Did I just fry my Raptor?

Sorry to hear you got hurt. Being honest, the part that bothers me the most is the loss of confidence in the board. I remember accelerating, sudden lock up and then I’m sliding across Pacific Coast Highway (super busy F’ing street) on my shoulder. I didn’t even have time to think about running it out…literally flew off the board. I had cars at the light I was crossing pulling over to make sure I was OK. At this point I just want to make sure the lock up doesn’t repeat.

Sounds like we had very similar experiences; the next thing I knew I half way to a face plant. (Lucky for me I was in a full leather suit and motorcycle helmet!) I too have lost confidence in it. I’m hoping I’ll gain it back over time…

It seems to me like people are going through VESC like hotcakes. I mean they aren’t that cheap and the results can be fairly catastrophic when they fail so I just wonder why people rave on about how good they are. Seems most DIY builders have gone through at least 1 sometimes many more. Cant someone heavily over engineer these things to handle whatever is thrown at them or am I missing something? I feel like maybe a lot of people on this forum are ex (or current) RC enthusiasts who seem to accept that constant failure and replacement of parts is just a standard with the hobby but I know the reason I chose not to use VESC was inevitable failures and ongoing cost. Am I missing something?

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Can’t agree with you more and could not have said it better. Someone needs to come up with a tank of an ESC. Not just for robots but ridiculous power output, input handling and SUPER RELIABLE where it doesn’t short out or burn out for no specific reason. RC cars ESCs almost never short out if you don’t go over their stated limits…EVER. My Team Novaks and Tekins are still running strong since the late 80s!

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That is what VESC version 6 will bring.

Ok that’s good to know. Don’t get me wrong I’m not a hater and i want it to work as much as the next guy but they definitely aren’t there yet and in their current form they seem very over rated

Ahm but Vedder is working on improvements for the vesc. In his upcoming version 6 vesc one will be able to have a much higher erpm without blowing their drv chip and more. Progress is coming but at the current state the vesc is a great esc especially for electric skateboards. I would call it hardly overrated cause it is made specifically for electric skateboards but needless to say it is still a work in progress.

I don’t feel you can call it great if it is not reliable and has plenty of documented failures, some explained and some still a mystery. Definitely shows a lot of promise and eventually will be great, but as you said…work in progress. No one seems to mention that you will likely burn one or two out in some way, shape or form in your travels if you go with the current VESC when they recommend them to people is all I’m saying. In saying that ill jump straight on board when the reliability issues are ironed out.

Sorry but it not totally true, the vesc is not the most reliable esc, but don’t forget that on this web site people who talk about the Vesc are most often people with problem. You won’t hear so much from the hundred and hundred of people who got their build working fine with Vesc, because their are out having fun. And also, when the vesc is program within is limit and being push, it really a great product.

6 posts were merged into an existing topic: Are 50mm OR 63mm Motors Better on Electric Skateboards?

This plus people with good vescs dont tell it to everyone. (Running 6 of you VESCs, never had a problem, never told everybody about having no problem)

Ok fair enough. I guess also because VESC are a lot more popular that they would naturally have a higher amount of failures due to simple ratio comparison and I can see that not many would get on to say they haven’t had a break down as you say @flatsp0t. That was pretty much the info I was after @Chaka as I felt I was missing something so obviously people are running them outside of there capabilities then and suffering the consequences. That makes more sense to me that they still have a large following. Bring on the high current version 6 then!

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@Adam0311 hey Adam.

Please email [email protected] so we can get you up and running again.

VESC failures - not if you are getting a well made one, and not if you are sticking with what works best.

VESC is capable of FOC - but there are issues. VESC is capable of 12s - but there are motor limitations. If you stick to BLDC and 8-10s it’s extremely reliable. FOC will come, but think how long it took to dial in all the abilities within BLDC.

I have 4 or 5 VESC’s (maybe 6 now). I’ve had two fail - both my fault while bench testing/troubleshooting. I was seeing inconsistent errors voltage related on 12s. So while testing - hammering hard starts/stops is a sure way to fry your DRV. So i don’t do that anymore. Since then no issues with those 2 VESCs. I have one VESC on 8s, using old 4.7hw and firmware, going strong now for 1-1.5 years. Untouched - just works. Single generic 6355 200kv motor.

I got a new 4.11/4.12 VESC from a member here with a dead DRV chip already. Have the DRV’s on their way from Mouser now, plus a few spares. I don’t mind swapping a chip if i’m going to try FOC or 12s - and as part of DIY it’s good practice and a skill i want to get better at (SMD soldering).

If you are that worried about a component failure - don’t go bleeding edge. Either stick to another ESC altogether, realizing it is a compromise and sacrifice some capability - wether that’s FOC ability, or 12s, or tweakability/configurability, or run your VESC more conservatively - not 12s, not FOC (just yet), etc.

And don’t buy cheap VESC’s. I respect enertion’s dedication to giving us VESC’s as cheaply as possible, and that initial batch was FUBAR (cheap “equivalent” components) - which he made right. Since then swapping manufacturers to ensure good quality. Similarly i wouldn’t hesitate to buy from Chaka/Ollin. I would avoid the “Maytech” VESCs like the plague… but that’s just my opinion. My first 3 VESCs were direct from Ben.

And since i’m on my soapbox today it seems… These are being developed by “a guy” - someone you’ve never met (unless you’re lucky), and probably never even spoken with, besides the forums. I have sent him close to $200 now - splitting a small 5-10$ profit on some of the anti-spark switches he helped develop (along with Fechter), and a few general donations when able to help him continue to develop these amazing ESC’s. That is likely a fraction of the money he personally has invested in developing a completely new ESC. One built and dedicated for non-RC esk8 (and other) use. So if you want to see v6 sooner - put your money where your mouth is and kick in a few $ to help with the effort. [/soapbox]

I’m just waiting for my vesc so I can build my first board but I have 4 3s lipo and what you are saying is that 12s is bad for the vesc ?

12s is not bad for the VESC. You do need to be a little more mindful of how much regen/braking current you set in the bldc-tool so you do not end up pushing the voltage too high when riding with a fully charged pack. I have a very reliable 12s board that I ride daily. 10s is a little better since it gives you plenty of headroom with what voltage the components can handle.

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@Chaka - exactly. 12s is totally doable (if your motor is <200kv to point out the obvious), but you still need to be mindful of your settings as it is easier to damage the VESC with misuse/misconfiguration.

i would recommend 8/10s on BLDC as the most reliable i’ve found. I’ve ran my Vanguard (GF’s board) on 8s without any issues.

All that said - can’t wait for v6 from Vedder!

Ok thanks for explaining

Thanks Jason. Email was actually sent on Monday my time. (I’m in US). Please let me know if you need any other details.

we have a backlog of about 200 emails at the moment…