@sl33py makes a lot of very good points. You probably do want to go with 10s max on your first build. Otherwise you’re going to learn all about blown eswitches, blown ESCs, and other than just blown stuff, you’ll find odd behaviors in braking, accelerating, and during top-end testing. 12S boards can be very high maintenance, which is why i offer the warranty i do.
How are you planning to switch it on and off? Flier style eswitches will utterly fail at actual 12S usage, despite being rated at 12S. Standard Vedder antispark eswitches will also fail, though not as quickly. I have some modified Vedder style eswitches that i’ve been using that use the 75volt mosfets instead of the typical 60v ones and they do not seem to be failing yet unless i blow one up by shorting shit out with the soldering iron, which can happen. PM me and maybe i can work out something with you to get you one. I can probably send you a raw one for $20 shipped. Decked out with xt60 connectors and heat shrink etc will probably be around $30 if you’re interested.
The ERPM limit is a real thing. Also, you may want to limit your actual RPM to something equivilent to 30mph or you’re going to see some voltage sag that could potentially cause riding disruptions when you try to top it out and you’re battery is below 20%. This MAY not be an issue with those zippy lipos, they’re pretty solid packs and tons of people use them, but it is an issue with li-ion cells. I’m still working on a way around that one that doesn’t involve custom volt meters and artificial limitations in the VESC settings or stupidly expensive cells. It’s probably a wild goose chase but worth exploring.
wear a fucking helmet. You’re building a seriously powerful board. It may not have the watt hours and range that some others do, but its defintily going to have that ballsy 12S punch. You’ll probably end up flying through a bush or something eventually so gear up.
YES YES YES to the solder station. 30 watt Radio Shack/Walmart/generic soldering irons will work, but when you get a taste of that rework station you’ll wish you had that $20 back from that cheap iron.
Also, don’t skimp on the solder. I have found that 50/50 tin/lead flux cored solder is the best for wiring. Its messy for SMD shit, but for wiring its great. It tins the leads very well and creates a very strong weld and is super easy to work with. That lead free shit at walmart/autozone/radioshack is bullshit. Get some 50/50 from Amazon, if you have prime you can usually get it the next day. Use in a very well ventilated aera and try not to breath it in. Obviously.
If you decide to paint your deck, go with a Valspar paint product. The Project Perfect spray paint comes in a variety of colors and is an absolute dream to work with. Rustoleum, Krylon, and other known spray can brands don’t seem to hold a candle to the Valspar spray stuff. The only other spray paint i’ve found that works well on everything from fiberglass boxes to alumium mounts is Duplicolor, which is hard to find. If you prefer foam-brushing it, Lowes will sell you $4 samples of Valspar water based house paint in literally any color you can imagine. Its excellent for boards. They probably won’t tell you this, but i swear i’ve seen so many Valspar cans in the backgrounds of Bustin’s instagram that i went out and tried it. I think that’s what they’re using. It coats well, lightly sands smooth, and cleans up trivially easy. I have a few foam brushes i’ve been using for months because the paint just comes right out of them with water. For a clear poly coat, go with Minwax Spar Urethane, water based. They have a glass clear variety that works very well and also cleans up super easy with just water.
Hot glue is a legitimate cable management solution. You can use it to tack down your receiver wires and stuff to keep things tidy in the box. And don’t forget the tiny zip ties! They work well to keep things from turning into a pile of spaghetti.
And yes, 15/36 on 83mm wheels at 190kv is a rocket on 12S. You’ll be looking at top speeds of around 33 ish mph when actually on the board and riding. Of course if you’re completely insane like me and my customers, you’ll want to go with a 15/33 on 83mm at 190kv wheels and shit your pants with top ends approaching 37-38mph on flats.
WATCH OUT FOR THE VTECH. If you’re running unsensored motors you’re going to have a noticable boost in “power” when approaching the top end. It will literally jerk forward a little as it kicks in and hits that efficiency sweet spot. We got used to it, we even laugh about it and look forward to it. HELMET.
I would like to mention that the V-TECH effect is totally gone on my test board when using sensored motors on VESC-Xs at 12S. Not sure where it went, but topping my board out has become less interesting. By that i mean safer. Also, i don’t know quite how it happened, but somewhere along the way we got bored with ONLY doing 35mph. Maybe I’ve been doing this too long. I was being followed by a cop yesterday in my neighborhood and i realized i was breaking the speed limit on one of the main roads that connects several hoods in my area. He looked puzled, but kept going after i turned onto my street.
I used to be terrified of that board. Maybe i need a tolerance break.
