Max8 went up in smoke. Get another or switch it up?

[Michael24]

Perhaps it's my fault for buying an RTR hobbywing ESC from aliexpress. Perhaps it's just bum luck. It was running in my mt410, so its not like it was working very hard.

Would you be concerned with buying another from aliexpress? Would you get another max8 but from a "reputable" seller? Would you switch it up and try something else?

Im usually a "jump right back up on the horse when I fall" kind if person. But I've got a limited budget and had very recently purchased this max8, so I'm a bit sour.

i've had max 8 do that too me but i didn't have cap pack's insatlled for 6s. If that help's.

 

[SrC]

Get a Zerun XR8 Plus Sensored combo 1950kv. Max 8 is being discontinued for the new Max 8 G2, Sensored setup. Last I heard. Max 8 wasn't all that. A Max 6 could work. On 6s with your current motor. I thought this thread was almost dead.

 

[slick2500]

Do the Aliexpress Max8 escs come with the cap pack?

 

[Hector_Fisher]

Do the Aliexpress Max8 escs come with the cap pack?

Just the ones soldered to the PCB as per the pictures i showed previously, nothing in line with the battery cables.

 

[slick2500]

Just the ones soldered to the PCB as per the pictures i showed previously, nothing in line with the battery cables.

$10 says that is why it died. Sorry someone else posted a picture of a burned Max8 that they didn't attach the cap pack to and it reminded me of yet another thread where Hobbywing denied their warranty claim because they didn't attach the cap pack and ran it on 6s. Apparently Hobbywing says the cap pack is necessary to run 6s.

 

[Hector_Fisher]

$10 says that is why it died. Sorry someone else posted a picture of a burned Max8 that they didn't attach the cap pack to and it reminded me of yet another thread where Hobbywing denied their warranty claim because they didn't attach the cap pack and ran it on 6s. Apparently Hobbywing says the cap pack is necessary to run 6s.

Could be.

Maybe this is a lessons learned for me, but there still isn't anything in my circumstances or driving style that would throw red flags for me to feel these circumstances apply. Top speed I drive my RCs is 30 to 40mph and in short spurts.

Looking back, I'd probably just install a cap pack for running 6s in the future -- as added insurance. Didn't see anything in the literature about cap packs for the MMX I just replaced the max8 with.

 

[Radiocontrolsoul]

I don’t run cap packs with any of my 4 HW esc’s

 

[slick2500]

I don’t run cap packs with any of my 4 HW esc’s

Max8? As far as I know this only applies to the Max8 esc.

 

[Radiocontrolsoul]

Max8? As far as I know this only applies to the Max8 esc

A couple of them are max 8 yes

 

[SrC]

$10 says that is why it died. Sorry someone else posted a picture of a burned Max8 that they didn't attach the cap pack to and it reminded me of yet another thread where Hobbywing denied their warranty claim because they didn't attach the cap pack and ran it on 6s. Apparently Hobbywing says the cap pack is necessary to run 6s.

+1.
And I believe the Cap pack is included, and must be usedfor 6s running,
I would switch to the Max 6. Be done with it. Fitting takes some creativity.

 

[slick2500]

+1.
And I believe the Cap pack is included, and must be usedfor 6s running,
I would switch to the Max 6. Be done with it. Fitting takes some creativity.

He went MMX.

 

[SrC]

I don’t run cap packs with any of my 4 HW esc’s

Which ones?
Not all of them require a Cap pack.

Also, if you buy HW and live in the States, you need to buy from a domestic authorized HW dealer or HWDirect. Buying from AliExpress or similar, voids the 90 day warranty last I heard..

 

[Radiocontrolsoul]

Which ones?
Not all of them require a Cap pack.

Also, if you buy HW and live in the States, you need to buy from a domestic authorized HW dealer or HWDirect. Buying from AliExpress or similar, voids the 90 day warranty last I heard..

Max8. They have the cap packs on the pcb obviously but I’ve never added more. Been using them this way for a couple years now.

 

[SrC]

Adding a cap pack, will never hurt you.
Just Some ESC's will not need it. Others, may. A personal call. Running 6s packs with the Max8 , I would.
Caps do fail, and don't last forever. Only takes one to fail, and carnage results. Because the remaining ones will take all the burden, getting even hotter. A domino effect. One by one, they will all crap out/ overheat, hopefully before you have an ESC Fire. Just measure cap temps periodically, and visually look at the Tops of them if visible.. They will bulge or just pop open when they do fail. Adding more Caps lowers the temps of all, collectively. That's the whole basic idea. Without getting into the whole Ripple Voltage Spike technical narrative.

 

[Radiocontrolsoul]

Today’s project