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robster959

Low Maintenance Motor? Brushed Options

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Hey all,

I was hoping to find a faster motor, something like a 27 turn stock motor, or 23 t, etc... that wouldn't need a lot of maintenance such as frequent brush replacement, a comm lathe, etc...

I'd like to increase the speed of my Blitzer Beetle for bashing on a local off road track. The track holds races with Losi xxx type buggies with 27t stock and 19t motors, and they've added some larger jumps and table tops.

Thanks,

Rob

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Sounds like you want an ezRun combo to get started - no motor maintenance, and a good dose of increased speed...

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Personally I love the Trinity CO27 Pro motors. They are around $30 on eBay and put out fantastic power. And as long as you keep the gearing right so the motor dosn't get too hot, they seem to run forever. I've also heard the Reedy Stockstar is a great contendor. Only issue is that you must use Reedy's special hexagonal brushes...

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Basically, the faster a brushed motor is, the quicker it will wear, and therefore the more maintenance it will need...

If you must use a brushed motor, may I suggest any of the enclosed motors, such as the Tamiya Sports Tuned, Traxxas 20 turn "Stinger" motor, or the HPI 20 turn Saturn motor..

High performance motors like 27 turn rebuildable stock motors, or 19 turn "spec" motors will give excellent performance when new, but will "drop off" rather quickly if not maintantained on a regular basis... (Please understand that this is a "racers" perspective, where in a head to head battle every little bit counts, and you do notice the drop in performance... If that is not going to bother you that much, then may I suggest a Trinity CO27, or the any of the Tamiya 23 turns)

Whilst brushless motors are not entirely maintenance free (they still need an occasional clean, and some oil on the bearings) they would probably be your best bet, and most certainly give you the performance increase you are looking for..

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Whilst brushless motors are not entirely maintenance free (they still need an occasional clean, and some oil on the bearings) they would probably be your best bet, and most certainly give you the performance increase you are looking for..

Its funny at club level I am competitive, at national level not so but getting there :)

My Novak 10.5 SS in my touring car (I do oil the bearing), has been raced at minimum weekly indoors, but when at nationals - outdoors - three times a week for the last 18 months and it was only 4 weeks ago that I opened it. It was perfect in there.

Low maintenance, well if you class oiling the one bearing as maintenance then yeah its low LOL.

Paul

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Its funny at club level I am competitive, at national level not so but getting there :blink:

My Novak 10.5 SS in my touring car (I do oil the bearing), has been raced at minimum weekly indoors, but when at nationals - outdoors - three times a week for the last 18 months and it was only 4 weeks ago that I opened it. It was perfect in there.

Low maintenance, well if you class oiling the one bearing as maintenance then yeah its low LOL.

Paul

Well, I did say occasional(ly)... :o LOL..

Unfortunately, when you say zero maintenance to some, then that is exactly what they do.... Zero (nothing), and then wonder why a bearing siezes etc... :)

Hedge, just out of curiosity, do you race offroad (in the dirt) with your motors??

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My oldest brushless motor has had the bearings replaced in it twice now. It does drive ALOT. I do drive it in dirt, very fine powdered dirt once the tyres have run over it for a few hours. Lubricate bearings between runs. They still last 100 times longer than any brushed motor I've used. Lucky to get a weekend out of some brushed motors in my running/racing conditions.

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Hedge, just out of curiosity, do you race offroad (in the dirt) with your motors??

LOL no on-road, but I do race in the wet, and that sometimes involves more off-road than I would like :)

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Thanks for the motor suggestions. I'm not racing, so I don't need every last ounce of power. I don't mind taking it apart and cleaning it. If the brushes last more than few runs, that should be ok too.

Rob

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A Trinity CO27-Pro will be loads of fun. Brushes last a long time as long as you don't overheat the motor. If you can hold you thumb on the can for 3 seconds or more, your good. Check temp every couple minutes during your first few runs...

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Well, I was looking around on ebay and found a couple of motors that seemed pretty cheap. I don't know anything about them, but they seemed like a good deal. One was a Trinity KC racing 27t stock motor, the other an Epic green monster stock motor. Any thoughts on these?

Cheers,

Rob

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A Trinity CO27-Pro will be loads of fun. Brushes last a long time as long as you don't overheat the motor. If you can hold you thumb on the can for 3 seconds or more, your good. Check temp every couple minutes during your first few runs...

So if a motor is pretty hot after a good run, what do you do?

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So if a motor is pretty hot after a good run, what do you do?

All you do is pop out the positive-side brush (positive runs hotter) and check to see if it has any bluish/rainbow discoloration down the sides. If they do, then you know they have been overheated and must be replaced. When a brush gets overheated, all the dry lubricant inside burns up. Running brushes like this increases comm wear and shortens motor life.

It's also a good idea to switch to a smaller pinion if you notice overheating. You don't want to cook your new set of brushes...

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Ok, I got the motors and put one in my boat. The sticker on it said it was about 21500 rpm at 5.0v. I'm not sure how many rpm that is at 7.2v, but the boat was faster than with the graupner 500 race in it.

If the motor is not getting dirty, what sort of maintenance interval should I use? How often should I take it out and clean it? I remember with the technigold it had instructions showing how to scrape the comm with a toothpick in the grooves, and rub it with an eraser. Same thing for this?

I was going to put the other one, it's an Epic as well with a green can, in the Blitzer and see how that goes.

Cheers,

Rob

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Yes the same methods can apply for cleaning this motor. You may want to get yourself some electronics cleaning spray from the autoparts store, and few swabs too. Disassemble, spray the can & rotor, clean the comm, and put a drop of oil on the bearings/bushings after reassembly. For ball bearings, get the oil inside the bearing. For bushings, get the oil between the rotor shaft and bushing.

As for the service interval, who knows. If you find yourself working on your boat, take a little time to pop the brushes out and give them and the comm a look. If anything looks dirty, pull it out and clean it. You can also simply stick a swab soaked with electronics cleaner in the brush slot and spin the propeller by hand. This will turn the motor and scrub the comm. You can also get a comm stick that is like an eraser (with mild abbrasive) in the shape of a brush that slides into the brush holder and scrubs the comm as you turn the gears. These work okay and can be used to scrub the contact face of the brushes as well...

As for the specs on the motor, it doesn't really matter. They are really only used to compare one motor to another. Depending on load and gearing, the max rpm can very greatly...

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