New Hobby King Cat (Surge Crusher)

[Graeme]

Well here is my first run of the boat I have the same problem with water coming up the shaft.



and here is the second run not much to say here I think water may have seeped into the esc.



They want me to ship the whole boat in for warranty I think It will be cheaper just to buy an new esc

[D&D]

In a square drive system all of the pressure is at the drive dog and the strut. That teflon washer would normally be the only "bearing" (or thrust bearing) that is taking the pressure from your drive. Tried teflon years ago with nitro boats and the teflon bearing would not last long, they would crush. Areomarine makes a nice metal and platic (washer) bearing that works well with square drive systems.

[ray schrauwen]

There is nice heatshrink with adhesive inside. I like it because the glue keeps the grease inside better.

[lectriglide]

This may be a dumb thing... but...

I havent checked this either.

I realize they make left and right lay flex cables. It may be possible the lay of the cable that comes with these boats is acting like a screw and pulling water/grease into the hull...

Just a guess. I need to look to confirm. Im sure you can do the same... Makes logical sense though.

I'm pretty sure all flex cables do this. That is the reason you leave a gap between the drive dog and strut. As they spin and create resistance, the cable "tightens" and shrinks. Think about it, if it were spinning against the "wrap", it would unravel (I know this from experience, had the motor running backwards and forgot to check).

Since I ruined the teflon tube with the unravelled flex cable, I just run without it but did notice a lot more water inside. Put a small piece of fuel tubing over the stuffing tube so only about 1/16 of an inch touches the flex cable and no more water!

[electric]

Let me know how that works for you. I have thought about that to. I am concerned that even with that teflon washer between the drive dog and the strut that it will bind drive shaft and create issues...

Hey! Wait a minute! This may help. I have been leaving the 1/8 gap between the drive dog and strut, but with this odd design of the drive shaft there is no reason to.

The reason is you can snug it up (still turning freely) is because it is on the solid shaft and ridge on the shaft on the other side of the stut keeps the fore and aft distance on the strut constant. If the flex cable tries to pull the assembly inward when you thottle up it will not because it is free floating(not like most collets) so the square drive will just pull away from the collet a bit. This may be a major factor in the problem.

Something new to try.

[electric]

did I read your amp chart wrong? It looks like you are peaking at 90 amps and pulling in the 60 range once things settle down. It's listed as a 50 amp speed control!

That seems like a lot of amps for a 3656 motor if I read that right. Longevity will be the next question.

Yes, I noticed that to. However, I have seen simliar reading on a UL1 and a SV. It is amazing what you find out with a datalogger. Turns out that there are a lot of high peaks those ESC's deal with that I was never very aware of. Time will tell on the durability I suppose.

[electric]

This may be a dumb thing... but...

I havent checked this either.

I realize they make left and right lay flex cables. It may be possible the lay of the cable that comes with these boats is acting like a screw and pulling water/grease into the hull...

Just a guess. I need to look to confirm. Im sure you can do the same... Makes logical sense though.

I checked that a night or two ago thinking the same thing. No luck. The wind is the same direction as "standard" shaft. Let me know if you see different.

Well, I am calling it a night. I think I will do the shrink wrap around the strut and see if it improves.

[electric]

I'm having this same problem on the Apparition. Can't seem to figure out where the water is coming in. The next thing I'm going to try is to eliminate any extra space in between the prop dog and the strut. Since the hard prop shaft is captive, this might help reduce water intake if coming in via the shaft. I already have the shrink tube installed over the stuffing tube & strut and it did help reduce the shaft splatter.

HTH

Let me know how that works for you. I have thought about that to. I am concerned that even with that teflon washer between the drive dog and the strut that it will bind drive shaft and create issues...

[Basstronics]

I suppose more than usual, but nothing to crazy. I have run several FE boats and have not encounted this problem at this degree ever. See how it "pushed" all the grease up through the shaft into the boat. That is strange. I have never seen a shaft drive do that. That is why I am thinking somehow we are getting water pressure pushing up the shaft. Which leaves me wondering about the strut design.

This may be a dumb thing... but...

I havent checked this either.

I realize they make left and right lay flex cables. It may be possible the lay of the cable that comes with these boats is acting like a screw and pulling water/grease into the hull...

Just a guess. I need to look to confirm. Im sure you can do the same... Makes logical sense though.

[crabstick]

if any water can get into the driveline before the drive dog, it tends to hit the drivedog, and turn around and come right up the stuffing tube and into the boat.

I run the stuffing tube right through the strut and put a bit of heatshrink over where the tube enters the strut.

My boats run dry!

[electric]

Like miss Elam I guess, can't find a good way to seal inside.
I just use this stuff, take the receiver out of the package, cover it with one layer, let it dry for 10 minutes, cover it again with the 2nd layer and let it dry overnight. Put it back into the case and just run the receiver open, underwater or whatever. I only leave pins and top of the led not covered (I just paint over the LED and then use my finger to clean the top of glass right away)
Now your receiver is 100% waterproof... I once flipped my boat and it sunk 3/4 way down with just the nose pocking out. I had full control for 20 minutes, the time it took to drive the boat back (long story) and the receiver still work 100% many weeks after and I even never bothered to dry it.
Cheap insurance, I do it in all my boats now and have never had an issue and almost all receivers got covered in water one time or the other.

Thanks. Just placed my order...

[electric]

Im having the same water issue with my "small bolt".

I am going to try the heat shrink. Did you use a ton of grease on that cable?

I suppose more than usual, but nothing to crazy. I have run several FE boats and have not encounted this problem at this degree ever. See how it "pushed" all the grease up through the shaft into the boat. That is strange. I have never seen a shaft drive do that. That is why I am thinking somehow we are getting water pressure pushing up the shaft. Which leaves me wondering about the strut design.

This the "smallest" FE boat I have run before, maybe this is more common with smaller boats?

[Basstronics]

Im having the same water issue with my "small bolt".

I am going to try the heat shrink. Did you use a ton of grease on that cable?

[vasy]

I understand now why the "kit" came with a balloon for your receiver and the esc is completely sealed in silicon. It seems as though the manufacturer expects the boat to run "wet" inside.

Like miss Elam I guess, can't find a good way to seal inside.
I just use this stuff, take the receiver out of the package, cover it with one layer, let it dry for 10 minutes, cover it again with the 2nd layer and let it dry overnight. Put it back into the case and just run the receiver open, underwater or whatever. I only leave pins and top of the led not covered (I just paint over the LED and then use my finger to clean the top of glass right away)
Now your receiver is 100% waterproof... I once flipped my boat and it sunk 3/4 way down with just the nose pocking out. I had full control for 20 minutes, the time it took to drive the boat back (long story) and the receiver still work 100% many weeks after and I even never bothered to dry it.
Cheap insurance, I do it in all my boats now and have never had an issue and almost all receivers got covered in water one time or the other.

[befu]

So, it is possible to buy a boat for about 180 dollars(with shipping), put some lipo's in it, use the plastic prop that came with it and hit about 37mph. Not too bad. I did not put any additional "hop ups" on it at all except for the teflon shaft mentioned. This boat does take some "tinkering" to get some of the rough edges worked out, but not too tough. I had my son drive it this evening and he had a blast with it. By the way, I owned a BlackJack boat before and this thing does waaay better in the turns with no turn fin. I hope you all enjoyed the review and thanks for the help from other people reading the thread.

did I read your amp chart wrong? It looks like you are peaking at 90 amps and pulling in the 60 range once things settle down. It's listed as a 50 amp speed control!

That seems like a lot of amps for a 3656 motor if I read that right. Longevity will be the next question.