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[Patrick Henry]

Anybody give me an idea of a brushless motor/lipo/esc for a Club 500, please? (it's not for racing, just something to charge about the lake with when the water's a bit too choppy for my airboat)

Cheers,


Rich

[Subculture]

What's the largest prop size you can squeeze in?

[Patrick Henry]

I think it's going to be around 40mm....

Rich

[Patrick Henry]

Yep...40mm max.


Rich

[Subculture]

Okay. I'm not sure what spec of 500 motor these boats originally had, but a 40mm prop is pretty large so for a lively but not blisteringly fast boat you would want somewhere in the region of about 10-12000 RPM maximum. Running on 3S lipo

Motor suggestions-

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=11879

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=11883

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=5499

Battery

This very much down to taste. Originally those boats were designed to run on a stick of sub c nicads weren't they. You can lighten the boat considerably by using lipo of equivalent capacity, or you can fit some batteries which are nearer to the design weight and bulk e.g.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=6501

ESC

Forwards only

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=14871

With reverse

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=11742

[John Mk2]

Being Its subsurface drive it will draw a fair few amps  with a 40mm   So a meaty e.s.c with water cooling might be in order  

[Subculture]

Those motors are only rated for about 10-12A continuous duty. Personally I think you will be fine with the recommend units. I tested a 50mm prop for a sporty submarine I'm rebuilding. With an 850kV motor it pulled about 10A with the prop held in a bucket, so I would expect it to unload once the boat is in motion.

[Patrick Henry]

Thanks you gentlemen, much appreciated....my poor flexible friend is going rigid here.


Rich

[scoop]

Thanks you gentlemen, much appreciated....my poor flexible friend is going rigid here.


Rich

In my experience having raced these delightful little boats, the motor supplied is about right, anymore power and you will end up torque rolling the boat over and you may not, well probably will not be able to turn it at any decent speed.
With the stock motor under the right conditions you can turn it on full power, but turning into the wind or ripples/waves I've seen them dig in and roll or just flip over.
You might like to spend yer plastic on a boat hull that can handle the speed of a brushless, there are plenty of S/H ones going cheap on eBay, it will save all the disappointment of a super fast motor in a C500 not working properly, plus if you intend running it on choppy water, good luck.

Kind regards
Scoop

[John Mk2]

Keep the kv down play with props to big & you WILL get toque roll. Remember  it will only go as fast as your left thumb allows just back off a bit while turning. Oh & its very cheap & easy to overpower oldish hull design's now days ! Believe me I know to my cost 

[Patrick Henry]

Well...I am now totally confused. I think for the time being I'll stick to the stock 540 motor, a six cell nicad pack, I have a spare MicroGyros esc to use, and run it all from my Planet 5 radio.

Maybe then I'll go brushless..and lipo..and whatever.

Gentlemen, I thank you all for your input, it's much appreciated.


Rich

[andyn]

Rich, Wish I'd seen this earlier before the confusion started...

If you go for any more power than the stock 540, trust me on this one mate, you'll turn it upside-down... Been there done that.

Save the brushless for when my new little kit comes out. I'll even recommend a setup

[John Mk2]

 

[Subculture]

I'm aware these boats aren't designed for silly amounts of power. The motors I linked to will give you equivalent to a mildly tuned 540, and are low kv. They will be vastly more efficient, need zero maintenance other than drop of oil on the bearings now and again, and are cheaper. They also run cooler, and will be a lot lighter. Win, win!

Going brushless doesn't automatically mean an increase in speed, it does mean an increase in endurance and efficiency though.

If you find it a bit too rapid, just run a a milder pitch or smaller diameter prop, or run 2s lipo instead of 3s. No way I'd go brushed for this type of boat unless I was skint and that's all I had available to me.