How to break in a brushed motor

[Monkey Wrench]

For $60 you can get an Adjustable DC Power Supply from Amazon. Thats the one I have. Buy some allagator clips and run the motor on 3v for about 20-30 minutes while submerged.

If you have an old computer power supply laying around it can cheaply and easily be converted to be a benchtop power supply that has 12v, 5v, and 3.3v outputs. You can use the 3.3v output on that to likewise run the brushed motor. I have a youtube video I can link you on how to do the conversion if you're interested.

There's enough wire length on the motor to my Mini-B that allows the motor to reach a small bucket I can fill with AF without having to take the ESC out. Just need to put the chassis on a stand, but it'll work. I figure i can us the TX, trim the throttle up a bit (low RPM) and run it for awhile. That being said, I would like to see that video as between my son and I, we have several old PC power supplies to choose from and that'd help on future applications.

And @Sebkauff ,a thousand apologies for hijacking your thread! I'd never heard of this, so had a number of questions. Hope you don't mind!

 

[Greywolf74]

There's enough wire length on the motor to my Mini-B that allows the motor to reach a small bucket I can fill with AF without having to take the ESC out. Just need to put the chassis on a stand, but it'll work. I figure i can us the TX, trim the throttle up a bit (low RPM) and run it for awhile. That being said, I would like to see that video as between my son and I, we have several old PC power supplies to choose from and that'd help on future applications.

And @Sebkauff ,a thousand apologies for hijacking your thread! I'd never heard of this, so had a number of questions. Hope you don't mind!

Man, I need to redo that video. I talk too much lol. I make everything seem harder than it is lol.

 

[Sebkauff]

And @Sebkauff ,a thousand apologies for hijacking your thread! I'd never heard of this, so had a number of questions. Hope you don't mind!

Haha no problem I'm learning along with you

 

[Sebkauff]

OK so I water broke in a new motor at low voltage in regular tap water for a full 2s pack and dried it out completely after. I changed the water twice as it got pretty cloudy. I speed tested the original non broken in motor and it got a top speed of 21.8 mph. And then I recharged the battery and got..... 22.6 mph so 0.8 mph faster. I feel like it should've been a lot bigger of a difference. Did I do something wrong or is that normal?

 

[tudordewolf]

OK so I water broke in a new motor at low voltage in regular tap water for a full 2s pack and dried it out completely after. I changed the water twice as it got pretty cloudy. I speed tested the original non broken in motor and it got a top speed of 21.8 mph. And then I recharged the battery and got..... 22.6 mph so 0.8 mph faster. I feel like it should've been a lot bigger of a difference. Did I do something wrong or is that normal?

That's enough, and it implies that the desired outcome - reduced resistance in the brushes - has been achieved. Part of the performance gain is from reduced losses in the brushes. This means the motor will run more efficiently, delivering more performance for the same amount of charge, and also have slightly more torque as current will flow more freely. Are you able to compare your acceleration before and after? There's more to performance than peak RPM.

 

[Gman 88]

I recently got into spec slash racing (recently as in yesterday lol) and I noticed that my truck was a heckuva lot slower on the straight compared to nearly every other car. Everyone I talked to said that they broke in there motor either water break in or other. I didn't break mine in at all, just got it out and blasted it. So I'm assuming that is the reason mine is so slow. They did an inspection before the main so I know my gearing and battery is the same as everyone else's. So my question is, do any of you have tips or tricks on how to break in a new motor to get the most speed out of it? And any other tricks on getting more speed out of a brushed motor? Thanks in advance.

Check out Mudboss/slash setup on YouTube, shows you how to make your car faster, bearing and transmission setup. That’s the only way you will be competitive.

 

[DavidB1126]

OK so I water broke in a new motor at low voltage in regular tap water for a full 2s pack and dried it out completely after. I changed the water twice as it got pretty cloudy.

After you dry it out. Or technically any time the bearings get dry, use some 3 in 1 bearing oil or some sort of oil / lube for the bearings.

Check out Mudboss/slash setup on YouTube, shows you how to make your car faster, bearing and transmission setup. That’s the only way you will be competitive.

Could also search up spec slash racing. With the spec slash class you need to stick with the stock xl5 / titan 12. Mark Santa Maria (one of my favorite RC YouTubers) did a spec slash racing series and does alot of videos about slashes so I would check him out.

 

[Sebkauff]

That's enough, and it implies that the desired outcome - reduced resistance in the brushes - has been achieved. Part of the performance gain is from reduced losses in the brushes. This means the motor will run more efficiently, delivering more performance for the same amount of charge, and also have slightly more torque as current will flow more freely. Are you able to compare your acceleration before and after? There's more to performance than peak RPM.

