Eboard Motor Maintenance

[farrerzack]

Hi,
I've had my board for a little while now (thanks to tourqueboard's kit) and was wondering how often everyone performs maintenance on their motors, as well as what kind of maintenance you do. I have a turnigy sk3 6364 on my board, I ride it daily about 5-10 miles or so and have used it occasionally in the rain. I have started to notice a small amount of dirt on the rotor. At this point my main concern is what I should do for the bearings(considering it has been used in the rain). I have bought some rc bearing oil but have not used it yet as I'm not sure whether it will do any good.

 

[torqueboards]

Every time I do ride in rain it's fine. The main downside is it ruins certain parts as they are still wet inside I assume. Usually my wheel bearings will get trashed and will make squeaky noise. I end up swapping them out and will clean them out when I feel like it. However, I've been thinking lately since it's about to be winter to have a pair of wheels with messed up bearings already and swap to the crap bearings + wheels when it's going to rain. A few weeks ago it was raining and it really wore my bearings out that the wheels really don't spin that great.

As for the motor... I've ridden about 1400 miles so far. The motor bearings do look like they are pretty dirty and could be cleaned out. I haven't done so yet but they aren't too bad. At least not as bad as the wheel bearings. I tend to do hear them creak and odd noises. I've used lubricant on my bearings I think it helps a bit.

 

[farrerzack]

yeah I've been riding longboards for years and have known for a long time that the rain brings on a very early death to the wheel bearings, which is why i have been having concerns about the motor. The new esc design is much better by the way, haven't had it get so much as slightly warm!

 

[torqueboards]

yeah I've been riding longboards for years and have known for a long time that the rain brings on a very early death to the wheel bearings, which is why i have been having concerns about the motor. The new esc design is much better by the way, haven't had it get so much as slightly warm!

Great good to hear that the ESC is great now. Perhaps just greasing the motor bearing is good enough. Actually, I believe I have a belt cover. Do you have a 3D Printer?

 

[farrerzack]

As a matter of fact I do haha

 

[torqueboards]

As a matter of fact I do haha

Cool.. Let me find my files and test it out. I'll send you the file afterwards

 

[farrerzack]

As a matter of fact I do haha

Cool.. Let me find my files and test it out. I'll send you the file afterwards

Awesome. As for the idea of swapping out wheels and bearings for rainy days, I actually had the same idea. Not only do you save the bearings but I'm also think of cutting some channels into the "rain" wheels as a way to maybe get some more traction(although I do have to say I've learned how to psuedo power slide and its a blast)

 

[torqueboards]

As a matter of fact I do haha

Cool.. Let me find my files and test it out. I'll send you the file afterwards

Awesome. As for the idea of swapping out wheels and bearings for rainy days, I actually had the same idea. Not only do you save the bearings but I'm also think of cutting some channels into the "rain" wheels as a way to maybe get some more traction(although I do have to say I've learned how to psuedo power slide and its a blast)

I was just looking at NeverWet also. Doesn't seem to be a bad idea. I actually ride in the rain a lot also once it gets rainy. I was also thinking about Ceramic Bearings as well. The NeverWet would be nice on the enclosure, motor, etc. At least even if it did get wet it wouldn't retain or hold the water. It would bead off. Wonder if I could use those on the front of the bearings and/or front of the bearings/wheels.

I wonder if Water Repellent for Fabric works as well as it's much cheaper.

 

[farrerzack]

That sounds like a cool idea to look into, especially for esc's. I've been trying to design a printable enclosure that's both easy to open and at the very least water resistant. Would be much easier if I didn't have to design around te fact that my build plate is 150mm square and the batteries I need to enclose are 170 in length :? Ceramic bearings are also something I've considered but I want to be totally sure they will last as long as their cost would indicate

 

[torqueboards]

I just bought http://www.ebay.com/itm/361087285279 for bearings. Going to open the shield once I get it. I'm hoping they are actually ceramics lol.

For the most part I ride a ton in rain and my enclosure isn't completely sealed off but doesn't get wet that much. It's more of everything else around it from the wheels splashing all over the place.

Thinking of switching over to Aluminum Enclosure + Grommet for cut outs and neverwet the entire bottom of the board.

 

[drmacgyver]

Also have ridden in the rain with no noticeable problems. My bearings have the soft casings and to my surprise have been sealed from dirt and crap. The bearings came with the abec clones and weren't all that great to start with though. I always keep a roll of duct tape on me, so when it rains I'd seal where the enclosure meets the deck for added weatherproofing. My motor connectors are always in heat shrink tubing. Then I dry it all when home and leave the case open to air out. Do you guys think the motor heats up enough to evaporate any moisture from rain? I'm running a 50mm, which can definitely get pretty warm.

I'll be adding grommets too, with kevlar sleeves for the wires. I'm curious about your ideas for an aluminum enclosure, as I think our dimensions are about the same. I'll most likely be scaling an existing 11"x7x2 down to 1" height.

@farrerzack: Are you working with 2x3s8000mah's? Those are mine and finding housing that's slim, wide, and long enough has proven to be a royal PITA! :|

 

[farrerzack]

Also have ridden in the rain with no noticeable problems. My bearings have the soft casings and to my surprise have been sealed from dirt and crap. The bearings came with the abec clones and weren't all that great to start with though. I always keep a roll of duct tape on me, so when it rains I'd seal where the enclosure meets the deck for added weatherproofing. My motor connectors are always in heat shrink tubing. Then I dry it all when home and leave the case open to air out. Do you guys think the motor heats up enough to evaporate any moisture from rain? I'm running a 50mm, which can definitely get pretty warm.

I'll be adding grommets too, with kevlar sleeves for the wires. I'm curious about your ideas for an aluminum enclosure, as I think our dimensions are about the same. I'll most likely be scaling an existing 11"x7x2 down to 1" height.

@farrerzack: Are you working with 2x3s8000mah's? Those are mine and finding housing that's slim, wide, and long enough has proven to be a royal PITA! :|

No, I actually alternate between 2x4s and 2x3s 50000mah's. the problem for me is that I have very specific wants for my enclosure. specifically being waterproof, extremely easy to change batteries, and as sleek as possible

 

[drmacgyver]

Waterproofing will probably take some DIYing to achieve, but there are plenty of simple ways to do it. Easy access and sleek (1" height) are also on my checklist. I also prefer metal (especially if it's housing lipos). If you search on ebay for "aluminum enclosure" you'll find lots of results. I personally haven't found anything that can be used as-is, but your dimensions are different.
Check these too:
http://www.mouser.com/Enclosures/_/N-5g3o/
http://www.hammondmfg.com/