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Mechanic AH

Is there an alternative to brushed motor bullet connectors for a cleaner look?

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I apologize if this has been asked before and if I'm asking an ignorant question. I was wondering if there is another type of connector that I can use for my brushed motor to brushed esc connection? Aside from the standard bullet type? I'm also trying to avoid using a Tamiya style battery connector (or deans, xt60, or the like). I want to create a clean (compact and sleek) look and I was wondering if something like a banana plug or this type of bullet connector (see picture) works? Has anyone tried something like this or has any suggestions for me? Should I worry about current and overheating? Thanks!

Screen Shot 2020-10-01 at 11.51.28 PM.png

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Brushed motors usually draw 1-2A. That is why even Tamiya connectors (rated for 1A) are okay if you stay with a NiMH battery.  Bullet connectors for motors are good for 15-20A. They are a bit of an overkill.  Fancy 4mm gold connectors are rated for 75A. That's even more of an overkill.  

But I see absolutely nothing wrong with that.  If it's safe, why not?  I mean, if you wanted to use Tamiya battery connector for a 5.5t brushless with 3 cell Lipo rated for 100C?  That's like trying to drive a 60 ton tank on a wooden foot bridge.  You'll burn up the wimpy Tamiya connector in half a second.  But using a 75A connector when you need 2A, is like building a 4-lane highway to ride only 1 bicycle on.  You don't really need it, but it isn't going to damage anything.  I'd say, you should do what you feel like doing.  It's a hobby, after all.  If you want, you can even solder them without any connector for even cleaner look.   

 

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I find the biggest struggle with the above connectors is getting the right size.  I'd personally convert all my motors and ESCs to run those neat little connectors.  Some brushed ESCs (and some motors) arrive with no plugs at all and I'm forever rummaging around in automotive parts drawers to find some of those terrible old crimp connector bullets just to make something work, or giving up and using a choc block.

Well, last year I ordered some 3.5mm bullet connectors.  You know, I measured the ones on my brushless motors, and they were about 3.5mm, if I measured them at the male end.  They were 4mm if measured elsewhere.  So I ordered 3.5mm.  And what arrived was tiny, wouldn't fit any of my existing brushless setups, no good at all for anything I wanted..

So I ordered some 4mm connectors from Amazon.  After 8 weeks waiting I got refunded and told they were no longer available.

A while ago a UK hobby shop had some on special clearance, so I ordered all they had, figuring I'd have enough to refit most of my better runners and brushed race cars.

And guess what?

They're too big.

It feels to me like this is an "if you know, you know" situation, and I just don't know  :unsure:

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3.5mm is a popular size for motors, a couple of manufacturers fit them by default.

Surprised that the poster above has had an issue with them, my local model shop (who are far from a specialist) have plenty of them on the shelf.

You can get a few different designs, because they generally have exposed external contacts you'll need to shrink over them.

Gold Plated 3.5mm Bullet Connectors (5 pairs) | BULLET35 | HobbyTronics

(first google image result)

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5 hours ago, Juggular said:

Brushed motors usually draw 1-2A. That is why even Tamiya connectors (rated for 1A) are okay if you stay with a NiMH battery.  Bullet connectors for motors are good for 15-20A. They are a bit of an overkill.  Fancy 4mm gold connectors are rated for 75A. That's even more of an overkill.  

But I see absolutely nothing wrong with that.  If it's safe, why not?  I mean, if you wanted to use Tamiya battery connector for a 5.5t brushless with 3 cell Lipo rated for 100C?  That's like trying to drive a 60 ton tank on a wooden foot bridge.  You'll burn up the wimpy Tamiya connector in half a second.  But using a 75A connector when you need 2A, is like building a 4-lane highway to ride only 1 bicycle on.  You don't really need it, but it isn't going to damage anything.  I'd say, you should do what you feel like doing.  It's a hobby, after all.  If you want, you can even solder them without any connector for even cleaner look.   

 

So true!

I fitted (soldered and heatshrinked) some high amp bullets to my stick packs 20 years ago and all my cars have the same bullets on both motor/ESC cables and ESC/Battery. Never had a problem with them ever. Rugged, reliable, low profile and have run 11T and 13T motors on 8.4v and even 9.6v for years with no connector issues. They always remain stone cold when in use or in charging eg. no resistance.

Not sure if anybody else does this but I fit one female and one male on each item and shrink wrap past the end of one of the connectors in each pair. This avoids two exposed ends touching and shorting a pack out. Still probably not quite as safe as a Tamiya or Deans in that regard but as long as you are careful they are fine. I always store them carefully in a tray inside a fireproof box and the cables are always wrapped to prevent them touching each other in storage or transit.

In comparison the Tamiya connectors used on some of my klids cars are utterly dire, suffer loose terminals after a while, corrosion issues and eventually get hot during charging and use = not good!

 

 

connectors.jpg

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Thanks, everyone! This really helps a lot. Prior, I just haven't seen photos of anyone actually applying it to connect brushed motors to brushed ESCs—and it's probably because the plugs are exposed but I can figure something out. I just want a clean/professional look. I always felt that the standard brushed plugs/connectors look to DIY or like a toy. I'll probably try a couple connector sizes.

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10 hours ago, Mad Ax said:

I find the biggest struggle with the above connectors is getting the right size. 

 

Me too!  Since there is no hobby shop around, I had to order a few to see which one is which.  Only after I got my hands on them, I could tell which photo shows what connector. 

Those 4mm connectors came with my shorty pack. They are massive!!   

