Do I really need a 160 HV ESC?

[cRash_landing]

Hi,

I have about 5 flights on it right now with my X7 and I'm not really doing anything crazy to the heli that the ESC would come down really warm.

On you guys that have the CC 160 HV. Does it come down really warm or just barely warm?

This is my setup

4525-520
CC 120 Edge HV
Glazier 2 -6S 4000mah 30C

I am actually thinking of putting a small fan on top of the 120 HV ESC to make it a little bit cooler or upgrading to the 160 HV if it makes it cooler.

And my flying style is sport and not pushing the heli so much.

Is it possible that the Scorpion 4525-520 draws so much power that the ESC gets really warm?

Oh and I loved how this X7 flies.

[pxpep]

On my X7's I also have the Scorpion 4525-520. My flying style is advanced competiton style 3D and some big air F3C style flying. On both my machines I use the Scorpion 130A ESC.
The motor sometimes come down fairly warm but the ESC is not noticeable warm I think.
One of my flying buddys that is far less experienced than me Also use this moter with the CC 120 ESC. The highes Amps it have logged on that machine is 110A.
For not so long ago I talked to a sponsored Avant pilot who used a CC 80HV on that machine and it sometimes drew 210A. He had only destroyed one ESC and it was in Las Vegas in VERY hot conditions.
What I really mean is that the most pilots dont have the need for those extreme high amps ESC's. We simply dont have the skills/needs to fly so extreme that a very big ESC is justyfied.
Many pilots today with very bad skills though like to run 2300RPM and +/-14 degrees of pitch or more just to make so much "impressive noise" as possible. Of course these pilots "need" a big ESC

[kovar]

One thing to keep in mind...

If you are starting out and learning, there is a good possibility that you may put yourself into a position where you might get "heavy handed" with the collective, cyclic, etc... You want your power system to be able to keep up with your demands. Its not a good idea to put yourself in a spot where you shutdown your system because you over amp it, then you have made a bad situation even worse.

[omerco]

Originally Posted by kovar

One thing to keep in mind...

If you are starting out and learning, there is a good possibility that you may put yourself into a position where you might get "heavy handed" with the collective, cyclic, etc... You want your power system to be able to keep up with your demands. Its not a good idea to put yourself in a spot where you shutdown your system because you over amp it, then you have made a bad situation even worse.

+1

1. We here fly in hot weather. more than one guy has blown 160HV ESC's on a 700 machines.
2. the scorpion ultimate is know in its ability to drew 200+ amps if asked for. 120HV might or might not handle that...
3. hard to compare Castle ESC warmness to Scorpion as the last one has Active Free Wheeling which makes it more efficient and coller. (i also know some pro pilots here who have blown several of the 130A Scorpion with Ultimates).

[Swooper6]

Hey Crash Landing,
I fly a CC ESC as well and it does come down warm after flights, not nearly as hot as a motor but noticeably warm. The 520 is also a big amp draw controller as others have already stated. If your machine is simply noticeably warm I would not worry about it but if it is too hot to touch it may be worth taking some time to sort out. CC does have a fan version if need be but I can't imagine why it could be getting so hot. Are you in a very high heat or hot area flying? Is your gear mesh too tight on the bevel or motor?

[cRash_landing]

Thanks for the replies.

I bought a small fan 30mm that I am planning to put it on top of the 120 esc to make it cool.

I need to make a Y harness and plug it in the mini Vbar.

[Kenny_Fong]

Plz set the PWM frequency to 8Khz for Scorpion motor on CC HV ESCs.
For me, using a CC EDGE 160HV with Scorpion 4525 on Logo 700 xxtreme (heavier & bigger than X7), the ESC never feel "hot", just a little bit warm maybe.
Plus I live in Arizona, burning summer here, and, I do smack it.

[omerco]

The correct PWM should be 12...
A guy i was helping had many motor issues using 8 with CC160. only after changing to 12 it was solved.

[cRash_landing]

Now this PWM 12 is also for the 120 HV correct?

[omerco]

Yes - it depends on motor kv + batteries voltage, not on the ESC.

[gtruk]

So, if I run the numbers on my motor 4530-450LE, 10 pole, 44.4V / 20 comes out to 10.6 so which way do I go for PWM, to 8khz or 12? I'm using the CC Edge 160HV.

[omerco]

some ESC's have 10. if you don't that you can test both of them. i would go 8PWM for cooler ESC but if you have some power problems one day (what we have seen was a strange bog with amp drop - sync problem) then try 12.

[Kenny_Fong]

Scorpion motor's PWM drive frequency should be 8KHz.
It's written on the Scorpion motor's manual.

[paulmedford]

Kenny, I have the cc 160hv on my logo. But it does not fit where the yge esc would have, I ended up slackening the frame bolts, then sandwhiching the esc between the frames, how did you secure yours?

[gtruk]

First flight I started with 12 PWM and 5 timing and the motor was scorching hot. I changed the PWM to 8 and bumped up the timing to 8 and the ESC is still barely warm to the touch but the motor was significantly cooler after a 5:30 flight with no canopy on. The first flight was with canopy off as well and I couldn't touch the motor for more than a split second. On the second flight I could actually hold my hand on it...uncomfortably though.

[Matt Nasca]

Originally Posted by gtruk

First flight I started with 12 PWM and 5 timing and the motor was scorching hot. I changed the PWM to 8 and bumped up the timing to 8 and the ESC is still barely warm to the touch but the motor was significantly cooler after a 5:30 flight with no canopy on. The first flight was with canopy off as well and I couldn't touch the motor for more than a split second. On the second flight I could actually hold my hand on it...uncomfortably though.

These Scorpions like PWM of 8 kHz and timing of Low (on the castle). You could also try timing Normal but the additional heat would most likely outweigh any minor power increase. Castle ESC timing settings are not the degrees of timing but an arbitrary number for a timing range the ESC adjusts within.

And FWIW, a 160A should be a minimum ESC size for 700 models. Can you make less work, with a smaller motor? Sure for a while.

[gtruk]

As a rule of thumb, it's best to only change one setting at a time and test, but I opted to make two changes, lower the PWM and raise the timing a bit to see what happens. I understand that Low in the Castle ESC should reduce heat in the motor but I thought I'd try going the other way for a little more oomph as my motor was bogging a little...which was more to do with the gov than the ESC I found out afterwards. I don't know what the difference in power would be between Low and a setting of 8 but my motor was noticeably cooler coming from 12 to 8 PWM and will stick with my current setting for a few flights and see.

I had Normal and PWM at 12 and that's when it was scorching hot.

Originally Posted by Matt Nasca

These Scorpions like PWM of 8 kHz and timing of Low (on the castle). You could also try timing Normal but the additional heat would most likely outweigh any minor power increase. Castle ESC timing settings are not the degrees of timing but an arbitrary number for a timing range the ESC adjusts within.

And FWIW, a 160A should be a minimum ESC size for 700 models. Can you make less work, with a smaller motor? Sure for a while.