"Spudnik" | 29" Jet Spud / Single Motor / VESC / 8s LifePo4 Build

I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait but my VESC has finally arrived from down under and I think that was the last part I needed to finally put it all together.

I started tonight by soldering some connectors onto the three wires from my VESC which will be connecting to my Enertion motor. So far so good. (save for a few “practice” solders)

Anyway, my first question is already upon us. With three black wires coming off the VESC and three black wires coming out of the Enertion motor, what gets connected to what here? I have a few good diagrams of the wires on the VESC but it’s hard to tell what’s what on the motor.

From there, I’ll be on my way!

  • Jet “Spud” 29" board with extra long wheelbase
  • Enertion R-Spec Motor
  • VESC
  • Enertion motor mount
  • Caliber Trucks
  • Generic flywheels
  • 2 4s 8400 LifePo4 batteries by Zippy (will wire in series)
  • Kama Nunchuck
  • DIY Skateboards power switch
  • Alien carbon-look housings for ESC and Batteries

Wish me luck!

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Looking good ! Will probably be a FUN board to ride. I do wonder about risk of speed wobble with the short wheelbase though.

Regarding the 3 wires to the motor: it doesn’t matter which goes where. If the motor runs in the wrong direction, just switch any two wires and you’re good.

Ya! @siggs3000 great to see that you’ve made so much progress! @trbt555 is right that you can swap a motor wire if your board is going the wrong direction. However, since you’re using VESC and the nunchuck, you can also use the reverse button to swap directions more easily. In BLDC tool choose “Current with Reverse.”

Another tip from my recent build experience; use VESC to limit RPM on your first few rides. Much better to start slow and increase the speed once you are confident that everything is glued/screwed/connected well.

RE: you motor wires, I suggested taping them once they are connected to the leads to the ESC, this is one point where vibration can easily separate the connection and if that happens while you’re riding you’ll have no brakes!

You’re gonna have so much fun! What charging solution did you end up choosing?

That looks like it’s going to be a super fun setup

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Awesome deck! I’ve been wanting a 29" deck lately!

Thanks everyone! I’m pumped to finally be getting started.

This is a pretty cool deck for this because the trucks are pushed all the way to the edges of the board. So it’s wheelbase is longer than a normal board of it’s size. It’s also super wide. My goal is to have a very compact board that’s easy to carry around and doesn’t draw too much attention to itself and has some space in the center between the batteries and esc to I can carry it like a regular board. I’m 145 lbs so didn’t need that much power so a single motor seems fine enough and since it’s an r-spec and with 8s, I think it should be able to handle the hills here in San Diego. (Not too steep)

https://www.muirskate.com/longboard/decks/70513/jet-2015-spud-29-longboard-skateboard-deck-w-grip

@treenutter I ended up exchanging the weird 8s 4000mAh lipo’s I originally had, for a pair of 4s 8400 LifePo4’s that I’ll wire in series. The nice thing about these is that charging 4s is infinitely easier and the LifePo4 chemistry alleviates some of my explosion concerns. The downside is that these batteries are a little bulkier than the lipo’s but I think it’s a good tradeoff.

Thanks @trbt555 for the wiring tip! I’m going to try to bring it to life tonight without any big sparks or smoke…

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LOOKS SICK!

also, just so you know the VESC is already pre-programmed to work with that motor.

just setup the controller and go!

Also, i suggest changing the Build thread title to better represent your build & make it easy for people to find when searching.

Thanks @onloop! Good to know about the VESC too! (I also updated the thread to be a little more descriptive)

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much better title… i know i am being picky… but feel free to also give your build a name too (not compulsory). Also i would write “jet spud” because people who already own this deck might want to convert it to an eboard one day. They might search the name of their deck.

Spudnik!

I love that deck. That’s going to be a sweet ride.

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I need to make me one of those :smile:

Update - I just ordered one :smiley:

@torqueboards nice! It’s a spud invasion!

@siggs3000 Nice choice :smile:

Build day #2 update:

  • All soldering is done but some of my earlier solders will probably be re-done for piece of mind. I was getting exponentially better at it each time.

  • Worked out an issue I was having with the BLDC on my Macbook Pro, finding the proper USB port address but got some excellent help in the thread for OSX BLDC and made contact with the VESC.

  • Once in the VESC, I configured the Kama Nunchuck and rebooted the VESC. I held my breath and while connected to just one 4S pack, eased the nunchuck trigger upward and WE HAVE CONTACT! The motor purred to life and spun the drive wheel with smooth ease. I even apparently nailed the belt alignment on my first try. (Beginners luck)

  • I upped the ante by pulling in the other battery pack and put it into series to see what it sounded like at 8S. Big spark on connection but I powered though and hit the trigger and now it sounds more like a mini F1 car. This is going to be awesome…

  • Messing around for a little bit longer and inspecting the alignment of the drive gear and stuff, my voltage alarms sounded going off. Should’ve discharged and charged earlier this week when I got the VESC shipping notification :frowning:

  • Running my first charge now.

  • Will go to Home Depot tomorrow to get the screws and wire conduits needed to lace it all together and if all goes well and time allows… the maiden voyage!

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And the build has an official name now! “Spudnik!” Nice one!

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Congrats @siggs3000 it sounds awesome! Looking forward to seeing some pics and\or footage! Have a fun and safe first ride!

Nothing I’m most excited about the way the switch looks. It’s the small things…

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Space is tight on a 29"board. But it’s running perfectly so far. Tomorrow will be assembly.

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Well, it was jubilation followed by some serious fireworks and then sadness abounds.

I put my board on its wheels to watch it inch forward. To do so, I mounted my vesc temporarily and it moved slightly during the first few inches travelled. The back of the capacitor board made contact with the PPM input prongs and it was a fairly epic light show and then silence.

For those using this model of the vesc, I recommend putting some e-tape on the cap board and/or the PPM prongs… The vesc seems fried and the build has hit a speed bump but it will not be stopped!

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