SS-1 Motor Break In ?

[KoonTEK]

Just got my first SS-1 motor the other day. Was wondering if I need to break it in? If so how? Thanks guys!

[AndyKunz]

Run in water on 4-6 cells for a few minutes, until you see the water start to change from the brushes wearing.

Dry it out with WD-40, then lube it with appropriate on the bushings.

A little Brasso will help open up the bushing to let it run faster, too.

Andy

[Terrance Nissen]

I have always been meaning to ask this question. When you say run under water are you saying put the entire motor, wires and all under water or just enough to get the coms wet. Every time I hear this it sound as if it's submersing the entire motor but I figured this would short everything out. Can someone please fill me in on this? Thanks

[AndyKunz]

You can put the whole motor in, that's not a problem. It will still run just fine. The amount of electrical power loss due to being in water is extremely minimal. The water just helps the abrasive action while keeping everything cooled off.

I usually only dip the motor in a little bit, using the exposed part to hold on.

Andy

[Steven Vaccaro]

It makes quite a mess. I like to use a large bucket and dip the whole motor.

[Jeff Wohlt]

I hold the can and only dip the comm in the water...not a big mess if you only use a 6 cell pack but 4 would be even better.

It can take some time...just dip a few minutes and then check the brushes to see if the contour to the comm. If not then put it back in for a few more.

Some also run them in by just running on the bench with no load and 4 cells. This can take a couple hours.

Andy is right about brasso in the bushing at the rear. This helps a lot. Finger pack it in and then run it a bit...pack some more in and run it. Flitz also works very well if you have that. It is a metal polish...one of the very best out there.

I would do this after the water dip and before you spray the motor out then you only clean the motor out once.

[Alan]

But I never have broken in a 700 style with water....I always use old batts and a cooling fan.
I start with running the motor on 6 cell(intended use 12 cells)
Runs it 2-3-4 hrs doing so...then step up to 8 cells then work up to 12 cells (no load on the can) It took about 6-8 hrs to break in my SS-1.
All the time I keep checking for brush break in by looking at the comm and making a mental not how wide the brush contact area is on the comm. When the contact area starts to widen I start using more cells.

Yes it's alot of work (time consuming) but all my 700s have lasted and keep working.

Oh yeah I also keep lubing the bushing while breaking in.

Alan

Whatever method you decide to use is alot better than putting a brand new motor in without breaking in. Hate to see someone fry a new can.

[Kmot]

:D
http://www.fototime.com/1AFBC1CDCF612B6/standard.jpg

[KoonTEK]

Just curious whats brasso?

[AndyKunz]

Brass polish. You can find it in the housewares dept of your LGS (Local Grocery Store). Ladies use it to polish pans and such.

Andy

[Drobie]

I used to break in 700 motors with the water dip but will never do it again.

I had a couple of 700's fail in recent months and all of them were water dipped. Since I started taking my time and breaking in slowly, I haven't had another one fail.

BTW, when I did dip, I blew them out with an air compressor and then used motor cleaner and finally re-lubed the bearings. It wasn't my technique.

Now I use a 4 cell pack and cycle the motor 5-10 times with it.

Regardless of whether one technique is better than another, water dipping is quick and easy, but a slow break-in feels better. It feels like motor TLC.

[Paul]

Hey Guys,

Well, I'm really not sure on the low current motors (700 style) that it matters. I used to water dip, also the slow break in method both work to increase the brush contact area.

OK HOLD ON, now I pull them out of the box and hammer them under load in a boat. LOL, it works for me and on the last three motors I bought this year I've had no problems or "lack of speed".:D

Paul.

[Eagle]

It sais on the FDM site that they come broken in if im correct...

[Kmot]

I ran mine in that tub of water for an hour. Hardly made a difference. Maybe I should put a spoonful of Ajax in there! lol...

I had read that water dipping will seat brushes in 5 minutes. Must be those special water soluble brushes I can't seem to find around here, heh....... :rolleyes:

[Andrewg]

Eagle - maubuchi also says that

It would be more accurate to say this is a matter of degree.

Dyno tests show by treating similar motors the way people are suggesting you improve brush contact with the comm and reduce bushing friction = more power and more rpm

BTW I NEVER immerse the bearing.

[Eagle]

Cool. Ho can you not imerse the bearing, you have to get atleast one wet to get the com wet, unless you run a stream over the comm....

