Vintage Gentleman’s Cruiser

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Progress at last!

Got a nice working proposition from the club expert, for the motor set up

Will not be revealing the circuit until we have Proof of the Pudding

Bob

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Are you still filling the pool Bob – the one with its own weather system?

Colin

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Cheeky!

Waiting for the pool cover to arrive, so that we can leave the pool filled for a few days

Bob

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

That makes a lot of sense Bob.

But under that cover, who knows what typhoons, hurricanes and tsunamis may be occurring?

Maybe you should invest in a webcam as well?

Colin

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Come and keep watch, Colin, if you fancy the job

As a free perk…..You can drink as much as you like!

Bob

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Is it chlorinated?

Colin

[Mark Jarvis 2Participant @markjarvis2]

HI Bob

Have followed Paul's explanations quite well, however it comes down to will it work.

You as an engineer know full well that experimental means get it working then sort any problems.

Stop worrying about things that might not happen. Wireing, Put a fuse in it !!!

Batteries, try different ones. I can lend you NiMh, and Gell batteries. test them and then decide,

Wont be at the club tonight but give me a shout and we can sort your power source,

Regards

Mark

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Hello Captain Bob

To summarise the situation:

This conversation will keep going round and round until you bite the bullet and either

1/ Decide to keep the Abell Drives and purchase heavy duty batteries and ESCs.

Or

2/ Ditch the 850s and use your existing batteries and ESCs to drive smaller motors [550s for example]

I'm sorry to say that everything else is just waffle until you make this decision.

Paul

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hello Paul and others

There is no question of ditching the 850 motors, they are part of the scenery

I have several options at the moment to try out

Just waiting for the Pool cover to arrive

Please be patient

Bob

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Ok Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Paul

Just had a word with a long standing club member, about his big Lifeboat motor drives etc

On parting, he mentioned how much he was enjoying this thread……Many thanks Ken

Post a few words, when convenient

Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

It's big test day today, Boys

The 15 sec solid wall test

General running test……With the Watt meter on extended wires for easy reading

General running with one ESC and Rc on one motor…….General observation….no meter required

General running with two motors, two ESC's and Rc…..Ditto

Then if we are brave enough, check the recharge rate from No2 motor into No2 battery

Exciting stuff……eh?

Bob

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Bob

I wouldn't describe it as exciting………frightening, foolhardy and downright dangerous are the words that spring to mind.

Just be careful that you don't burn your fingers.

Paul

[mike farrellParticipant @mikefarrell21522]

Hi Bob This may be a daft question but ,I run 2 motors off 2 batteries 2 esp via a vtail unit .Now is it possible to run 4 motors off 4 esps and 4 batteries .I s it possible ,maybe a question for Dave Michael

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Well chaps…….Despite all the Doom and Gloom and the can`t be done predictions from the resident experts…..

Duckie and I sailed through the tests this afternoon with flying colours!

The set up was simple, but I am reluctant to reveal the actual wiring used, as I wish to leave the experts scratching their heads in wonder!

After setting up and a few tests we ran the boat back and forth for almost 30mins on the same set of batteries and was surprised at the speed achieved………Not one item of equipment or wiring, showed the slightest indication of getting warm!

The static wall test was almost the same as the sailing test, as the craft was still accelerating

Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Michael

You can run four motors off four batteries and four ESC`s

But wait first until we prove the life of our system

Bob

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Well done Bob

A triumph for a lifetimes experience over book learning academics.

As one of the aforementioned doom and gloom merchants I'm actually pleased to see that you worked it out without resorting to traditional calculations.

Even though you moved the goal posts at the eleventh hour by changing the setup to 1 battery, 1 ESC, 1 motor

I now wait with keen interest to see how you solve the mixing, back charging and stall issues.

Paul

[Ralph PinchParticipant @ralphpinch41762]

Hi gents,

been following this post all the way and am now up to date, great stuff BUT I'm afraid you lost me 1/2 way through page 143!!!! haven't got a clue what you lot are rabbiting on about lol, still you people seem to know what's going on. Bit of a hiatus with starting my version of VGC in the guise of a rather long list of jobs from my good lady wife hope to get started shortly, carry on with debugging the build for me

Ralph.

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hello Ralph

Pleased that you are still with us

Just get the boat built, and by that time, the motor drive will be well and truly sorted

The big four engine idea was just me making the build more interesting and I don't regret it

It looks really fascinating with all the pulley drives, belting round, in all directions, but uncannily smooth running too

Paul…..Thank you for your kind words………You have finally realised that the combination of, one battery, one motor, one Esc has no fearsome potential hazards……….As you kept telling us

The Watt meter proofed the peaks and they were within the ESC capability

Howes did me a real favour in sending four 25 amp ESC's!

Without the blessing of our club expert, Geoff G, I may have gone down the cowards route…….Which is still very hush hush!

The back charging solution is still covered by the Secrets act at the moment

I am still amazed how the boat powered up and down Coniston Pool, showing no sign of running down…..After about 30 mins running, the speed was impressive too

It may be because the hull hardly dents the surface of the water and is almost a Hovercraft?

At the moment, I'm laying the gear out on a pretty base board and trying to make it all look orderly, neat and tidy

Bob

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Hello Ralph

The rabbiting has been very loosely associated with taking Amp readings from the models motors, these readings are fairly critical as they indicate which speed controllers and batteries will be required.

I didn't explain myself very well and poor Bob was left hanging in mid-air whilst he tried to solve the problem. Luckily Bob has a lifetimes experience to call upon and he resolved the issues quite quickly.

Now we can look forward to the first sailing of the Lady Joyce and see the fruits of Bobs labour.

Paul

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Paul……Flattery will get you everywhere……Keep it up, please

We`ve still got the second pair of motors to fire up, but don`t expect any problems now……..Just wanton pleasure and Eye Candy!

I`m hoping, Duckie will make a short video of the motors running, for you to see……In a few days time

When all four motors are running, the amp reading per motor assembly should drop dramatically……..By 50% even?…….Do you agree with that idea?

That would be a really eye opener!

Got some nice brass bar for the hand rails and a novel layout in mind……….You lucky people!

Bob

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Bob. I have not read the instructions yet but I think that the wott?? meter will record max readings..so if you were to hook up the meter and set off slowly then push the throttle forward , when you get back to shore the meter will show you what the max current draw was.

Have to advance throttle slowly or you might get some initial high-draw readings.

Ashley

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Many thanks Ashley

My Watt Meter doesn`t seem to remember the peaks,,,,,It always returns to zero

And it will for ever more now!………..Duckie dropped it in the water!

Don`t really think it`s ruined…..I`m drying it out in the warmth now

We are having a debate at the moment………On whether to cut the BEC orange wire or not?

It`s not cut at the moment and it all works?

Some of the ESC instructions don`t mention it?……….Which is odd……….Do you think they`ve got round this problem now?

Bob

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Bob. The receiver only needs one BEC input.

I would look at DM`s nice drawing of how to pull the centre wire or whatever from the ESC plug and tape it back..this enables the ESC to be used with BEC on something else later, rather than cutting things.

OR use a short servo wire extender and cut the wire in that.

Ashley

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thank you, Ashley

Does it do any harm if the wire is not cut?

Bob

[Author]

Posts