Greetings,
Working on plan for my first build. I have 2 general questions. I am in southern Florida, flat as it gets. No hills that aren’t man made (and those are few and far between). I cannot imagine wanting to go faster than 20-25mph and I am happy to give a push-off to get started (but after that I have to keep my feet on the board - it’s just better for everyone that way). The last time I rode a skateboard was in the 80’s.
The main question I have is about the batteries. I am looking at 3 options;
1x 6s 12000mAh Multistar
–OR–
2x 4s 10000mAh Multistar connected in series for 8s/10000mAh
–OR–
2x 4s 5200mAh Multistar connected (in series) for 8s/5200mAh
(and I’d probably order 4 and make two 8s batteries and just carry the spare)
What I’d like to know is, based on my selection of the SK3 6354/260kv - is there any appreciable difference between 6s and 8s? Anything that I would tangibly feel, or notice?
I care more about range than acceleration and I would have no problem just carrying a second battery that I could swap out when the first runs out (I am an 80’s child, I am certain I still have a fanny-pack lying around here somewhere) - so I don’t feel compelled to build some giant power source that resides on-board all the time.
I also need to charge these things somehow. Somebody recommended an Imax B6 charger to somebody in another thread, would that work for any of these configurations? Lastly, is there a role for a bms in there somewhere (I would be plenty happy not needing one).
My second question - I’ve seen some relatively cheap mounting “kits” that come with all the drive components on places like ebay and banggood. The typically go for somewhere around $30.00 - I’d like to go that route if I could. It kills me to think of spending as much on the motor mount as I spent on the motor.
I’d love to be able to make my own, but the only skill I have with metal is cutting - mostly myself. I’ve become an expert at drawing up highly detailed and carefully measured plans and then producing a result that isn’t even the same general shape. Suffice to say, this needs to be a purchase.
Of course, any other (constructive) criticisms of my plan are welcomed. Literally everything I know about esk8s I learned by reading this forum. Two weeks ago, when I started reading here, I knew absolutely nothing. Many of you folks are pretty amazing. Not much left to do except order some stuff, increase my life insurance, and keep reading through the forum.
OK - so based on your recommendation, and the fact that the X-Beast ESC is 6s as you pointed out, I will go with the VESC from DIY. I’ll probably start with the 4s/5200mAh pair in series and either pick up another pair for extended range, or upgrade to the 10000mAh pair at a future date. 16mi is beautiful.
To the motor mount and pulley kit: on the DIY site they have two “kits” to choose from:
ABEC and Kegel - I have no idea.
The trucks I spec’d (because they come with 90mm wheels) are these:
But I have no idea if those are caliber clones, or paris clones, or neither.
Will either of the mount/pulley kits from DIY work with these? If so, which one?
There are also some options regarding belt length (255mm on up to 300mm).
I am not adverse to doing a little filing to create more surface contact for the mount.
WIth the kit and VESC I would be into DIY for about $206 + shipping/tax if applicable
I spent a good deal of time playing with the esk8 calculator, and that taught me a lot about gearing.
According to the calculator a 260kv motor with 80% efficiency powered by 8s cells to 36T/16T pulleys with 90mm wheels I can expect to get 28mph weighted - which is just fine. I believe the VESC will let me govern the final output to just below suicide level.
Last Q: I looked around but was no able to find anything that lists the efficiency rating of the 6354-260kv SK3. Ergo, my calculations are not 100% accurate. Does anyone know the efficiency rating of this motor?
After another weekend of research and expectation modification, the project has changed a bit.
I am going to stick with 6s. It keeps me from having to buy the giant VESC and program/tbshoot it, and who was I kidding with 28mph. That’s a death sentence.
At the same time, motor mounts are scarce, and many of the people who used to sell them (in these threads) no longer do, so I’ve decided to direct some of my build savings there. At least I know I will have a solid drivetrain.
That means it now looks like this:
6354 Sk3 260kv
X-Car beast 150A
DIY mount and pulley kit for 63mm 16T/36T
90mm ABEC 7 flywheels and bearings
2x Zippy flightmax 3s 8000mAh 30C (in series for 6s)
GT2E controller
IMax B6 charger
And that should be it. Calculator puts me at 27mph unweighted- 21.63mph weighted, which is more than I need as a top speed. (Assuming the 80% efficiency is close to realistic).
