What in your opinion is the best esc on the market, or vesc? I want you to consider ease of setup and how long it has lasted without blowing, or needing to be replaced. Remember I just want to know your choice, the cost, and durability of the product(overheating, blowing up, and such).
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@willpark16 VESC all the way. Even with the added effort to configure it, there’s just no comparison in terms of customizability. I also like that improvements are constantly being made to it, so new firmware releases can mean better performance in the future. You can tune it to perform in just about any way you want.
That said, you have to enjoy the learning process to make it really shine. If you have no interest in tinkering with the numerous settings and learning how they impact your ride, another ESC option might be better for you.
I agree the VESC is superior in all aspects, except maybe in reliability. There are just too many breakdown stories. Or perhaps only the VESC breakdowns make it to the forum, creating a skewed perception. I wonder how many VESC users have a zero breakdown record.
Disclaimer: before he becomes all hot and bothered again, this post is not directed to any individual in particular on the forum, just a general remark.
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The only esc on the market that did FOC or sine wave commutation before the vesc came out was like 450$ from Germany and it still didn’t have nearly the features that the vesc has and it’s bigger. There’s not a single category the vesc doesn’t win in. The more I find out the more it does blow everything away.
No breakdowns I’ve heard of from the vesc but I’ve read of a couple instances of motors breaking. All of which need not have happened.
You hit the nail on the head!
- Most people don’t come to forums and create a post “I got me vesc & it works perfect”
I’ve done the sums on enertion sales and official failure rates are around 3% (this includes returns from the first ever massed produced VESC batch that had wrong different brand of shunts & caps)
Also, there are some people who just don’t know how to get the VESC working, so they claim that it’s faulty but it turns out to be fine… So some documented “faults” are actually just user error.
if you search the Hobbyking forums for “faulty broken ESC” there are 2440 result pages. see for yourself: faulty OR broken "ESC" site:hobbyking.com/hobbyking/forum - Google Search
WOW that’s a lot of faulty hobbyking ESC!.. they must be unreliable right? But how many have been sold that never failed? We don’t have their sales figures so we don’t know… so anything we say about overall reliability is an unfounded guess.
So what about the VESC?
I have never had a vesc just fail for no reason, if they work they tend to keep working very well, all the fails I have witnessed first hand are due to my mistakes or manufacturing issues that have meant it never worked in the first place… all this doesn’t really matter because from the 3 or 4 existing VESC suppliers, they all have a warranty that offers repair, replacement or credit.
On the other hand, say when you buy an ESC from hobbyking, One that is designed to work on a toy car that weighs less than 5kg and it fails then what do you say to them? It broke because i used it for a skateboard? Do you think they will offer Warranty? They Don’t!
They also clearly say the don’t
Below is copied from their FAQ page:
-HobbyKing.com Service Centers don’t accept crash, damaged parts of the items due to misuse, and items that have been modified. -HobbyKing.com accepts no responsibility for the improper installation and use of purchased products.
This means that your ESC from hobbyking has no warranty.
So if anyone is planning to buy an ESC for use on an electric skateboard I would strongly suggest buying it from an Electric Skateboard Supplier so that you have a valid warranty for use on an electric skateboard.
$100 USD will get you a vesc delivered to your door! & it comes with a valid warranty
http://www.enertionboards.com/electric-skateboard-parts/vesc-motor-controller/
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EZRun 150A car esc. $100 Config on the fly Never overheated, even with no fan. No failures. Spashproof.
Running my board and a friend’s. Never had an issue with either. Particularly good with lower voltage setups like 6s.
I suspect your low return rate is partly affected by the fact you are in Australia. I have two that should have been returned but my friend couldn’t be bothered (his lookout - I would have sent them back, but it illustrates the point).
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Do u make the enertion Vesc because I honestly would like to purchase but I hear the setup is complicated and when it comes to that i might as well be a kid(do you mind claryfying on the complications?)
Here is a simple analogy,
Do you know how to install a driver for a wireless network (or any piece of hardware) card into your PC and setup an internet connection?
If you have the knowledge to perform that kind of installation you will be able to work out how to connect the vesc and configure it.
If you don’t feel confident doing basic stuff like how to install a driver and connect a piece of hardware you will get lost with the VESC.
However, All the VESC I sell come preconfigured with R-SPEC & SPACE CELL parameters, so if you buy this stuff together from me you can use them without the need to connect your PC or do any configuration.
This is my VESC experience (and I’m a programmer and pretty competent with electronics)
- Hook VESC up to power - don’t be tempted to use your main skate battery pack. So now you’ll be hunting round for an alternative (if you havent got an alternative you’ll probably take the risk anyhow)… because for some reasons, your VESC is a bit sensitive when being setup and easily fried…
- PLug it into your PC and install drivers.