 

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2 hours ago, Juggular said:

 

Those 4mm connectors came with my shorty pack. They are massive!!   

 

Thanks. I'm now going to get a 3.5 at least.

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13 hours ago, sosidge said:

Oh and the cleanest is direct soldering.

I could not agree more!! 😉 IMG_20200922_143323.thumb.jpg.5151dfbdfa8de4915c8c72597292e80a.jpg

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13 hours ago, sosidge said:

Oh and the cleanest is direct soldering.

Amen to that 🙏.  

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8 minutes ago, Carmine A said:

I could not agree more!! 😉 IMG_20200922_143323.thumb.jpg.5151dfbdfa8de4915c8c72597292e80a.jpg

Looking good 👍 

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7 hours ago, Silver-Can said:

Looking good 👍 

Thanks! 😊 I've got a whole Build Thread on this, going strong. 😉 

 

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For brushed motors, 3.5mm bullets are more than adequate for any application. Those goofy automotive bullets are barely adequate when new. Because I'm picky, all of my junk uses Dean's for the battery (except a few that use direct 4mm bullets), 3.5mm bullets for brushed, 4mm bullets or direct solder for brushless. The brushless stuff only gets motor connectors if I can't solder to binding posts on the speedo.

Each connector or solder joint is a failure point, so I look at it as a preventative measure, and I like clean wiring. Some of my customers don't seem to care and use whatever they can find around. They always seem to have problems with electronics. With the huge power systems, we're using 6 and 8 gauge wire with 8mm bullets and EC8 or XT120 connectors. Those guys are nuts, pulling 500+ amps on 8 or 12 cells, making 15,000+ watts at peak. Makes my little 1/10 scale 2 and 3s stuff look kinda weak. 

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2 hours ago, Big Jon said:

For brushed motors, 3.5mm bullets are more than adequate for any application. Those goofy automotive bullets are barely adequate when new. Because I'm picky, all of my junk uses Dean's for the battery (except a few that use direct 4mm bullets), 3.5mm bullets for brushed, 4mm bullets or direct solder for brushless. The brushless stuff only gets motor connectors if I can't solder to binding posts on the speedo.

Each connector or solder joint is a failure point, so I look at it as a preventative measure, and I like clean wiring. Some of my customers don't seem to care and use whatever they can find around. They always seem to have problems with electronics. With the huge power systems, we're using 6 and 8 gauge wire with 8mm bullets and EC8 or XT120 connectors. Those guys are nuts, pulling 500+ amps on 8 or 12 cells, making 15,000+ watts at peak. Makes my little 1/10 scale 2 and 3s stuff look kinda weak. 

I ended up getting 3.5mm. What are they running with EC8/XT120 connectors? 

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I'm using bullets connectors in some of my kits with brushed motors. Will eventually do to all brushed motors.I8VISoLl.jpg

X0iVYy3l.jpg

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On 10/2/2020 at 5:05 PM, Mechanic AH said:

Prior, I just haven't seen photos of anyone actually applying it to connect brushed motors to brushed ESCs—and it's probably because the plugs are exposed but I can figure something out.

+1 for 3.5mm plugs.

Pic:

IMG_8750.jpg

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8 hours ago, Nicadraus said:

I'm using bullets connectors in some of my kits with brushed motors. Will eventually do to all brushed motors.I8VISoLl.jpg

X0iVYy3l.jpg

That looks really neat! What is that terminal/post connected to the motor?

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3 hours ago, FuzzyFlynn said:

+1 for 3.5mm plugs.

Pic:

IMG_8750.jpg

That’s perfect and what I’m looking for! Makes everything look neat. If you don’t mind me asking, what did you use for the connection? And what did you use to protect the wires from touching aside from the heat shrink wrap? I also have braided sleeves which I think helps clean up the look. 

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40 minutes ago, Mechanic AH said:

That’s perfect and what I’m looking for! Makes everything look neat. If you don’t mind me asking, what did you use for the connection? And what did you use to protect the wires from touching aside from the heat shrink wrap? I also have braided sleeves which I think helps clean up the look. 

The motor is a Tamiya Torque Tuned. I replaced the motor cables with black 16AWG silicon wires. Connectors are 3.5mm connectors (see below). The male connector is on the motor, the female connector on the ESC. Protection is just heat shrink wrap on both the male and the female connector. The thin line on the left is where the connectors and their heat shrink wrappings touch.

The connectors look like the ones "sosidge" posted above (searching for "3.5mm gold connector" should give you results on e.g. Ebay):

On 10/2/2020 at 10:22 AM, sosidge said:

Gold Plated 3.5mm Bullet Connectors (5 pairs) | BULLET35 | HobbyTronics

 

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15 hours ago, Mechanic AH said:

I ended up getting 3.5mm. What are they running with EC8/XT120 connectors? 

8-12s drag race and speed run cars. 150 foot street racing is very popular here.

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9 hours ago, FuzzyFlynn said:

The motor is a Tamiya Torque Tuned. I replaced the motor cables with black 16AWG silicon wires. Connectors are 3.5mm connectors (see below). The male connector is on the motor, the female connector on the ESC. Protection is just heat shrink wrap on both the male and the female connector. The thin line on the left is where the connectors and their heat shrink wrappings touch.

The connectors look like the ones "sosidge" posted above (searching for "3.5mm gold connector" should give you results on e.g. Ebay):

 

Thanks for taking the time to respond! Great! I had ordered 3.5mm and was worried. I thought there was some kind of plastic cap between the heat shrink and connectors because you did a neat job :) 

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