Motor "Break In"

[diverdon]

Hello Everyone , Sure glad your here .. I'm sorta new to RC and really new to Brushed Motors ... I have read about breaking it the brushed motoes so that the brushes have better contact with the armature and dont "Arc or Burn"

Supposto run the motor in water for 15 mins it helps the brushes to wear . you use a lower volt battery .. Make a 2 "D" cell battery .. I can post a pic .. (I think) as I do have 1 of the battery things I made ...

anyhow there's more to this I can explain it .. At least all that I have read about it ... BUT ...

The Question IS I heard that you can't submerge a motor that has the "Resistors??" on it ? Then Too I Heard IT Was OK To Submerge Them .. So Mine Has The Resistors

Can anyone please shed some light on this ?? Please??
I want to break in the motor but I don't really want to buy another motor if I dont have to.

AGGH!! Long Post - Sorry If I can help you on this let me know
And Thank You For all your help .. I can be reached by e-mail too
[e-mail] Thanks Again ,DonJ.

[cjg]

Resistors? Do you mean capacitors? Motor breakin as you have described is common in RC cars. However, it probably isn't as important with the supercub motor as it isn't as high a current draw as the larger motors on cars.

I did a motor breakin on my 2nd SC motor by running it under water for 10 minutes. Don't know if it made any difference, but the water sure is black.

Be sure to thoroughly dry and slightly lubricate each end of the motor on the shaft bushing when done.

[diverdon]

Thanks for the Reply .. That was Quick... I got my Super Cub today and it happened to be my day off so I am Working on it and trying to do all of the modifications I have found on this website ... What a good website this is too ..

So excited about this plane .. I really enjoy tinkering with this stuff .. I was a auto mech 20? years ago .. And I did that for 15 years ..Ruining the fu it was in the begining ..

So this is fun for me again .. I just wish I could fly better but I know it will come ..

Anyhow ...About the Capacitors..not resistors . (Sorry) I can get them wet ?? I will only get them a little wet I think as I can hold the motor with just enough under water to have the brushes under that will be OK Thanks Again For your help , Don J.

[flydiver]

Naw, just dunk the whole thing underwater hooked up to a couple of D-cells. I hang it from the wires clipped with a clothes pin. Run it for awhile and change the water if it gets really black. Won't hurt anything.
The principal is the water keeps temperatures and sparking at the brushes down and allows them to break in for better contact and longer life.
After running, I dunk mine in rubbing alcohol for a minute, blow dry with a hair dryer immediately, then oil the end bushings with a little fine oil (3-in-1, sewing machine) not WD-40. If you want to get fussy about it the LHS will have some expensive bearing oil.

fly

[sackohammers]

This makes economical sense for higher quality brushed motors... but guys, we're talking about an el-cheapo here. Unless you have a lot of time on your hands... hehehe.

www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=HBZ7134

Plenty of us have run the crap out of our cub motors and haven't noticed any problems or excessive brush wear. I'd rather not waste D-cells, gunk up my bucket, worry about drying things out, then using 3 in 1 oil, etc. Its not worth the trouble since you may not realize much benefit.

However... if you're bored... well... there are a lot worse things to do with your time.... www.break.com.

[diverdon]

OK , Thanks Fly Diver .. I haven't ever used a brushed motor yet so far always have "saved" them and went with a brushless .. So it may be a waste of time but not much and I have wasted time on worse things .. I want to try to do all of the Modifications I can as I put the plane together ..

So Thanks for all of the help and for taking the time to reply 2 my posts ... Don J.

[sb352]

Now I am totally confused

[mac]

I would of never thought to submerge an eclectic motor in water to break it in, but after reading this thread it all makes sense.

[diverdon]

Hi Mac , Type ... Break in brushless RC Airplane Motors ... In your saerch engine ... GOOGLE .. And look at what comes back .. A lot of stuff from the Watt Flier Website and it akes sense when I read what someone else besides me writes ... One thing says it started with slot cars and can really make a difference it the performance of the motor= more thrust ... Nuff said by me .. Read it if you feel like it ...I thought it was interesting ...Thanks again ,Don

[sackohammers]

diverdon,
Don't confuse things. Breaking in a brushed motor is one thing, but talking about submerging a brushless motor is another.

Breaking in a brushed motor in water is to help seat the brushes to avoid pitting. Its sort of like when you get a new car... putting on your first miles without letting the RPMs get too high so it will seat the rings around the pistons... giving them time to settle in, form a good seal, without scaring the piston walls. Think of this as the same thing.
But remember, brushless motors are just that... no brushes.

[flydiver]

ABSOLUTELY DO NOT DO THIS TO BRUSHLESS MOTORS!!!
You are doing this to break in BRUSHES. Not necessary or desirable for brushless.
Clear enough?

FWIW, I had a cub motor that was 'missing'. I checked out all the usual 'glitching' issues figuring it must be that. But I found it would do it in the basement while bench running. In desperation I did a water break-in on a well used motor. Problem went away. I have no idea what the problem was or why that cured it but it was my first water break-in and I figured I had nothing to lose. My first impressions of the idea were skeptical also. Just didn't seem right.

fly

[diverdon]

OOPS!!! , Sorry ... what an idiot I am ... Trying to do too much at once ... Thanks for being so aware .. Flydiver ..

I am trying to learn and also help others but maybe the best thing I can do to help is to DO NOTHING.. Man Do I feel like an Idiot .. Don

[mac]

flydiver said:

oil the end bushings with a little fine oil (3-in-1, sewing machine) not WD-40. If you want to get fussy about it the LHS will have some expensive bearing oil.

fly

Flydiver, would fishing reel oil work?

I fish more than fly and clean my own reels so I have the stuff lying around.

Also, I agree about what you said about WD-40 when it comes to bushings and bearings.

[sackohammers]

That should work. I wouldn't use fine machine oil, but the oil I use for my fishing gear would work.

Here is the 3 in 1.
automotive.hardwarestore.com/90-547-specialty-lubricants-/3-in-1-oil-606768.aspx

[SCC]

diverdon said:

OOPS!!! , Sorry ... what an idiot I am ... Trying to do too much at once ... Thanks for being so aware .. Flydiver ..

I am trying to learn and also help others but maybe the best thing I can do to help is to DO NOTHING.. Man Do I feel like an Idiot .. Don

Hi Don.
Don't feel like that my friend. It was just a description mistake. I and I'm sure many others very often call a brushed motor a brushless or vice versa.

Keep the posts coming.

Regards
Paul