Hi all
Have had back pack setup for a bit but didn’t like the cable hanging off and getting in the way a lot. So since have built system back into my 80l apple tree board. Had my first wave session out on it on small waves and had a blast .
My usual setup is great molicel 50p 12s3p, flipsky 6384 motor with maytech 160amp which has more than enough thrust on any foil but I know it’s a lot to do with skill but always get about 10mins less than foil drive setup.
I bought one of these 130amp waterproof esc from maytech to try and chase more run time but it doesn’t seem to have enough thrust or speed to get onto foil. I’ve had flipsky 2blade folding prop. I’ve read somewhere some guys are using foildrive props will that make a difference or have I wasted my money on this ESC I also got there 6374 motor to try but since read that they don’t have enough power either. Has anyone tried this setup and had any success or do I need to go back to 6384 and have a try with vesc again or just normal ESC?
Why should a 130a ESC give you more runtime than a 160a one?
No matter the ESC, you will always need the same energy to get out of the water, the only thing you could optimize is drag in water, propeller efficiency or weight.
And a 160a ESC will probably run more efficient than the 130a since it has more headroom in terms of current
Excuse my lack of electronics experience but I assumed a 160amp speedy would draw more power than a 130amp thus not used as much battery power.
I did have the 130amp esc working with a 3bladed prop on a larger 1250 wing and got exact same run time as my friend on foil drive. This last time I used 130amp speedy with flipsky 2 bladed prop it didn’t have much thrust at all so I assume it must be prop?
On a 130A you will just have to give more throttle than on the 160A for the same result.
The difference in runtime is due to type of foil, prop, maybe even how you feel that day, but not due to ESC max current. 130A will limit you to less power, thats true. But that does not mean it’s mote efficient, just give less throttle on a 160A and you are even more efficient 
Interesting…. guess we are all chasing run time. Does anyone have tested experience of changing between different esc’s or VESC options. It does seem that Foil Drive users achieve long run times for 11S3P, is that simply a function of quite limited power or is there an element of tuning the VESC to maximize effective run time?
Foil Drive assists are speed limited.
Slower speed, longer run time.
There is a sweet spot where under you are less efficient, depending on foil size it is probably around 12 km/h.
I have noticed after riding my mates foil drive that on his Fone 1200 wing it would get up in choppy conditions easier going with the swell or wind where as my 160amp setup would get be effortless going into wind.
So reducing throttle speed on controller down to say 80 or 90% would aid in wasted energy. But usual cruise speed is less than half throttle anyway. I guess I’m just going to have to make more batteries.
@Airtimeasto , the reply doesn’t seem to work so I will tag you.
Absolutely correct, I struggled with my FD setup into the wind and chop due to the low speed.
I have my ERPM limit around 24 km/h for a full battery for this reason.
I added another battery in series to my FD batteries to get better run time and more torque from the 6384.
However, running another battery in series also revealed that the FD batteries weren’t actually 12.6 ah but only 10.5 ah, with my oldest most used battery having the highest capacity.
I use a 50p 12s3p which should be 15Ah. Today I’ll reduce Erpm and see if I get better run
At 14s with a 6384 I found 23k about the right setting, for your setup 28k could be a good start.
It is difficult to get an exact speed due to wind and currents, it took me a few runs to be sort of happy.