Burn in, did you guys do it?
12-29-2003, 12:45 PM
#1
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Burn in, did you guys do it?
I've got my first heli on the way to me and I've been reading tons about electric heli's. Did you guys burn your motors in? Any suggestions for or against doing so? Any suggestions on how to do it properly? Thanks,
j
j
12-29-2003, 12:57 PM
#2
RE: Burn in, did you guys do it?
Yes, breaking in brushed motors with carbon brushes is a good idea. Shaping the brush to the comutator with low voltage reduces the tendency to arc under the high voltage operation (flight) Arcing pits the comutator, reducing the contact patch of the brush (reducing total motor power), and shortening brush life.
Put a single Alkaline D cell on the motor, making the motor spin the direction that it will in normal operation. Run it until the D cell is dead. Many people then spray out the motor with WD40 or motor cleaner use by the RC car guys, and then put a drop of light machine oil on each bearing/bushing.
Do this with low voltage, rather than the flight pack and the throttle set low. The ESC actually supplies full voltage to the motor is short pulses, and this might lead to arcing during the breakin, the exact situation we are trying to prevent.
Put a single Alkaline D cell on the motor, making the motor spin the direction that it will in normal operation. Run it until the D cell is dead. Many people then spray out the motor with WD40 or motor cleaner use by the RC car guys, and then put a drop of light machine oil on each bearing/bushing.
Do this with low voltage, rather than the flight pack and the throttle set low. The ESC actually supplies full voltage to the motor is short pulses, and this might lead to arcing during the breakin, the exact situation we are trying to prevent.
12-29-2003, 06:27 PM
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RE: Burn in, did you guys do it?
Ahhh...thanks Vince. One D cell till dead, blow out with wd40 or so. Just, how long does one D cell run? Do both the main motor and tail motor seperately? Thanks,
j
j
12-29-2003, 10:36 PM
#4
RE: Burn in, did you guys do it?
Don't forget the light machine oil on the bushings/bearings.
Give the same treatment to the tail motor? That depends on the tail motor. My Piccolo came with the tiny 'B2' motor that has wire brushes rather than carbon brushes. These motors do not benefit from a break in. If I had a high authority motor with carbon brushes, I would break it in. I do now have the aftermarket tail motor and I did break it in, but not for an entire alkaline cell's worth. I let it run for a while and decided it was enough. No way to clean out that motor though.
I do not recall how long the d-cell lasted. I also don't remember what I had for breakfast this morning.
Give the same treatment to the tail motor? That depends on the tail motor. My Piccolo came with the tiny 'B2' motor that has wire brushes rather than carbon brushes. These motors do not benefit from a break in. If I had a high authority motor with carbon brushes, I would break it in. I do now have the aftermarket tail motor and I did break it in, but not for an entire alkaline cell's worth. I let it run for a while and decided it was enough. No way to clean out that motor though.
I do not recall how long the d-cell lasted. I also don't remember what I had for breakfast this morning.
