Controllers that WORK

[blisspacket]

I'm dead in the water for lack of a working reliable controller.
First try was a Castle Hydra ICE 2000, and then I learned these are designed for inrunners. Dollars drained. Great product, fine support from CC, but there wasn't even fine print to alert me that these are InrunnerDesigned.

Second try, off to China.
BLDC 48V 2000W 24 mosfet e-scooter brushless controller /e-bike speed controller G-K046 from the Aliexpress website, Store No 737734, Kevin Gu attempting to help. Alas, as carefull as I was, dialing in slowly, etc etc, the end result: the controllers (yes 2 of them) both want to jump out of sync when any load is imposed, and each time I get them re-synced they become more sensitive to load, and pop out into "quiverland" when I ask them for (light, moderate) power.

I did come across a fine product with EqualsZeroDesigns and their Hall sensor board to make my Aeolian 6374 motors sensored. And the 6374's run just fine in their sensored state...but I need a controller that will do its share of the work.

So this New Topic is for us to list Products that Work---------- AND Products that Dont Work!

 

[spinningmagnets]

I have a friction drive on a 26-inch tire bike, using a 63mm diameter outrunner at 24V (have used Turnigy and Exceed), and I had sync loss with several of the cheaper ESCs. Once I got a Castle Creations ESC (Phoenix ICE 75A), then no sync problems. Later went to 36V and one of the HV (high voltage, meaning 50V) ESCs, still works great.

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=21365&start=100#p371559

 

[ARod1993]

Kelly KBS controllers work really well with small RC outrunners like the Aeolian C6374 (which is basically a clone of the old Turnigy C6374 that powers a lot of the smaller derpy electric vehicles kicking around the MIT campus). They'll probably cost somewhat more than the sketchy Chinese ebike controllers (which are typically designed for hub motors and therefore typically have low enough maximum commutation frequencies that they lose sync and won't take load well when presented with an RC motor) and cheaper RC controllers designed for electric boats (which, like airplanes, have a very different and much more forgiving load profile than a land vehicle), but it'll be worth it.

A Kelly KBS48121X is designed for small EVs, and is designed specifically to work with sensored motors; it's also good up to nameplate ratings and has a decently high max-eRPM ceiling. That particular controller is capable of pushing 130A for short periods until the controller starts to get too hot, then will automatically dial down the current back to 55A (which it can put out nigh unto forever without thermal issues or controller damage). It'll run you $150 configured as-is, which includes a commutation limit of 40K e-RPM; on a 12-slot 14-pole outrunner like the 6374 that'll give you just north of 5700 mechanical RPM before you start running into trouble. If you're planning on running 36V or 48V, then get the High Speed Motor Option when you order the controller; that'll give you 70K e-RPM to work with, which is good for 10K mechanical RPM and will let you run the 170kV motor on a 14s LiFePO4 pack hot off the charger at wide-open throttle without losing sync.

If you go to MITERS (the MIT student-run machine shop) and take a look at the silly vehicles that get built there (or if you look at the go-kart building class we offer as a special version of one of the sophomore MechE requirements, which is taught by the same Charles Guan who runs Equals Zero Designs and etotheipiplusone.net) most of the brushless ones use 63mm or 80mm RC outrunners and basically all of those drive their outrunners with Kelly KBS controllers.

 

[blisspacket]

That's a Very informative and comprehensive post! Thank you, ARod. Likewise, Spinningmagnet: Thanks.