ESC Fan Protection

[shark413]

I am running fans on both of my two MM ESC's to help keep them running cool. The local track tends to have a layer of small rocks/stones on it and I was worried about rocks getting stuck in the fan. So after some research I found some fan guards that fit the Novak 25mm fans I was was using. They were steel, so they would keep fingers out of harms way as well. After adding the guards I noticed the gaps would still allow small rocks to pass thru so I added a fine plastic mesh (super glued to grill). The grill can be purchased at Master Carr, part #19155K89. Just be sure to attach the guard the right way so it does not hit the fan blades.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r115/shark413/grill.jpg
I had to squeeze the guard a little to clear all four screws.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r115/shark413/screen.jpg
Plastic mesh added.

[Demon-TC3]

Very nice,
How well does the MM handle the Feigao 8XL with a 25mm fan (running 4c lipo i guess?) any heat issues or anything?
Cheers

[trailranger]

http://cgi.ebay.com/3Racing-Protecting-Pad-Dust-Cover-For-Cooling-fan-30x30_W0QQitemZ110089453479QQihZ001QQcategoryZ3406 3QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

you may need to add shims under the cover to keep the fan from touching.

[Demon-TC3]

They are garbage, they only work with the 3Racing 30mm fans...which are also garbage.

The reason they work with them is because the 3Racing 30mm fans shift so little air that the dust cover makes no difference.

For the Novak fans that shift allot more air, they will restrict them far too much.


Just thought you should know :):wave:

[shark413]

Yeah don't use those 3Racing dust shields, they don't pass any air. I have not run my cars since I added the fan, my local track has been off-limits (because of the 2007 Hotrod Hobbies Shootout event) for the last two weekends. But I hope to try them out this weekend. It was 100+ degrees (in the shade) the last time I ran my car (no fan) and It was getting too hot after about 5 mins. But this was mostly due to the ambient air temperature being so high (it hit 109 degrees in the shade at one point) and my gearing was a little high (I never got to full throttle on the main straight). So I have added a fan, geared down and the temps around here have been cooler (90's), so this weekend will be a better test.

[Demon-TC3]

Sounds good,
Let me know how it works out.

Btw, is there a small blob of glue from a glue gun on the esc wires where it is soldered to the MM?
Cheers

[shark413]

Demon, you are correct. That is a small dab of silcone sealer on the wires that run to the on/off switch. The wires are very thin gauge and many people have had problems with them breaking where they attach to the circuit board because of vibration. So I added some reinforcement to help keep the wires from breaking. If necessary the silicone sealer can be removed with no harm to the MM.

[trailranger]

What ever works, works. The 3racing covers works for me, and it was part of an order that I made for 4mm Plugs to Deans, and 4mm Plugs to Aligator clips for my chargers.

Yes, different brands of fans do matter. My first set of 30x30mm fans I bought for my tc3 5 years ago was EVERCOOL. Mainly because they were the only easy to get from the local PC shop. My very first attempt for a fan was a 25 x 25 fan i yanked from an old video card, it didn't last long on the 6v BEC.

[GSMnow]

Hey Shark,

I also run at Hot Rod Hobbies quite often. I actually ran in the Shootout last weekend. Are you going to have the electric 1/8's out this Saturday? I would love to see them run up against the nitros. Is Hot Rod (Jimmy) letting you run the Brushless LiPo against the Nitros? They have no trouble with me running the Mamba Max in my Losi XXX-T in 1/10 mod. electric truck. Depending on my crazy work schedule, I may go run a few packs through on Fri. for practice. The new layout for the Shootout has 3 very tricky turns and some sections where positioning and speed are critical for a fast lap. Needless to say, I didn't drive well enough. I had a couple people try my truck and check out the setup and even the top Losi drivers figured my setup was good, so it was just my driving that hosed me into 9th in the C-main. The 90 degree turns into jumps and after jumps are tough to do well as is the "pitcher's mound" in the middle where the fast line is way off camber. On the bright side, I did manage to get my best laps and total race in my main. Too bad it was too little too late. I was up to third after the start, droped to 4th by the end of lap one. Lost 2 more spaces on the next lap. Held 6th for something like 9 laps, but then dropped one more spot when I hung up on a tube. Watching the fastest drivers in the world was worth it. I even drove my first 2 qualifiers with Brian Kinwald next to me on the stand. We had champions from all over the world at the Shootout. Masami even did his "driving with his feet" demo. The next big event is the Reedy truck race in Oct. I will enter that as well.

[shark413]

GSMnow, yeah I was there Sunday and the racing was great. The new track looks very technical now, should be very challenging. During race #32 or 33 I was sitting infront of the driver stand and Masami came over to watch and sat right next to me. Went over to the Kyosho tent (I have a Kyosho buggy) and said hello to Mark Pavidis. Jimmy put on a great show.

[GSMnow]

Technical is putting it mildly. The turn before the back table is really tough to do fast. The jump out of the canyon is really easy to over shoot, and the turn/jump onto the pit straight is very hairy if you come in off line.

Masami drives like a machine, but he got beat at this event. Cavaleri, Mayfield, and Robbers were just shocking to watch battle on course.

I was back in race 13 (Mod Truck C main) so my day was done pretty early. I really should have run 2 or 3 classes, but I am addicted to my brushless motor. I tried running a stock motor for the 40+ and stock truck classes, but I could not get it around the track without being in the way. At least with the huge power of the Mamba Max I could make up for some of my crappy driving with shear speed in the fast sections. Of course there is the flip side, going a little slower I may have been able to run a better line. It just seemed so slow down the straight and I missed the double jusmps a couple times because I couldn't get enough speed in the short run up. All that and the motor got burning hot too. My Mamba Max kept it's cool through all the practice and racing.

I really wanted to get one of the Losi gang to drive my truck. I would have loved to see it do a sub 20 second lap, but they were very busy and the one who watched me run didn't want to chance breaking my truck. Of course he said my truck looked fine and was plenty fast and cornered great, I just needed to place and pace better. What a nice way of saying my driving sucks.