First Build - What Would You Do Differently?

ESK8 Builds
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35

I wouldn’t have gone with lipos. Unless I used bms. Charging becomes a chore after awhile. and the cost is not that much different.

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36

I’ve built multiple boards, but all of my personal builds have been 6s since I’m pretty light (145 lbs) and wanted small batteries for air travel. I have helped many friends with boards, and I can tell you every time those who are willing to put in the money and want the speed that a 10s dual VESC setup offers are happier in the long run.

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37

I wouldn’t of tried to go as cheap as possible, things like the vesc, and good batteries are worth the money in the longrun

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38

Thanks brotha! That’s actually some awesome perspective! I’m about 160 lbs and I know I can probably get away with a 6s but would feel better leaving some room with a 10s. Thanks for sharing! What have you been using for charging? And, has it been adequate for you?

39

I’ve bought about that as I’ve actually passed this topic several times. Thanks for sharing.

40

yeah, but when i started my first build, there wasn’t so many options. now, there’s so many options. from batteries to motors to enclosures. wish it was like this last year.

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41

@nmagz3 buy a good deck from a known skate company. It breaks my heart to see $1000 worth of electronics on a cheap $25 eBay deck. The deck is the heart of your ride; cheap wood and glue have a cheap feeling.

Bolt your enclosure onto your deck. No epoxy is up the task in the long term.

Skip lipos and start with a battery system with a BMS. Charging all the time sucks and once esk8 is integrated into your life you’ll get sick of plugging and unplugging balance chargers.

Learn about bushing shape and durometer and dial them in to your preference. This is a cheap way to get the ride qualities you prefer. The best $25 you’ll ever spend.

Tape or hear shrink your motor leads.

Start riding slowly and be very careful on your first 5-10 rides. Things go wrong, cables come unplugged, you want to learn about those problems at 10-15 mph, not 30 mph. It’s easy to get carried away at first and forget that you are riding a potentially dangerous experiment.

On that note; always wear a helmet!

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42

real wheels not clones vesc reliable 2.4ghz mini trigger remote stiff deck wide trucks protect batteries and vescs

wasted a huge amount of money till I ended up with these. You can make a better more powerful smoother board than anything commercially available for maybe 700$

simplifying charging with a meanwell bulk charger doing 400 watts with an inline wattmeter and battery medic balancers is the fastest simplest charging to me…unless you go with the bms…but the bms can be a limit if it’s hooked up for discharging.

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43

Definitely second that, I switched to a Loaded Fattail from an eBay deck and it was the best upgrade I’ve made.

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44

I have been using the IMAX b6 with @oriol360’s one port adapter for charging and it works quite well. I would still use a BMS if I had thought about t beforehand though, most of my friends use them so that they don’t have to worry about the battery as much.

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45

wow what an advice!!! can you explain more on this??

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46

Thanks for the response brotha! I’m actually hearing that philosophy a lot in this thread. It helps me justify my thoughts. When it came to my drone I always bought cheap and regretted it. Luckily, drone parts are cheap…just adds up. I don’t want the same thing to happen when I buy a $55 ESC. Sure I saved money but then after it breaks I’ll have to shell out the money for the expensive one I intended on buying.

47

I never thought of using a BMS. I’ll have to search the thread for how it work and it’s advantages. Thanks for the help!

48

@nmagz3 you can look here to see how I did it.

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49

Thanks for the reply! Super helpful perspective. What was it with the wheel clones that you found challenging? Also, what sort of wide trucks are you referring too?

50

Man, @mmaner you’ve been super helpful, I can’t thank you enough. I’ll check it out now. LOL, you seem to be on your computer at the same time as I am. Hahaha

51

LOL, just trying to help the community. I figure find something fun and be passionate about it, that’s what life is all about. BTW, I’m at work milking the clock :).

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52

Yeah, I’m a huge advocate for a helmet. I bombed a pretty nasty hill once with out it…alone. Yeah, that time I feel hard and between the road and my body was my head. You know what, I’ve been looking at lipos and charging systems and it’s been such a pain in the ass. I have this internal voice that tells me if I go with a battery system and a BMS it’s less DIY. But, this lipo search has been a pain. Hey…I really appreciate your advice. It was real thorough and helpful!

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53

HAHAHAHA same, I’m “working”. Dude, this community seems to be so small. But, I’ve never seen such an enthusiastic group. Even on YouTube, dudes will take apart their Boosted board and put on off road wheels for the sake of the community. I’ve only joined the community and it’s awesome to see this type of passion.

54

It really is, there’s so many people out there that want to have an electric skateboard but the info is pretty much limited to youtube, endless sphere and here. I think the best quality info is here and that’s because the best quality people are here.

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