RE: New member - Deciding what to build [TANKS]

["Kevin" <ka1201-at-houston.rr.com>]

I’m in the learning/perusing/thinking/hypothesizing/fantasizing faze myself so I’m sure there is a lot to learn for me too.  Mr. Tyng has the rep around here with the top performing tank at the moment but his setup is simply tried and true EV-Warriors.  If you want to tempt fate I’ve not yet been sure on what to buy myself.  I’m thinking about a wacked out approach of modifying automotive starter motors but I think that is a long shot.  If I can’t successfully make that perform I’m still perplexed on what to buy.  

 

EV-W’s are rated at around 900 watts I think, however, every time I see someone ask if a motor is good around the 800 to 1000 watt range they are told that it’s overkill (recently by Frank Pittelli who’s a veteran and one of the founders of this sport).  If we use Mr. Tyng’s Cromwell as the benchmark for future tanks then I’d think that an 800 watt motor would fall short but I’m not sure exactly how the watts rating stacks up to actual torque and rpm number for the motor.  

 

I’ve been told that you should start off with a 12 volt system to get your feet wet if the electronics are magical to you and then maybe move to a 24 volt system later.  I think this is good advice and I think I’d add to it that 24v or 36v systems may not even be needed except for in special cases.  If you look at the charts on Joe Sommer’s webpage (anvilus.com) you’ll notices that of the 42 tanks currently listed 19 of them run on 12v and only 9 run on ~24v with the rest not reporting a voltage.

 

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From: tanks-admin-at-rctankcombat.com [mailto:tanks-admin-at-rctankcombat.com] On Behalf Of Rob
Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 2:23 PM
To: tanks-at-rctankcombat.com
Subject: Re: New member - Deciding what to build [TANKS]

 

Kevin,

 

Thanks for the advice. As I  am learning more about the hobby, I am listening to everybody. 

 

Yes - Money is a limiting factor - I can't break the bank and want to be very cost minded. Any recommendations on motors and speed controllers?     I would like to have proportional control of the tank.

 

Rob

----- Original Message -----

From: Kevin

To: tanks-at-rctankcombat.com

Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 8:58 AM

Subject: RE: New member - Deciding what to build [TANKS]

 

I could swear I’ve see these motors on ebay for much cheaper.  I’m thinking they started at around $10 and when some of the auctions finished they where at $25.  $100 a motor is too much I think.  This hobby is kinda a DIY thing.  There aren’t a lot of kits and instructions that say this will work with this and has been tested.  That being the case I’d rather not test and possibly kill a motor I paid $100 for.  You might consider that unless money is no object for you.

 

The other thing is that to get 36v into these motors to get them to perform as rated you’ll need lots of batteries.  It’s possible you could under-volt them and they’ll still work but they’ll always run like they are on a low battery and lug around.  Steve notice that when he ran his EV-W at 24v instead of 12v he actually seemed to get more run time and I think he attributed this to the fact that the motor was at stall less often because of the added torque to get it going.  I imagine that the 36v motor powered by 24v even will lug and lack for torque and so will be at stall state too long at each start and can hurt your batteries and associated systems.  If you do plan on stacking 36v of batteries in your tank then ignore all of this and place your worries on ESCs (if you plan to do proportional control) that can handle the voltage and what obscene dollar amount they are going to cost.

 

 

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From: tanks-admin-at-rctankcombat.com [mailto:tanks-admin-at-rctankcombat.com] On Behalf Of Rob
Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2006 8:29 PM
To: tanks-at-rctankcombat.com
Subject: New member - Deciding what to build [TANKS]

 

Greetings,

 

I am new to the RC Tank Hobby, but not new to playing paintball.  I am trying to decide on what to build (probably a Tiger 1.)  I did have a question about motors. I noticed that the EV Warrior is very popular but seems to be discontinued.  In searching the web I found a cool site with Electric scooter parts. I need a recommendation about a motor I found.  They have various motors at different prices. 

 

Correct me if I am wrong, this motor rates at .800 Milli-Tyng's  

 

http://www.electricscooterparts.com

 

Rad2Go® 36 Volt 800 Watt permanent-magnet electric scooter motor. 13 tooth sprocket for #25 chain. 15" length power leads. Powerful four(4) brush motor design. 100% ball bearing construction. Reversible. Dimensions: 4-1/8" W x 5-1/2" L, not including shaft. 4-1/8" W x 6-1/8" L including shaft. Weight 9.6 lbs. These are genuine Rad2Go OEM motors for the 22mph model E36 Great White electric scooter.  They sell for about $100.00 each
item # MOT-36800

 

36V 800W
for chain drive scooters

 

 

Any thoughts?

 

Thanks -  Happy Tanking

 

Rob Snyder

Northern Virginia