[sullivanmar]

hey guys i just thought of this as i was reading the post. What about if someone made a post about boat vocabulary? I mean some of these words i know what they are but what about newbeis? It must be like chinese to them. I think it would help a lot and wouldn't be that hard either. Just a suggestion:D

[nitroboat51]

We use to have 250 hp DC motors on some gantry cranes.They where 240 volts DC ,sometimes we would wrap the Gen. com's with large emery cloth and spin them by hand until the Gen brush's where seated but not the motor brush's,we would just change them when they got short and let them run. I could just see my old boss's face if I would of suggested submerging them in water. :yeah:

[Steven Vaccaro]

Cool. Ho can you not imerse the bearing, you have to get atleast one wet to get the com wet, unless you run a stream over the comm....
The brush end goes in the water. The brush end has a bushing not a bearing.

[Kmot]

And, many motors just have bronze bushings on both ends.

[Catman]

This is how i ran my engine in



i followed Andrewg's method and used three, then four cells, it worked mint and the engine is going sweet, ive seen it in the past where it doesn't widen the contact area of the brushes on the comm, but with mine it widened it heaps

i did mine in a cup and it didnt make a mess at all

[dewd]

you guys buy 3-4 extra cells just to break in the motors?

[Pete B.]

just break down an old pack, or one that has a bad cell.

[Old Sloppy]

Originally posted by dewd
you guys buy 3-4 extra cells just to break in the motors?


Some of these guys ( like me) have been involved in R/C for a long time, and have older battery packs to be used as "organ donors".



I just ordered 33 extra cells this morning.:cool:

[Drew]

I put toghether 2 AA batteries soldered with a paperclip on each and and aligator clips on the other(didnt have a old pack to use) gives a nice low voltage for breaking and then run submerged. It sounds a little cheesy but what do you expect from a neewbie,but the results are good. I can hear you guys laughing from here...

[Steven Vaccaro]

Originally posted by Drew
I put toghether 2 AA batteries soldered with a paperclip on each and and aligator clips on the other(didnt have a old pack to use) gives a nice low voltage for breaking and then run submerged. It sounds a little cheesy but what do you expect from a neewbie,but the results are good. I can hear you guys laughing from here...

No laughing here! If it works, go for it.

I use 6 cells and it takes a while. I'd be interested in how long it takes on 2 aa batteries. Does it turn the motor over easy or does the motor need you to help it spin at the start?

[Drew]

No it runs the motor really easy, I think 3 volts it what you have with new AA's ,the tricky part is soldering the paper clip on . lol. Cuts down on the splashing too. After 4-6 mins,the water starts to discolor.

[Andrewg]

My best results to date have been achieved this way

1 - metal polish in the bushes at each end of the NeoX/SC or the bush in a BB model. Attach an electric drill and run it ten minutes at high speed (maxes out around 1300rpm), repeatedly topping up the polish in the bushes.

2 - dip the motor in water - the whole thing; if it is the BB models just the bushed/brushes end. Run it for another 10 minutes.

3 Clean the bushes with water and methylated spirits or similar light alcohol.

4.Lube with light machine oil or better still a teflon bike chain oil.

Dont use any motor cleaners or other solvents in the motors. I dry with towel and put them in the un or warm place overnight like on top of a hot water service

My old 700 is still strong after 4 years.

The last motor I did using this method runs faster than an SS1 that hadnt been run in.

[Darin Jordan]

OK Guys... This has been great... I would have NEVER thought of dipping the motor in water to break in the brushes, but apparently it's done... Who would have known??? :D

Someone mentioned using a drill press instead of powering the motor... Will this truely work? Is it necessary to have current running through the brushes, or does the motor just need to be spinning?

It the drill press will work, then I'm all set... Otherwise, I'd better get into my old packs and start assembling some 4-cell setups... Either that, or get into my power supplies, which I made from some ATX computer power supplies, and tap that 5-V rail... :D

Thanks,

[AndyKunz]

The drill will work better, and brasso is better than water on wearing things in. Most of us are too lazy for that.

Andy

[gilbequick]

Originally posted by Darin Jordan
Either that, or get into my power supplies, which I made from some ATX computer power supplies, and tap that 5-V rail... :D
Thanks,

Ya know I tried that and every time I'd hook put the power to the motor my supply would shut off and I had to restart it. But that was with the power supply already on. Maybe if the supply was off and everything was hooked up and then turn on the supply it would have stayed...crap I don't know, but it all seemed like a good idea:cool:

[Darin Jordan]

Originally posted by gilbequick
Ya know I tried that and every time I'd hook put the power to the motor my supply would shut off and I had to restart it. But that was with the power supply already on.

My supplies needed to be "fooled" into thinking they were hooked to a hard-drive or other device... something to load the 5V rail... I did this by placing load resistors across the 5V and 3.3V rails to cause them to see approximately 1-1.5A of current... With this done, the 12V rail stays on and I've used them all season long with my AstroFlight 110D and 112D chargers for up to 12-Cells to date... I'm sure they'd do much more...

There is something in the ATX supplies that makes them shut off if they don't "see" a load immediately...

Maybe that's what's going on with yours??