Vendetta Aftermarket ESC for Vendetta, confused about battery connector types.

[DavefromCA]

I'm sure this has been answered but the Google SEO is letting me down.

I am looking to upgrade my Vendetta's ESC, however, I noticed the Hobbywing Quicrun 10bl120 has a XT60 connector type and I have EC5 batteries. The manufacturers don't seem to offer up this info easily. Are the battery connectors something most people just get adaptors for? Or solder? I'd prefer to stick with the EC5 connector.

 

[Jerold]

If you can, I recommend soldering the right connector on there. The adapters work... OK.... most of the time. But the do come unplugged. It's annoying.

You can swap your ESC to EC5/IC5 or swap your battery to XT60. Either way is good. I use XT60 for most of my 1/10 and smaller models, EC5 is a solid choice as well. Just comes down to personal preference.

I would just swap the ESC connector. Yes, it' "voids" the warranty, but you only have one ESC to do and I find soldering batteries nerve racking.

There are a bunch of YT videos on how to solder and assemble EC5 connectors. Super easy, and you can't short your ESC leads because there is no power to them.
Watch the the metal tools too.

 

[DavefromCA]

Thank you for this, I have never soldered nor do I have any equipment.

 

[Tex Koder]

Thank you for this, I have never soldered nor do I have any equipment.

Usually your local hobby shop will offer such services ,for a fee.

Or if you can find an experience RC-er near you who may be willing to help you out ,for a beer or two..

 

[Jerold]

Thank you for this, I have never soldered nor do I have any equipment.

If you were closer I would say come by and I can do it for you, but SB to SJ is a bit of a trek. You might ask your local hobby shop, they can typically do it for a nominal fee. Or just just the adapter and know it will come apart once in a while, if you run it hard.

If you want to learn to solder, there are plenty of resources here and on the web. Just don't buy the cheap $8 soldering iron from Amazon.

Buy something with at least 60W. Which means real American, Japanese or German 60W of heat delivered to the tip. Avoid stuff made in China that "claims" 60W (or whatever). Which translated means it draws 60W from the wall and delivers 30W at the tip.

The ability to adjust the temp and use different tips is very useful. You can buy a low end Weller Solder Station at HomeDepot. I use a Hakko FX888D, which I think was like $60 when I bought it a long time ago and more affordable then.

Something else to consider, it you don't want to breath the fumes. Make sure you have ventilation, I use a small fan I got from Harbor Freight to blow the fumes away.

Edit: I looked up the soldering iron docs and they are all rated as "power consumed". None of them, from what I can see, tell you how much power is delivered to the tip. That would be a interesting test.