150A 6s rated esc on 8S? Will it hold up?

Hi, I’ve recently finished my 2nd build with a mono drive enertion 6355 motor and i am using a 6s 150A esc, on 6s it is not fast enough around 28kp/h. I will be upgrading to 12S dual drive in the near future but until I get enough money I am stuck with this setup. I thought to give me more speed I could run it on 8s instead of 6s, which i have done once to test for 5 minutes it was wayyy faster. the esc was luke warm after the 8s test. I don’t know how well the esc will stand up to the additional voltage what do you guys think?

This is the esc I’m using: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/_77221__RotorStar_150A_2_6S_SBEC_Brushless_Speed_Controller_AU_Warehouse.html?strSearch=rotorstar%20150

If it is rated for 6s (which it looks like it is) I wouldn’t go higher than that. So no go for 8s in my book. Sorry

I am aware that it is rated for 6s, i was just wondering if it could handle 8s pushing it, and if anyone else had done something similar

Some people say the components of the esc’s will not be able to handle it. At the same time, I don’t think anyone has ever tried it. Most engineers make components bulkier than they need to be to hang surges and what not. 8s is roughly 8.4 more volts, which may or may not be a big deal.

Test it for science, and get back to us :stuck_out_tongue:

I would make an assumption and say that it won’t work or it will overload the components, but you never know.

I’ve run a YEP 150A 6s esc on as much as 8s with no issues, I used the programming card to input the settings for 8s which isn’t supposed to work, but I am guessing the esc is loaded with the same stuff as their higher range of 12s esc. I overloaded the esc in my rookie days going up a steep hill at low throttle, putting the esc on extreme load for too long and it went kaput. HK replaced mine for free and I am waiting to get new batteries so I can run faster and longer.

Thats good to hear! @Genex @arfintr I will run it on 8S and keep you posted on how it goes. The main component that will be stresses out is the 5V Bec so I might have to sort out an external BEC if the onboard one fails, hopefully if it fails it won’t feed the receiver with more than 5V.

it depends on if your ESC has a high voltage cutoff. I know a lot of my older ESC had a high voltage cut off at ~25V so a full charged 6S at 25.2V would just manage to tip the cutoff sending it into limp mode. if there is no high voltage cutoff then it might work. especially if it has the same firmware as the other models.

@lowGuido I have done a 5min ride on 8S so it definitely has no high voltage cutoff. The esc was in a sealed container during the test and was barely warm. I should probably mount it in the airflow so it has ample cooling. But apart from that I guess that the only thing will be how long it will last on 8S, I will do a big ride tomorrow to test it out and will keep you posted on how it goes. 8S is much faster than 6S :slight_smile:

I have a HK 150A ESC and would like to try it with a 8S Lifepo (so full charge means 28.8V). Any idea if that could work? What brand is your 6S ESC?

Edit: nevermind I found your link. Well I have a HK Beast Car Esc - not sure if I am bold enough to try.

An 8S Lifepo battery is less voltage than an 8S Lipo battery. It is only 3V more than your ESC max voltage according to the manufacturer so it should have no problem. If your ESC has a high voltage cut off it may not work but not many ESC’s have it. Still no guarantees.

I have the 120A beast esc too, and tbh I wouldn’t try it. I notice mine gets warm after a series of roughly 40% braking sessions and I wouldn’t want to overload it anymore. (I’m on 6s)

Idk about you but I’m pretty disappointed in the performance of my esc. I feel like I got a low-quality one, since I have always had problems with top speed. Running 6s on a 3:2 ratio gets me somewhere are 16 mph. Seems weak to me.

Im switching to a vesc in the spring anyway though.

@Genex my 6s ESC which is different than yours gives me a top speed of around 17mph so i don’t think there is anything wrong with yours.

What is your gear ratio?

I am running a 20T motor pulley to a 32T Wheel pulley. Almost 2:3, which is insanely close to 1:1 for a 230kv motor…

Mine is 15 tooth motor pulley and 36 tooth wheel pulley, Yeah i think yours is a bit underpowered! How does it do on hill climbing? maybe the gearing is to high making the motor struggle but that is probably not the case.

Try to pull the shrink wrap back enough to see the voltage rating on the capacitors. That will give you a better idea. I Would say go for it. Just keep an eye on the heat and you might want to run an inline fuse from the battery incase the Esc burns down and shorts out. Don’t want it to take your battery out.

Thanks for the input everyone! I went for a 10km ride on 8s this morning and it was awesome! The ESC seems to be holding up ok, it is warmer than 6s but not hot. No magic smoke yet :smile:

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I had a hobbyking 80 amp esc that was rated for 4s and i thought it was rated for 6s because their paper work sucks. I ran it on 6s its whole life. The esc probably would of lasted longer but it did die in about 1 year of low use.

I tried it as well - for science. Hooked up the 8S Lifepo (at 8*3.5V=28V) and connected the GT2B. At first everything seems normal (the beeps count to 6S) and I can control the full throttle range. After a couple of bursts to top speed without load, the ESC starts blinking red. According to the manual this is the signal for low battery voltage (link to manual). The ESC then only allows for very little top speed as it is in low voltage mode. Not sure why it does that. My cut off is set to 21.6 (3.6V per Lipo cell) so should not be triggered with the 8S battery. Disappointed :cry:

that sounds like what mine does for over volt.

Thanks for posting this @Jakebarnhill1. I’m researching my first build and just saw this post. Now that it’s about 5 months later are you still using the 6s ESC with an 8s battery? I’m curious if it was able to last.