Hmmm ok, it seems like a lot of people get 23-25 out of them just stock. It did seem like it accelerated faster. But I still feel like I'm going to get smoked on the straight. I'm gong to get some electronic cleaner spray and see if that helps.

Check out Mudboss/slash setup on YouTube, shows you how to make your car faster, bearing and transmission setup. That’s the only way you will be competitive.

OK do you recommend any videos or channels?

After you dry it out. Or technically any time the bearings get dry, use some 3 in 1 bearing oil or some sort of oil / lube for the bearings.

Could also search up spec slash racing. With the spec slash class you need to stick with the stock xl5 / titan 12. Mark Santa Maria (one of my favorite RC YouTubers) did a spec slash racing series and does alot of videos about slashes so I would check him out.

I used some gun oil but I think it is too thin so I'll look for something else. Yeah thats what I'm doing it for. I watch him a lot too, I actually based my results off of his, he got around 3mph faster in a 4tec with a water broken in motor

 

[DavidB1126]

I used some gun oil but I think it is too thin so I'll look for something else. Yeah thats what I'm doing it for. I watch him a lot too, I actually based my results off of his, he got around 3mph faster in a 4tec with a water broken in motor

The 4tec is probably a little lighter then a slash 2wd. I wonder if you can go up on the pinion and not interfere with the motor heat and the rules of the class?

 

[Greywolf74]

OK so I water broke in a new motor at low voltage in regular tap water for a full 2s pack and dried it out completely after. I changed the water twice as it got pretty cloudy. I speed tested the original non broken in motor and it got a top speed of 21.8 mph. And then I recharged the battery and got..... 22.6 mph so 0.8 mph faster. I feel like it should've been a lot bigger of a difference. Did I do something wrong or is that normal?

A long time ago someone told me over on RCTech (IIRC) to run the motor at 3V for 20-30 minutes. I'm not sure what voltage you ran yours at or how long but that was a guideline I was given. For bearing lube I like Acer SIN lube.

 

[DavidB1126]

motor heat

Thats one thing too. Motor Heat. Motor heat can affect speed and performance I highly doubt that you would be able to add a motor fan or a esc fan. Each track is different with spec slash racing rules.
I am going through some spec slash racing rules from different places. With this one I found: https://www.indyhobbies.com/Slash_SPEC_CLASS_RULES.pdf You can use any bearings. I'm not sure if you want to use an expensive ceramic bearing kit to make the drive terrain more free. I'm just thinking of more ways of making the car faster.

 

[Sebkauff]

The 4tec is probably a little lighter then a slash 2wd. I wonder if you can go up on the pinion and not interfere with the motor heat and the rules of the class?
I am going through some spec slash racing rules from different places. With this one I found: https://www.indyhobbies.com/Slash_SPEC_CLASS_RULES.pdf You can use any bearings. I'm not sure if you want to use an expensive ceramic bearing kit to make the drive terrain more free. I'm just thinking of more ways of making the car faster.

Yeah but the difference was 3mph which should still carry over regardless of kit. my track doesn't allow pinion changes. I have fast eddy bearings in it (which I just got out and cleaned) but they don't allow ceramic bearings at my track so they're just the basic ones. I think one problem might be my battery, it's a cheap 80c one and I heard some of the fast guys are using a little more expensive 120c ones. I have some 100c shortys that I'm going to try out in it.

A long time ago someone told me over on RCTech (IIRC) to run the motor at 3V for 20-30 minutes. I'm not sure what voltage you ran yours at or how long but that was a guideline I was given. For bearing lube I like Acer SIN lube.

I did mine somewhere around 2 or 3V (I was just using the trim on the radio so i'm guessing based on speed of the motor) and I did it for about 45 minutes.

 

[Sebkauff]

I just tested the original motor after thoroughly cleaning it out with electronics cleaner and oiling the bushings and I got 22.1mph. So I guess water breaking in a motor doesn't do too much to the top speed, or I did something wrong. The new motor did seem to have more acceleration though so I'm going to use it to race with

 

[Monkey Wrench]

I have to admit, perhaps I did something wrong as well, buy I did basically the same as @Sebkauff except I used anti-freeze. I can't say what voltage I ran it at since I'm not sure how to measure that from the ESC, but I set the trim up on my RX to run the motor at a low RPM. Went through a 2S battery, used my compressor to blow it all out, oiled the bearings and the motor doesn't run like it did. I think, possibly, to @bill_delong pointing out, since I had already run the motor, perhaps now trying to break it in may have knocked part of the brushes loose.

