for flaps and 2 retracts equal alot more then 5

But how many servos can you VIOLENTLY move at the same time ??

Not too many. Landing approach ? Only servo current will be the landing gear going down. Flaps are a momentary load. Most planes really do not pull a lot when sport flying.

If you do go nutty & slam all you levers into the stops. You are nutty. You plane was NOT designed or built for that kind of servo load abuse. NOW you MAY get loss of plane control due to 1 or several overloads at once.

Rich

Fair point Rich, I guess we will just have to buy this beauty and find out. In fact, thats probably how Iīm going to slip it past my wife, "no dear, Iīm not buying another plane, itīs merely a brownout testingdevice" ;-)

Still, Iīll probably put a separate BEC in there anyhow. I like the fact that it enables you to control your plane even if the ESC burns/shuts down. A cheap Hobbyking 3A BEC actually saved my EF2000 a couple of weeks ago when an old ESC from Art-tech decided to shut down in mid flight. Resulted in a nervewrecking spaceshuttlestyle landing, since you only get one approach and one landingattempt. The plane was ok but it became painfully obvious why Sweden has no spaceprogram...

The logic of 1 BEC chip overheating on the ESC, causes the ESC to totally shut down, should be avoided if possible.

Fact is, I am LONG overdue by several years, for a BEC shutdown on a ESC. If I buy only 1 really good 1, then I run the risk of a intermittant plug wire breaking, moving it from plane to plane.

Crap.

Why leave all that money to others when I croak.
Since all my planes run HS-55s.........CHEAP,CHEAP.
Even the guy below only uses 4 HS-55s.

Rich

Originally Posted by RubenFelix

I totally agree with you ZackJones, the T-28 flies great stock. The Power 10 merely gives it that little extra kick thatīs always nice when outrunning your buddies at the field :-). Itīs by no means a "must" upgrade, although I really enjoy it. The real difference is with the Mustang. Upgrading to a Power 10, the Corsair/Trojan prop and a 2200 mAh battery really made that bird scream!

I saw a T-28 with a Power 10 in it flying yesterday now I know why you'd want to put one in. That thing looked great going virtually unlimited vertical. Eventually I'll add one to mine.

I really like that it is such an easy upgrade. The Power 10 is a drop in replacement for the Parkzone 480 so it requires no spacers or additional hardware or other modifications. I have about 30 flights on my upgraded Trojan (Power 10, stock ESC and stock prop) and have had no problems with the ESC overheating. It is so nice to make a low and slow flyby only to go WOT for unlimited vertical until the plane is a dot in the sky, sweet :-)

Happy landings!
/Robert