ESC recommendation

Many of us are using the Flier 300A waterproof ESC which works very well, has water-cooling, programmable, and has been running without issue for me. I started with a VESC, it fried, SeaKing 130 worked for very short rides but always overheated even with water-cooling and would force shutdown until cool. The Flier while many may say flier sucks, I have never had an issue and I did a lot of testing and crazy foiling at high currents 150-200A and it still working in my first prototype.

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Waterproof-brushless-ESC-16S-400A-for-RC-boat/513485_32379404367.html?spm=2114.12010612.8148356.1.737057c3opfdSK

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Same to me! My Flier works great.

Tested many flier esc, the first one a 120amp burned after connecting the battery with no apparent reason I never used it…

The second a 180a was used for 3hours then did stopped working properly (could spin the motor without load only) even if it was always cooled properly.

And the third one a 300a burned totally (explosion) whereas the bottom was directly in the water and used for 30min at 100 amp, the last one burned because the cooling Fet doesn’t transmit the heat efficiently. Wrong design? Bad thermal paste?

Regarding vesc as the 6 has heat limit it seems really difficult to burn… better spending 300$ in a good esc than buying 3 150$ Flier esc…

I’ve had good results with the flier 320A 3-16s. I just brought another for a new project.
When I first got my efoil in the water my water cooling wasn’t working so the Esc would get too hot and shut-down. It has thermal protection so I’m not sure how people kill them. Maybe this wasn’t working properly on theirs.
In fairness Chinese products usually don’t meet there specifications so I wouldn’t use anything rated below 300A.

MGM compro x-series 250 amps continuous.
A little more expensive but you get what you pay for. Great data logging and super reliable. Overbuilt.

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+1 for flyer, i use [400A Boat ESC 16S LiPo 68V Opto]
but it doesn’t log, and you need windows to program it…

elogger for the logging part… not sure how long it will last though…

I blew a Flier 200 and still not sure why… But I’ve many thoughts about “hi amps at slow throttle”. Normal ride for me is about 30-40A at half throttle or less, 80+ at full speed which is too fast to stand foil… I’m afraid that all our fry problems comes from propeller and partial load pwm switching.

How would you rate the programming software? I tried to download it before buying the same Flier as you have. But my (over cautious) virus protection went bananas sp I did not install it.

it was not very straightforward to install, but after 30 minutes it was working ok… and its working fine since then.
most of the options are straightforward, more on the simplified side of things…

Ha! Good to know! I have a Mac so I use Virtualbox to run a Windows VM so if it gives issue I’ll just nuke the VM afterward.

Hey,
on work we have these things for our new sample motors. I know thats a lot of money but they are very very good. We are runnig them on 200A with our motors without any problems.

http://www.sinusleistungssteller.de/en_Menue_SLS.html

The best thing about the sls is that is has an automatic derating depending on temperature.
So it wont shut down your board it will only reduce the current.

Greetings

What sample motors are you running?

I am a designer for motor components for automotiv. Mostly steering systems and electronic climate compressors.

Greetings

Hi, the price is really premium. Might be overkill for the usage

Ok so I ended up ordering two ESC’s. The Flier 400 and the Castle Phoenix Edge HV-160.

For the owners of the Flier 300/400, how do you wire yours up? I noticed the ESC has 2 of everything! haha. @Mat I believe this is the same one you have.

yes, mine has both battery leads doubled too… they are just connected to the same place… 2 “small” wired instead of 1 very big…
i picked 400 to be sure not to blow it up and make sure it stays cooled… but as i was never planning to use much more than 100A in the worst case, i only use one wire of each, insulated the other 2…

Gotcha. Do you water cool it?

The goal was not to, but as i was re-building everything, I had the pump, my electronic bay is quite insulated from the outside, and it’s easier to install cooling without using it than route everything afterward, i cooled it.
It’s only running when the ESC goes above 25 degC.
When i tried it in cold weather (around 10 degC) and all i can say is that the pump started after a while, but based on the log i had from the temps sensor attached to the Elogger it reached 35degC after emptying the battery, and i suspect the increase is more due to the batteries getting hot heating the air in the board…

Another option that may be interesting is the ZTW Seal 150A HV or ZTW Seal 300A HV. The 150A is cheap so if it works would be a bargain. This is more for anyone reading the thread that hasn’t bought an ESC.

Almost everyone struggles with an ESC overheating or not handling the current they are running and I don’t fully understand why so many opt to buy an ESC with low Amp rating 120A - 200A when you can buy something like the Flier 400A waterproof and watercooled ESC for only $285 which is like $85 more than a 130A ESC. Trying to save $58-100 on a en ESC is backwards, you should spend the most on it that part because its the brain/heart of the entire efoil. You’ll spend more buying 2-3 esc’s and waste months of time only to look back wish you just bought something heavy duty the first time.

Overkill with your ESC and wiring (6-8 awg) and eliminate 80% of the issue everyone is having so you be out there foiling! :slight_smile: