New BLX-100 ESC high cutoff 3.5v

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blendermess

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Arrma RC's
  1. Fury
  2. Senton 6s
Hi, we just got 2 new amazing senton 4x4 blx for me and my son. After 3 runs and checking each times on both, we have observed that the esc cuts off at 3.5v all the time. I was a owner of the fury blx and always ended having much longer run times since it would cut off at 3.3 - 3.2 volts. I was wondering if this esc had the possibility of setting the cut off at a lower voltage and are we in the manufacturing specs? I found no information on the cut off voltage in the manuals. I found this high cut off a bit disappointing since I could easily get an extra 5-8 min run if the cut off could be set at 3.3. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

On thearrma site esc blx 100 it stipulates :

The BLX100 100A waterproof ESC provides consistent power control and is 3S LiPo ready.

Fitted with a reliable EC5 battery connector and sporting a built-in cooling fan for reduced heat during intense driving action, the BLX100 ESC has over-voltage protection, and a two-stage LiPo cut-off for added cell management. What is that two stage lipo cut off?


The voltage was tested on car and off car with a lipo voltage tester. Both conditions were giving the same reading.
 
The Outcast also cuts off at 3.5v per cell. I'm pretty sure that my Traxxas Stampede 4x4 VXL also goes into low voltage protection at 3.5v and slows the car down then stops it completely around 3.3. I also have a Castle MMX system that lets me adjust the LVC and I eventually decided to stick with 3.5 because its safer on the batteries. I find that if I run really hard non-stop my batteries will tend to have 1 or 2 cells drop a little lower than the others so its safer to cutoff at 3.5v or I could permanently loose a cell. I don't think you can adjust the voltage cutoff on any RTR ESC.

I think two stage cutoff means the first stage slows the car down to tell you to stop using it but let you drive it back and the second stage (a lower voltage) cuts it off completely.
 
Thank you for sharing your observations ?.
I guess it makes sense. I was expecting that non programmable esc but the two level lipo cut off left me perplexed. I was always used to have my fury blx cut off in the 3.3v on the blx85 esc and was expecting that little extra running time out of my batteries. Guess arrma decides to play on the safe side.
 
Thank you for sharing your observations ?.
I guess it makes sense. I was expecting that non programmable esc but the two level lipo cut off left me perplexed. I was always used to have my fury blx cut off in the 3.3v on the blx85 esc and was expecting that little extra running time out of my batteries. Guess arrma decides to play on the safe side.
It is the word "management" in their statement that left me wondering..... Management means :

the process of dealing with or controlling things or people.

Not much control in there!???
 
According to the Arrma website the BLX100 has a 3.4 volts per cell cutoff.

https://www.arrma-rc.com/power-systems/latest/blx100

@sevin7 According to Arrma's website the BLX185 has a cutoff of 3.2 volts per cell.

https://www.arrma-rc.com/power-systems/latest/blx185

The reason that the batteries may be higher when you check them is because the esc sees the battery voltage when it is under a high amp load, which reduces the voltage. So it hits low voltage cutoff when it's under load. Then when the vehicle is no longer moving, the load on the batteries goes away so the voltage raises. I agree with you @sevin7, that I would rather see the cutoff around 3.5 instead of lower as it's easier on the batteries and has a lower chance of causing a cell to go under 3.0.
 
Hi, we just got 2 new amazing senton 4x4 blx for me and my son. After 3 runs and checking each times on both, we have observed that the esc cuts off at 3.5v all the time. I was a owner of the fury blx and always ended having much longer run times since it would cut off at 3.3 - 3.2 volts. I was wondering if this esc had the possibility of setting the cut off at a lower voltage and are we in the manufacturing specs? I found no information on the cut off voltage in the manuals. I found this high cut off a bit disappointing since I could easily get an extra 5-8 min run if the cut off could be set at 3.3. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

On thearrma site esc blx 100 it stipulates :

The BLX100 100A waterproof ESC provides consistent power control and is 3S LiPo ready.

Fitted with a reliable EC5 battery connector and sporting a built-in cooling fan for reduced heat during intense driving action, the BLX100 ESC has over-voltage protection, and a two-stage LiPo cut-off for added cell management. What is that two stage lipo cut off?


The voltage was tested on car and off car with a lipo voltage tester. Both conditions were giving the same reading.

I'm curious, what did the truck do when it hit cutoff? I was having some ESC issues today around 7.5v (rest voltage) where the car would become completely unresponsive. Not sure if it was hitting cutoff, or I'm having an electrical problem.
 
I think my issue was just a dirty battery connector. After cleaning it and expanding the prongs on the connector a little bit, it seems to be running fine even at 7.6V (2S).
 
I actually sent an email tonhoriOn to make sure it was behaving according to the manufacturing specs.

Here is the answer from arrma at horizon hobby. I will use this timer idea in the future


That is perfectly normal. In fact, you do not want the batteries to get any lower than about 3.5v because constantly hitting a voltage cutoff can damage the batteries. That can get very costly for the user. It is best to leave it where it is. Keep in mind, the voltage cutoff is not to be used as a timer. It is a failsafe barrier to stop you from damaging the batteries, here again, hitting that constantly can damage the batteries. Typically, I like to run the battery to cutoff just to see about how long I am getting for the way I am using the vehicles. Then I back that time off myself to about 1 minute prior to the cutoff to ensure I am not damaging my batteries. Having to stop use and charge periodically is much better than spending hundreds on damaged batteries. Yeah, it stinks to have to stop playing when you are having fun. But, it is either that or risk spending money on batteries.

Kind Regards

Todd || Product Support ||
 
Having the BLX185 VLC set so low at 3.2 is pretty annoying, i believe the more cells you run it is more important to have a higher VLC, since all the cells can "mask" a cell that is getting too low. I measure my cells periodically as i run to make sure i stop at around 3.70, as the drop is pretty steep after that.
 
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