Ordering parts this Wed. I’ll post pics (if anyone wants to see them) when complete.
Ordered the Torqueboards single drive mechanical kit today. Curious if anyone knows if I’ll need to make any mods to get it onto the rev kingpins trucks I plan on getting? Will it just fit those trucks (say it will…)?
Update 1: I ordered all of my components today. I already made my very first screw-up. In my double-clicking frenzy, I failed to notice that the battery I purchased ships from China. Scheduled delivery is not until a month after everything else arrives. Fuck. So that turned out to be a $40 mistake because I grabbed a couple 3s 2200mAh batteries and a series connector just so I would have some power to test with before my main power bank arrived.
I also picked up a cool looking lighted power switch. Also ended up getting connectors and wire from eBay because local hobby shop prices were full-on crazy time for that kind of stuff. Stuff should be arriving between the 23rd and the 28th. That feels like an eternity to wait for my very first build, but so be it.
I also made a decision on the board. After looking through so many of the gorgeous projects documented throughout this forum I decided that I was a “pintail” cruiser kinda guy. Got a bamboo deck to put my e-bay trucks and 90mm flywheels on. Have not decided on an aesthetic plan yet, but my goodness that natural wood sure looks purty.
Parts have started arriving! My first challenge, getting my mount from @torqueboards (which got here super-fast, thank you!) to mate with my reverse kingpin trucks. I had to bust out the angle grinder and shave away some excess metal that was preventing the clamp from sliding far enough up the truck to give me the alignment that I need. The board, motor, and ESC are still in transit but I am hoping they will arrive tomorrow or Saturday at the latest.
So far, everything makes sense as far as assembly is concerned. However, I am a little confused about the potential use of two little clips that were packaged with my motor pulley. Does any body know where those are intended to go, and under what circumstances?
The 2 clips are cir-clips. Unless you use our motors they won’t fit on an SK3 motor.
Personally, I don’t like using them either and won’t be shipping with them moving forward.
You’ll want to grind, file, dremmel a flat spot to your SK3 motor shaft where the bolts will rest against. Other then clamping those bolts down and dremmeling a flat spot. Your good to go
Hey @oldguy! Love your spirit! Welcome to the “I’m probably too old to be going this fast on a skateboard” club. Plenty of us here.
`Not sure about those pulley clips.
If you haven’t ordered that remote yet, I’d like to offer an opinion…
It is a great (reliable and cheap) remote and has inspired many great mods. However it is quite big without one which includes a new enclosure, ripping out its guts and transferring them. Another great option is the Mini remote.
It has a great reputation as being rock solid and can be had for around $35. @JLabs sells them (and ships fast) as well as a few other places.
My assumption is that if I plug the loop key in first, then throw the switch, the spark will occur at the switch. Alternately if I throw the switch and then plug in the loop key, the spark is at the loop key. In either case, it is not at the ESC.
Yeah pretty much. Most people use XT90-S connectors for the loop key since they have a built in resistor that stops the spark. Alternatively you could attach a resistor to your XT60.
That actually clears a lot up. I kept seeing people say that and I’ve held an XT-90 in my hand. There ain’t no resistor. But you mentioned the XT-90 “S” - ahah! That’s the one. I’ll use this setup for now and get one of those asap now that I know what I am looking for! It’s the one with the green “L” shaped markings on it. It finally makes sense.
So I completed my build today. But I am pretty certain that the forward throttle, that is the trigger pull on the remote, is dead. I followed the videos and was able to bind. I am also able to configure throttle range, however here in lies the problem. In the first step you pull the trigger all the way to establish forward range. The speed controller never registers that no matter how fast, slow, hard, or soft I pull the trigger and no matter how long I can hold it. If I push it forward for reverse, it gets the signal immediately. It will always register the trigger in reverse, but never in forward.
Damn that sucks man I’m not sure what’s wrong with it. I have the same esc as you just the 120a one. Did you buy a programming card because you may need one. The setting on it will most likely have the motor timing set to normal which will. Basically limit the board to half of its potential speed so you will have to set it to very high in the settings.