- find (on guthub) and download the VESC software - once you realise you want the BLDC tool - which lives in “firmware” folders…
- you’ll almost certainly have the wrong version and then be prompted to flash the firmware to the version that suits that software
- choose your firmware carefully because you were expecting to see a file like firmware_vesc_2.8 or such like. But you’ll find a folder with about 8 firmwares in it. “default”, “enertion”, etc etc, and these are in several folders that are named 407 , 410, etc. Choose carefully or your VESC is dead.
- Now you have the right firmware on your board it will now work with your PC.
- Now try motor autodetect, and if you don’t fry your board because you used your main battery pack, then you are good to go - well, after you have figured out your max amps, max braking amps, regen amp, etc. Plus your voltage cut offs, plus your startup boost settings.
- Now it works !
- However, you are getting cut offs because either you set your battery limits wrong, or you’ve got your gearing wrong and overheating the chips - (but you have no way to tell for sure unless you skate with a laptop plugged in). You can now tweak the battery cut off voltages, but not whilst you are skating - you have to go home and do it on your laptop. Probably a few times to get it right.
You need patience, and all the while, making sure you don’t short out a very exposed circuit board.
The VESC offers smooth startup, and most importantly, smooth acceleration - but it is not for a beginner with no patience.
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100 US Dollar equals £70.15 British Pound
The vesc in your link is £92.60 which equals $132.01
that was the sale price - it has gone up since
What would be a great ESC with R-spec Dual 190kv motor?
@RogerD: Why is it dangerous to use the normal battery pack (in my case 2x5s = 10s) for configuration? Getting my VESC tomorrow and i dont want to brick it at the first day.
I remember looking into some comments about VESC problem of handling motors larger then 63mm…I have a 8055 motor 90kv made for hub, going for 12s, (80mm version of 6355), and I’m still doubting of getting a VESC. Any affordable suggestions? and professional comments? @chaka @psychotiller @sl33py @LEVer
Not sure about “professional” comments - but i’ll comment anyway… 
90kv shouldn’t be an issue. Amp draw might be an issue - do you know any usage info for that motor in your use case?
VESC would still be my starting point. There’s little use getting a $200+ motor and slapping a $35 rc car ESC to power it…
I would start out around 8s and get it working well. 12s for that low kv probably will work well, but if it feeds back a significant voltage regen i could see it possibly causing an issue. That’s the technical side of VESC i just can’t really comment on. Not with any authority. I would ask on vedder.se if you want to confirm. But you will need to know some of the motor tech specs at the least to give them enough info to help.
How DIY savvy are you? can you do SMD soldering/repair? If so, i’d get a couple spare DRV chips and give it a go! If that’s not something you’re comfortable doing - i might ask Torque if his DIYes 12s ESC would work.
One thing i always think folks forget is just how capable the VESC is for the voltage it allows. Go look for a >6s RC ESC. Besides some of the HK one’s with minimal configuration - they get $$$! Mamba XL2 only does 8s and is $200-250! as one example.
my .02 - GL!
The mamba costs more but it doesn’t fry chips @80a like the vesc. It’ll handle 160a. And it must be said…You won’t have to wait 2-3 months to get it and then another 2 months to replace/repair it. Time is friggen money.
The EZrun Max 5 is also available and works up to 200a @8s
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you got that right bud. EZ RUN/HobbyWing/Castle Hobbies got to make something for 8S-12S to eliminate all these long waits and fried chips.
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They do. Mamba XL2 8s
EZrun Max 6 160a 8s EZrun Max 5 200a 8s
Nobody needs to run 12s. It is an extravagance, It hasn’t added mileage or top speed so whats the point? From my window 12s has added mostly just complications.
The most reliable DIY builds have been 6-8s. Easier/cheaper charging solutions too!
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Understand what you are saying man. I have only killed my VESC through misuse and not understanding what i was doing. It’s also nice that i have 3 or 4 spares right now for future project boards… Not everyone would have a backup.
I tried the Mamba for a short time and wasn’t able to get the brakes working well enough to stop me at slow speeds (wasn’t willing to go full speed until it stopped me correctly at slow speed!). So it’s in the box as well collecting dust. It and a spare XERUN. One day i’ll dust it off for a project board, or throw it on the for sale section.
Agree on the 8s is plenty too. I run 8s all the time on GF’s board and even single motor it moves me along just fine.
I’m OK playing with the bleeding edge of the VESC - 12s and FOC. Once i have my next board setup i’ll play with this more (can’t break the GF’s board). And i’ll have the DRV chips to replace if i fry them… And get to practice my SMD skills… Win Win sorta.