Castle 60A ESC BEC question...

[Franny]

Hi There,

I have several of your ECSs and they have all been great. Just this past weekend, I had a bad crash of my recently E-Converted vintage Falcon 56 on it's third flight due to radio cut-out and the airplane suffered a Lipo fire. I was running one of your Berg 4 channel receivers, the Phoenix-60 ECS, an E-Flight Power 46 Outrunner and a 4S 40000mAh Lipo from MaxAmps. I flew several models that day and only had radio problems with this one. The receiver seemed to escape the fire with just a snapped antenna but the ECS got a bit cooked. The plastic sheath was about 50%-60% melted away from the heat, but, for the most part, I think it is repairable.
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Do you think it is possible that the BEC was overloaded from four cells and went through a thermal cut-off cycle causing the intermittent radio loss? This airplane only has three Hitech 225BB servos and I bet only two, (elevator and aileron) were really being used during the flight. I know that the current delivery of the BEC is diminished as the input voltage increases. I’m not sure what a servo even draws under load, what? .5A maybe? I know each are different. I would really like to determine the actual cause of the radio loss so I don’t run into this in the future.
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Also, I noticed that you have a new external BEC available late March that will supply 10A @ 6V with up to 25V input… Is this a switching type or linear?
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Finally, as I mentioned, my ESC got a bit melted in the fire… Would it still fall under your repair guidelines at a cost of $50? I believe the components are undamaged, just the heat-shrink covering is a bit melted. I’ve included a couple photos…
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Thanks!!
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Franny

[F3AFlyer7]

Franny,

The BEC that is built into the Phoenix 60 is only rated for a 3s li-po. If you run more than that, you are severely risking the BEC's ability to function. It may work for a while but thats not to say forever.

If you were running an external BEC with the internal BEC disabled (removing the red wire from the connector) then that's a different story.

Hope this helps!

[Franny]

Thanks Scott. That has been my determination as well and my official reason for the crash. I failed to re-read the specs upon upgrading to a four cell battery. I have sent the ESC in to Castle for replacement, but I believe the stock is low... I am still waiting for it to be shipped...

Thanks,

Frances

[Scott Pavlock]

Not a problem. Next time just make sure you disable the onboard BEC and get an external one. Our BEC should be out in the near future and it allows you up to 6s lipo at an adjustable rate from 4.8v to 9V.

[Franny]

I understand it is 7A? Do you have an ETA on that? It is the one I am waiting for... Meanwhile, I'll be using an additional onboard flight pack to power the RX. Also, any idea when you will be shipping back ordered 60A ESCs?

Thanks,

Franny

[Scott Pavlock]

It's 7A true continuous and up to 10A burst. It should be ready within the next couple weeks, testing has been going very well. Not sure about your ESC. They're not in stock at the moment so it depends on when production has it scheduled. Warranty, repair, and replacements take precedence over all sales so I assure it will be shipped out as soon as we have them.