How did I let the magic smoke out.

4U2NVME

Member
You must never try and run a motor when it's not working properly. By properly, I mean with normal noise, normal throttle response and normal speed.

These motors are three-phase and they need all phases working equally. You had a minor problem, like a faulty connection, which stopped the motor running properly, but even though the motor isn't giving out much power, full power is still going into it. That power can't give motion, so instead, it gives heat, which burns the motor in a short time, and can also burn the ESC at the same time

If at any time your motor stutters, growls, twitches or makes a grating noise, you mustn't give it anything more than enough throttle to test whether it's fixed. Instead, you need to find out why it behaves like that before you attempt a flight.
Super advise everybody... d8veh that could of been it I will know for next time. Maybe a bad solder joint and then lost a wire and it back fed. I will put on the other motor I have with 9 inch prop. Later if I actually don't destroy this air frame I can do the 2200 of with the 5 inch prop?. I will also cut an air hole in the top of the cowling to get more air flow over my esc.

I got the light tonight for the smoke stopper to also build that... you all are awesome... should I just toss this motor... or is there a multimeter test or something I can do to see if it's fried... or just don't even take chance and throw it away?
 

4U2NVME

Member
I'm with @sprzout. I

The TT is VERY forgiving. My first was as crooked as a politician but flew great. If you need to relax a hot glue joint to release a missplaced servo, use a hot air gun or blow dryer (gently) to soften up the glue. Take care not to melt foam or strip the paper off the foamboard with too much air.

Lol the tiny trainer was my first build that I turned into a scud missile.. rebuilt it a few times then the wings folded up. Moved to old fogey and gave me some really good success ..... with some hot glue can get in air again... and the cub is my third plane.... but first to almost burn up lol.
 

4U2NVME

Member
Hello, I ended up rebuilding my motor pod with a new 30 AMP ESC, the Emax Cf2822 1200kv motor and rebound it, with all new soldered connections and parts. Thank you everybody for the combined advise...

It flies great, responds great and has been the most stable and best flying experience to date...... see picture below and see if you can guess what other lessons I had the privilege to experience

20181107_155446.jpg


If you are guessing winter flying.. or flying in beautiful lighting.. no that is not the answer....

Here is another picture to may be try and help...

20181107_155434.jpg


Ok..Ok, yes its still a bit subtle and hard to see, again with the low lighting and great shadows, I could see how some would be confused...so one last picture....

20181107_155703.jpg


Its not a picture with great timing showing my cub flying over my head... Its a cub which has landed over my head.

I guess I thought i was getting so good; that doing extreme some extreme flight maneuvers, or as much as the 3 channel cub would let me, that flying above and over trees takes away some of the advise, which is to fly 3 mistakes high. So much so, that you quickly learn you are not 3 mistakes high, that you have lost much more altitude in a loop then you think....

So anyways this was the lesson I got a chance to experience.... lets just hope its a lesson I am going to learn... but, I think it's pretty even money that this may happen again some time.... I do have a question though with the battery..which by chance was its first flight ever...
 
Last edited:

4U2NVME

Member
Is this battery toast... It has not puffed up, I currently have it in my garage in my stainless steel sink. I pealed away some of the wrapping to expose some of the damage... Should I safely discharge it and dispose it... OR because its not puffed, should I wrap it back up in duct tape or something and continue to use it....

I think I should throw it out... but.. hey its not puffed.. so the other side of my brain says...na its good!!! thoughts?

20181107_162703.jpg
 

DamoRC

Elite member
Mentor
Is this battery toast... It has not puffed up, I currently have it in my garage in my stainless steel sink. I pealed away some of the wrapping to expose some of the damage... Should I safely discharge it and dispose it... OR because its not puffed, should I wrap it back up in duct tape or something and continue to use it....

I think I should throw it out... but.. hey its not puffed.. so the other side of my brain says...na its good!!! thoughts?

View attachment 118237

It looks like one of the cells is cut (did it hit the prop?). I would discharge it fully and dispose.

DamoRC
 

4U2NVME

Member
It looks like one of the cells is cut (did it hit the prop?). I would discharge it fully and dispose.

DamoRC
The plane stopped in the trees, the battery did not.. it ejected, and continued to fly out non wing assisted and landed about 30 or 40 feet away.. .the prop guess is probably accurate and makes sense.. one of my prop blades are broken...or at least missing a chunk...I thought that was from the tree, but as you pointed out most likely not
 

kilroy07

Legendary member
I've had a couple of those motors, burned a few up myself too.

Looking back, some of those bullet connectors were rather loose. As @d8veh said that's a common point of failure.
I saw stuttering too, not knowing what it was indicating... I pushed the motors (they died shortly thereafter).
Since then I've started using MT60 connectors and haven't had any more issues (the cheap stuff works if you understand it's limitations.)

One more hint, On the FT Hotglue video they mention using rubbing alcohol to harvest electronics from a wrecked build. It works like a charm!
 

4U2NVME

Member
I've had a couple of those motors, burned a few up myself too.

One more hint, On the FT Hotglue video they mention using rubbing alcohol to harvest electronics from a wrecked build. It works like a charm!
Thank you for the share!! I have found the video and posted here...

Pretty cool how easy its to remove the glue!! That Adtec 200 glue gun is amazing, its what I use!!
 

kilroy07

Legendary member
That Adtec 200 glue gun is amazing, its what I use!!
Yup, for some of the bigger builds (Kraken, I'm looking at you!) it's indispensable!

