55" Quad or Triple Cigarette Boat

[Jacked1]

Yea I think I might make both and when I am done put the 3/16 on my 47in mono that has a gear drive and make it inline instead which would use smaller props.

[Jacked1]

I have almost everything built and I am going to start mounting it soon. The esc box is starting to come together as well. Also the 3/16 strut I made didn't turn out as nice as I had hoped so I ordered a new one and it came in yesturday.
I also decided if I blow any esc's I am going to switch to T180's.

[Jacked1]

I got some done tonight. I got the motor(s) in the boat and the box almost completed, I went ahead and epoxied it and that is why it is all clamped up. The speed controllers will be placed in the box like they are shown with each long side of the box having outputs for two motors and inputs to two esc's. The box is about 10.5in by 5in. Let me know what you think or any suggestions.
BOX.jpgIMG_8253.jpgMOUNTED.jpg

[Jacked1]

This might be of interest to some people....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtufuXLvOok

I think the oil will get rid of any hot spots on the esc.

[Boaterguy]

that is pretty interesting, but how good a heat conductor is mineral oil?
You could waterproof everything and dunk it all in water.

[Jacked1]

The oil is a lot better conductor than air and in the case of something frying in the esc, the oil will keep any oxygen form causing a fire. A non conductive water would be ideal. I know 3m makes something that is closer to water but it is very expensive. I though about making everything waterproof but if the sealant fails somewhere it would be bad news. I think an esc that is submerged in the lake water used for cooling would be ideal as long as the esc is sealed perfectly.

[Fluid]

Oil is a very good thermal insulator, a lot better than water is. In fact most oils have four times better thermal insulating properties than water does. Once the oil heats up it will take a long time to cool off, meaning a longer time waiting between runs. And how does mineral oil effect the components on the ESC board over time? The parts in an ESC were never menat to be exposed to oil for extended periods of time.

This idea may work fine, but it defys the over-riding principle of KISS.


.

[Jacked1]

I am all about keeping things simple and I would love to just use different speed controllers with normal water-cooling but I want to try to use these cheepo ones. One of the big problems with these ones is the lower fet boards get hotter because they are so far away from the water cooling block and then they have hot spots and the only thing to cool them is air. The thermal conductivity of the oil is much better than air. This is the simplest way I can think to do this except maybe using fans.

And as for the oil effecting the components chemically, the plastics will do fine as you can see in the pc submerged in oil and the metal contacts will be less likely to corrode since you remove the possibility for oxidation. This is why transformers are submerged in oil all the time.

[Jacked1]

This would be another option as well but I am not sure just how non conductive it is.

http://www.xoxide.com/primoice-nonconductive-fluid-clear.html

I may pick up some at my local micro center to test it out.

[Jacked1]

Here is the box with one esc in it in the boat.
IMG_9241.jpg

[Fluid]

And as for the oil effecting the components chemically, the plastics will do fine...

Sadly, not all plastics are the same, and some types will soften in certain oils over time. Transformers are designed to be oil cooled, the components are chosen for that reason. No matter, you clearly have your mind made up. Regardless, good luck I am anxious to see how this all works out - hopefully very well.



.

[Jacked1]

Sadly, not all plastics are the same, and some types will soften in certain oils over time. Transformers are designed to be oil cooled, the components are chosen for that reason. No matter, you clearly have your mind made up. Regardless, good luck I am anxious to see how this all works out - hopefully very well.



.

Thank you Jay, I was very worried about the plastics/oil interations as well at first. I figure the components of computers are similar enough for my money and the only complaints from the submerged PC users after a year were some stickers coming loose and some rancid smells from the ones that used vegatable oil. (I thought this part was pretty funny and I hope they didn't leak!)

I have a couple old esc's that crapped out and so I am going to go ahead and dunk one in some oil for a few days to see if there is any breakdown that I can see.

[Punisher 67]

This is all very coool and interesting

[Jacked1]

This is all very coool and interesting

Thank you Peter! I can only hope it turns out half as nice as your big Stealth or one of your Snipers!

[Jacked1]

More progress! next step come the connectors.
IMG_0735.jpg