Thankfully, these little stock motors are fairly inexpensive, so I picked one up while I see what I can do with the original one.

 

[tntpoof]

you never leave it hooked up to esc you make a alligator leads on a D battery unless you have a motor dyno .soldering is required.

 

[Monkey Wrench]

you never leave it hooked up to esc you make a alligator leads on a D battery unless you have a motor dyno .soldering is required.

I'm not going to unsolder a motor to water break it when I've seen videos, even here, showing the process while attached to an ESC.

Doesn't make sense anyway. What's it matter if it's connected to an ESC or not? Is the secret the amount of voltage delivered to the motor? If so, why are most videos I have seen not directing you to completely disconnect the motor from the ESC and using a D battery?

Sorry, nothing personal, but it gets a little frustrating when this kind of information is shared AFTER I've already done it.

 

[Sebkauff]

I have to admit, perhaps I did something wrong as well, buy I did basically the same as @Sebkauff except I used anti-freeze. I can't say what voltage I ran it at since I'm not sure how to measure that from the ESC, but I set the trim up on my RX to run the motor at a low RPM. Went through a 2S battery, used my compressor to blow it all out, oiled the bearings and the motor doesn't run like it did. I think, possibly, to @bill_delong pointing out, since I had already run the motor, perhaps now trying to break it in may have knocked part of the brushes loose.

Thankfully, these little stock motors are fairly inexpensive, so I picked one up while I see what I can do with the original one.

Maybe try using some electronics cleaner to clean it out. Maybe there’s some residue in it. I did the same technique as you with the transmitter, so I think it’s just as you said. Trying to do it after the motor has been ran.

 

[tudordewolf]

I'm not going to unsolder a motor to water break it when I've seen videos, even here, showing the process while attached to an ESC.

Doesn't make sense anyway. What's it matter if it's connected to an ESC or not? Is the secret the amount of voltage delivered to the motor? If so, why are most videos I have seen not directing you to completely disconnect the motor from the ESC and using a D battery?

Sorry, nothing personal, but it gets a little frustrating when this kind of information is shared AFTER I've already done it.

I think the ESC/throttle trim solution is just fine, running down alkaline batteries is just the old-school way of doing it so some people swear by it whether it's accurate advice or not. It probably originated with mechanical ESC's without a voltage cutoff, so it was safer to just kill some disposable batteries than to leave your expensive rechargeables connected.

 

[Greywolf74]

I have to admit, perhaps I did something wrong as well, buy I did basically the same as @Sebkauff except I used anti-freeze. I can't say what voltage I ran it at since I'm not sure how to measure that from the ESC, but I set the trim up on my RX to run the motor at a low RPM. Went through a 2S battery, used my compressor to blow it all out, oiled the bearings

If you ever want to check the voltage to a brushed motor all you have to do is use a multimeter set to DCV on the solder tabs/joints where the motor connects to the esc wires. That being said its not that important what the actual voltage is as long as its low rpms.

and the motor doesn't run like it did. I think, possibly, to @bill_delong pointing out, since I had already run the motor, perhaps now trying to break it in may have knocked part of the brushes loose.

Even if you didnt chip or in some way damage the brushes, once youve run the motor the brushes are already going to be broken in so doing the break in after the fact isnt going to do much, if anything. I believe the whole point of doing the break-in is just so the brushes get fully seated to the commutator without damaging them. Bill can correct me if I'm mistaken here btu I dont believe I am.

I'm not going to unsolder a motor to water break it when I've seen videos, even here, showing the process while attached to an ESC.

I've never had a need to do a brushed motor break in using the ESC but I can't imagine its going to hurt it at low voltage/rpms. It doesn't hurt the motor and it doesn't hurt the DC power supply so I dont see why it would hurt an ESC. Assuming you're keeping the ESC itself out of the water

 

[JCsRCcar]

I had my 12-year old son participate and make a motor break in table using a DC motor speed controller with potentiometer we had in the parts bin and 12 volt power supply. I lent him a shunt to track the amperage and we used a volt meter to set the voltage at 3 volts. It worked out great! We broke in a new Holms Hobbies 12 turn 5-slot motor for the recently built Traxxas Big foot we put together from mostly spare Traxxas 2WD parts and some extra help from Jenny’s and Amain. Thank you Greywolf74 for sharing that video which was the inspiration for this. We used whatever parts we had in the house and spent no money. I observed the brushes before and after we did this and it really does work. Those brushes were perfectly coped to that comm after 20 minutes running under water and that water was full of carbon.