if anyone wants to protect their vesc from corrosion you can buy a can of conformal spray.
Buy it here: http://www.all-spec.com/products/2103-12s.html
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That’s appalling logic:
“I look at it the same way I do AppleCare. I’m going to break my Mac at some point so I always get AppleCare. I’ve broken two VESC’s, three times so far, so the built-in Chaka warranty is paying for itself.”
An ESC should last a lifetime, or many years at least. It’s not something that should happen so frequently that you are prepared to pay more to your supplier so that he’ll repair it when it breaks … again…
Vedder has done amazing work but it’s a shame to see people Profiteering off it like this - $170 - sheesh.
Well I didn’t mean to “appall” anyone on a skateboard forum…
I’ve never seen an electronic product last a lifetime but, as I’m fairly new to soldering, I expect to make mistakes and (at my own fault) expect to fry some parts in the learning process.
The VESC is open source. Everyone is free to build their own for free. If you want to buy one pre-built though, you have options.
As I said above though, to each his own.
i have two dual flier type 8S ESCs and a pair of VESCs that i’ve fried in the last 18 months.
I emailed around and nobody wants to fix my enertion VESCs, or my old flier types. I’m positive its a simple component replacement, or possibly it just needs a few minutes in an oven to reflow the connections on everything. But i have neither the expertise nor the facilities/equipment to do that kind of work.
I also had a pair of Favourite 6S and one of them fried, but @torqueboards replaced it for me at no charge.
I’m kind of sick of replacing ESCs as well, and eventually i’m going to have to tell a customer “oh its fried, you’ll have to replace that completely, and it probably won’t be the last time.”
I would like to be able to send them back to be repaired, so i think next time i’m getting mine from Ollin. He told me he wanted to be the Craftsman of skateboard ESCs, and its looking like he’s living up to it.
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You didn’t appall me 
it’s the logic…
ESCS - all mine are alive fromn the day I bought them bar one from Hobbyking that I should never have tried on a skateboard.
Helicopters x3 (going for over 5-8 years between them now) Cars x3 (varying from 5 - 12 years old) Skateboards x3
They “should” last. They are solid state electronics.
Oh - VESCS - 2 bought, 1 dead and one needing repairs.
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Just out of curiosity, how are you frying so many ESC’s? Is it from high power experimentation, external factors, etc? I don’t want to fry any of my ESC’s, especially since I only have one so far, so any tips or things to avoid would be appreciated.
Here’s a few tips:
- Don’t get stuck in the rain. Ever. My VESC issues right now are likely a delayed result of moisture. If you do get stuck in the rain, power down, get off of it, walk, and try to hold your board in a way that keeps the rain from getting into the box.
- Stay away from puddles and wet pavement for the same reason. Water proofing techniques used on your box are preventative measures, not a license to go splashing through every puddle you see.
- Don’t constantly push your board to the max every time you take it out (this one is difficult for me, because we SHOULD be able to do it)
- try really, really hard to never short anything, especially when it comes to battery leads and plugging things in backwards. triple check before you plug shit in. Always.
My experience with rain, puddles, and moisture is this: My battery cells/packs have all survived, my motors are always fine. Its the ESCs and even the BMS that end up taking the hit when it comes to moisture finding its way into the box.
Thanks for the detailed answer. I’ll do my best to avoid water and waterproof my enclosure. In the little battery box enclosure I’m going to use, I was thinking of putting little dessicant packs into one of the cavities in the box to keep things extra dry. And on 6s, I sure hope I won’t fry anything if I ride too fast and hard.
I don’t think anyone realizes that @chaka was not making any money… he was basically selling at cost prices, Personally, I think he seriously underestimated the amount of man hours he had to spend hand making vesc. The reason for the price hike is he doesn’t go out of business. He wants to make his customers happy and the only way he can do this is by making some profit.
Everyone needs to give the guy a fucking break…
I don’t think the average “consumer” on this forum has any idea what is involved in bringing the VESC to market… answering the thousand questions each day and also busting our gut to offer some kind of warranty.
there are only three suppliers in the entire world that i am aware of who offer VESC… at any moment we can decide to stop selling the VESC or jack up the price… So everyone needs to have a bit of respect and lay off the negative vibes otherwise this will get really ugly.
So please everyone chill the fuck out.
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Jason(Onloop) did you mention your going to have a US producer of Vesc’s coming on?
Will be attractive with less shipping costs. and customs etc.
Care to elaborate?
Yes, I will have US stock of VESC, I have been working extremely hard to scale up production and I am investing heavily in the VESC as I believe its the only real option for Esk8 builders, I am using specialist US-based factory who adhere to strict PCBA assembly practises.
these steps will lower the cost price, improve the quality to very high standards and ensure much shorter lead times for delivery.
I explain it in this video:
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" Just out of curiosity, how are you frying so many ESC’s? Is it from high power experimentation, external factors, etc? I don’t want to fry any of my ESC’s, especially since I only have one so far, so any tips or things to avoid would be appreciated."
1st one is a bit of a mystery - wasn’t in my hands. Was during motor detection whilst a mate was trying FOC and then motor detection. Could possibly have been wrong firmware installed.
2nd one one of the bullet connectors sheared off the board due to vibration and the bullets being mounted at such a stressful place - i.e. long overhang with very little surface contact.
I would highly recommend desoldering these, soldering silicone wires in their place, and then soldering the bullets to the ends of these cables.
And mate - I don’t need to chill the @% out. I’m not being agressive, or shouty. I’m also not the one using agressive language.
I just think $170 is beyond good value. You don’t have to agree. It’s an opinion.
Others are making and selling VESCS for under $100. Even in Germany they cost around $140 equivalent with German manufacturing standards.
At $170 is really makes car ESCS appear a much better choice if you don’t mind kick starting. VESCs are not the “only viable solution for eboards” at all.
Firstly i wasn’t talking to you directly RogerD, i like you man. You seem level headed. so I appologise if it felt like a direct insult… it was not. … i was talking to people in general… many people in general are carrying on about these vesc like babies.
The vesc is open source. Anyone can go and buy the parts and make it themselves if they want.
No one is forced to buy a vesc from anyone. The vendors who sell it also can freely decide the price and the terms of their warranty. If they need to have a higher price to allow for premium service that seems fair.
If people don’t like it they should start their own business and sell the vesc at cost price to everyone and lose some money. Only then they will know what chaka is dealing with… we must remember we are all people with families he deserves to make some profits. I honestly feel sorry for chaka. He worked he’s guts out to make everyone happy now many people forget that.
The issue is you can never please everyone. So in general I think people need to chill out and stop bitching. Or just take the negative post to another forum and vent.
Also. I dont think the word fuck is aggressive, it’s a nice word. It helps emphasis. It makes a sentence pop.
We should be able to use any words to emphasise our thoughts.
I would prefer people to say fuck in every sentence if it meant they refrain from bitching and being negative about other people’s business decisions.
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well this is personally why i love this forum we all vent but at the end of the day we’re all just builders trying to do our thing. I was originally also kinda pissed about the price increase, but @onloop you do have a point the man is also trying to make a living and he also has great policies from what I hear. I think the hype is just that the VESC is really the only electric skateboard esc on the market and very few retailers are selling or making them. But hey its like an iphone if i want quality i buy straight from the store if i want a product that’ll last a few months then die ill get an iphone from someones trunk. I am personally however no longer upset about this price increase because at the end of the day we’re just all trying to do what we love and thats what DIY is about. If you want something easy go buy a boosted hahaha.