As for your Charlie Brown adventure, I picked up 4 lengths of 1/2 PVC pipe and a couple connectors and call it my PRD or Plane Retrieval Device. It takes some skill once you have the 4th one connected (40') it tends to "wander" but it's saved a couple planes already.
 

4U2NVME

Member
Yup, for some of the bigger builds (Kraken, I'm looking at you!) it's indispensable!

As for your Charlie Brown adventure, I picked up 4 lengths of 1/2 PVC pipe and a couple connectors and call it my PRD or Plane Retrieval Device. It takes some skill once you have the 4th one connected (40') it tends to "wander" but it's saved a couple planes already.

LOL to funny...that is pretty well exactly what I used to retrieve my plane, 3 lengths of it plus that ladder ;) to bad your not a little closer, we could split the responsibility and both carry 20 feet with us and see who be the first to tree them.... unintentionally of course!! The Kraken is on my build list, how unwieldy is it to fly, how much skill should I have to fly it, and should it be my first delta o.0
 

cranialrectosis

Faster than a speeding face plant!
Mentor
When in doubt about a lipo, get it out of your house and away from your family. The cost of a lipo is just no comparison, IMO.

Batteries Plus Bulbs recycles lipos for free! :)

Beautiful plane there. Love the colors.
 

4U2NVME

Member
Thank you Cranial for the complement, I am trying the experimental airlines tape wrapping concepts. I would love to use the water proof foam board from FT...but the shipping is just to killer to Canada. My next build will probally be the FT explorer with the Armin Wing, I had one of my FT wings fold up on me on the FT trainer or whatever... and I hear the FT explorer has issues as well folding up.

I have discharged the battery overnight, and now my charger does not even see enough voltage to charge it back up, so I think its safe now. We don't have a batteries plus bulbs here..so not sure where to recycle it at the moment... just sad as that was that batteries first flight....

-NV
 

DamoRC

Elite member
Mentor
Thank you Cranial for the complement, I am trying the experimental airlines tape wrapping concepts. I would love to use the water proof foam board from FT...but the shipping is just to killer to Canada. My next build will probally be the FT explorer with the Armin Wing, I had one of my FT wings fold up on me on the FT trainer or whatever... and I hear the FT explorer has issues as well folding up.

I have discharged the battery overnight, and now my charger does not even see enough voltage to charge it back up, so I think its safe now. We don't have a batteries plus bulbs here..so not sure where to recycle it at the moment... just sad as that was that batteries first flight....

-NV

On the battery discharge, the voltage will creep back up over time. So once you have it fully discharged (check with a multimeter on each cell via the balance connector) strip the balance wires and twist them together and do the same for the main wires.

DamoRC
 
Is this battery toast... It has not puffed up, I currently have it in my garage in my stainless steel sink. I pealed away some of the wrapping to expose some of the damage... Should I safely discharge it and dispose it... OR because its not puffed, should I wrap it back up in duct tape or something and continue to use it....

I think I should throw it out... but.. hey its not puffed.. so the other side of my brain says...na its good!!! thoughts?
Dispose of that battery. It’s not safe. Don’t risk it.

As for buying FT kits in Canada, I’ll second what Electrisean said about Greathobbies. I’ve ordered my kits from them and they’re pretty quick. If you’re over $100 CDN then the shipping is free. And let’s face it, it doesn’t take long to stack up that many loonies.
 

sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
You can also take the battery to a Home Depot, Lowe's, or Best Buy, and deposit it in their battery recycling bins. You MIGHT also check with local fire depts; several times a year, they look for items such as lipo batteries for training on how to put out chemical fires. Lipo batteries don't easily go out with water. I can't guarantee they'll take them, but my local fire dept. told me, "Hey, that'd be a great training exercise! Sure, if you've got a couple batteries that are bad, drop 'em by, we'll get 'em started for the newbies to put out!"
 

mayan

Legendary member
Is this battery toast... It has not puffed up, I currently have it in my garage in my stainless steel sink. I pealed away some of the wrapping to expose some of the damage... Should I safely discharge it and dispose it... OR because its not puffed, should I wrap it back up in duct tape or something and continue to use it....

I think I should throw it out... but.. hey its not puffed.. so the other side of my brain says...na its good!!! thoughts?

View attachment 118237
Had the same thing happen you can use the battery but it will drain faster and eventually not work. Been there, done that, and threw the battery away.
 

4U2NVME

Member
Had the same thing happen you can use the battery but it will drain faster and eventually not work. Been there, done that, and threw the battery away.
Yah it's gone.. Very sad only 1 flight on it.. But advise I understood was is house worth 30 dollar battery...
 

quorneng

Master member
NU2NVME
In some respects what you have demonstrated is the definition of optimism!

In general "electric" either works or it doesn't. Unlike a motor an ESC will not tolerate a significant over load even for a fraction of a second. If an ESC gives off magic smoke then its is very likely that there is something wrong with the installation.
To just replace the ESC and hope it works better next time is asking for trouble not least of which you may by now have damaged the motor itself;)

For the price of 3 ESCs you could have bought a Watt meter and you would then have an instrument that would tell you exactly what is going on and as it works in real time you can stop any test before the amps even approach the maximum specification.

I have a number of Emax 2822 (1200Kv) in several planes but run none of them with props bigger than a 9x6 when using a 3s and it keeps the current to no more than 20 A (200W) which about the continuous limit for the motor (with some cooling air flow). Furthermore 20A is a reasonable operating level for their 'cheap' 30A ESCs!

I hope this helps.