Foil Drive Assist, DIY

I sprayed corrosion x on the rotor and stator (directly on the wires) while separated and then let then sit inside a plastic bag to soak in. I did not submerge them in corrosion X. I make sure the stainless steel ball bearings get a good soaking. Someone else on this forum said that they’ve been doing the same for a year without issues. This is why I decided to take this approach versus trying to epoxy the motor which turned into a mess for me.

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Here is a video of my board and foil assist build in case anyone was interested in a few more pics etc.

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Does anyone know where to purchase the 6384 motor without the shaft like foil drive uses? I can only find the version that has the shaft.

Thanks

You can cut it off yourself, I did it with a dremel (on a 63100).

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Saite do it fully waterproofed too I think…

The waterproofed 6374 page is not accessible any more. There was hope for a waterproofed 6384. Doesn’t mean you can’t get it if you ask…

A certain company may have asked for it to be removed :rofl:

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Just bought 2 of the 6384 motors 120kv. for 390USD (for both).
Both were waterproofed with epoxy and ceramic bearings and shaft cut short/flush. that was including shipping which took 2 weeks to build and shipping time included.

Shenzhen Saite Motor Co., Ltd.
Chris Kuang

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I accidentally placed an inquiry on AliExpress for min order: 10 (slight oversight)

And this is the response I received

That’s pretty piss poor service from a company! Any other corporate should be able to approach them request a type of motor…

If they don’t like the request, don’t advertise motors that can be customised.

Although I got two from Saite which were customised,it’s easy to cut the shaft off. I’d agree that this is a poor response from whomever that was but you should be able to buy a multi purpose Bldc engine regardless…FD don’t have a monopoly on these things…buy the same thing from someone else…

Comparing the price of a unmodified Saite 6384 on AliExpress, the cheapest I found was $180 + $22 shipping with the “stock” 6384 120kv which is $52 + $2.5 shipping, the Saite costs about 4x more! I, like other efoilers use the stock 6384 and knows it works well so the question is; what do you gain to buy the Saite? I assume it is better, but not to justify the price.

Looking at the prices at Alibaba the unit price is $94 (10pc $74) so it is clear that the price is inflated on Aliexpress, maybe due to fewer Saite dealers there. So the real price is close to 2x the stock one, which is ok if the quality is somewhat better.

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Yeh I paid $87 (aud) for a 6384 120kv last year.
I can’t comment on quality though because it is in pieces waiting to be modded. I have the ceramic bearings ready to go just need some slow cure epoxy.
On my list. Haha

I don’t think the Saite engine is the “best” out there…its a simple engine which is easily replicated by most Chinese manufacturers making these things…FD probably just found they could get the cheapest deal through them initially and voila !!!.. all they’ve done is epoxied the stator coil…and put in non corroding bearings all of which can be done yourself and relatively easily. I’ve got two of these and they’re really basic with basic epoxying…they’re not finished all that well and have a bit of 3 core flex attached which will need redoing as it’s all a bit messy…

Like some , I also went to Saite because I didn’t know as much as I’ve learned about all this now and thought its just easier to get the same product as FD. After some really good advice from some on this forum I also now know that
you can use pretty much any engine of the 6374/6384 spec with a lower rated Kv and get what you’re after…

I’ve been looking at other engines (flipsky, alien power etc. ) and all of these would work very well…the main issue is that their physical design(s) vary (mainly to suit a cleaner/tidier ESk8 function) and that will affect how you mount the engine to just about any motor pod design out there currently; these being designed around the “older” Saite style outer housing…in short all the mounting holes will be different (if they exist at all)…I see that Flipsky have now gone for a flat blank hole less end cap which is really tidy for an eSk8 look but useless for an FD as you have nothing to mount the engine to !!

So you’re CAD skills need to be adequate to make the required alterations to make everything fit !!!..its all part of the journey and there is no quick way around it.

KONUTZ

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Thanks for the info. I find that the cheap 6384 120kv does the job both for foil drive and efoil, and since it is cheap, it is not a big deal if it breaks under heavy load. The Saite looks a bit more refined, but might not be much better than other motors. As you say some of them lacks mounting holes for propeller or mount so it is better to stick with the ones having 4 screw holes on both sides.

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Found this 54.4usd total on Aliexpress: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804194195478.html
Is it reasonable to buy it cheaper than that on alibaba, here 39.99usd for a 3600W with trade insurrance ?

There are differences in what is called 6384 motor, the cheapest ones have 10-15mm shorter stator and can therefore not produce the same power or torque.

I don’t think 2/3 of a 6384 is enough to get up so that really matters.

My advice to anyone buying a 6384 motor is to ask for the stator width, if seller doesn’t know or won’t give you an answer then think twice about buying if that exact motor isn’t already verified to work in efoil/foil drive application.

I’ll see if i still have a fake ”6384”, then i’ll upload some pics

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Yes, I have read that the stator length varies, but probably not by 10-15mm. The Saite looks identical to the APS motor and it was measured by @PowerGlider to 56mm stator and my $50 motor was about 50mm, so it is more like 10-15% difference. As I mention in my build thread, this motor works fine for efoiling, so at the price it is a bargain.

Now I’m working on a FD/efoil hybrid, with a 800wh 10S battery and the same motor.

This is in no way meant to rag on foil drive. I absolutely love their product and I would recommend it to anyone. But my intent on being a part of this forum was to recreate what they’ve made simply because I felt it wouldn’t last in the marine environment.
Although I have been meaning to open their motor for a while, I only opened it tonight to measure their stator.

Please note this motor has been rinsed and sprayed with a salt away product after every session.



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Already here we see 56mm (if that was powergliders number) to 46, that’s 10mm and 20% less motor