Hi, folks. After three months of ruling the seas as the flagship of the WWCC's Crimson Pirates torpedo-cruiser division, my Spahkreuzer has seen a lot of punishment. It's been sunk twice, and been shot up who knows how many times. After three spectacular months of use and abuse, I'm running into trouble. Two of Spahkreuzer's three maxon motors have locked up, and won't turn anymore. I'm searching for replacements, but by the looks of things thats unlikely. So, my question is this: how do I salvage a rusty maxon motor? If I can't salvage them, what would make a good replacement? the current motors are three 22mm black maxon motors running on 7.2 volts, propelling my boat at speeds up to 47 knots (I slow it down for combat speed 36 knots) thanks!
Can you post some pix of the rusty motors? What's rusty about them? Are the brushes just not making proper connection?
Not sure what's rusty about them because there's nothing visibly different on the outside. What I do know is that I cannot turn the motor shaft, neither with electricity nor with my bare hands.
How do I put this.....Electric motors are NOT waterproof. They have, as an integral component, an armature made up of thin steel plates.If moisture can get between these plates, and if it is not removed, it will cause them to rust. The plates will distort as the rust grows, and eventually the motor will lock up. At this point the motor is basically unsalvagable. Sorry, but that's the facts. Some treatments can extend the life of your motors, and there are as many different treatments as there are ships. I personally use a dielectric spray, carefully applied to the armature only. Others rinse their motors with denatured alcohol, then dry them with compressed air, and relube them. Perhaps even WD-40 or scotchguard might work, I dunno. Just get the moisture out, or they'll die.
I've got to ask myself, at my standard labor rate, what's the cost/value of time spent maintaining/cleaning/lubing $3.95 motors vs. just replacing them with new ones? Then again, sometimes stuff like that is just fun! I remember once, working on my Jeep - I wasn't trying to fix anything or install something new, just general clean-up, etc. - I realized after a couple of hours that I hadn't had that much fun in ages! JM
The biggest problem is that they're good maxon motors, and replacements are hard to come by. I have fortunately located a pair of replacements, but now my concern is preventing such damage in the future. Although, if you happen to know of some $3.95 motors (and their source) that could get a cruiser up to 36 knots without excessive power draw, I'd be most grateful.
http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/DCM-104/400200/3_-_6_VDC_MOTOR_.html 2 in BB-58 drove it way too fast with 3:1 reduction, had to increase to 4:1 to get close. 2 in CA-72 (some unknown reduction) get it to 33kts with no problem. Neither ships have oversized props & both drive only 2 of 4. JM
... a bit big for a light cruiser with three shafts... but hey, that will be great once I start building battleships again.
ok guys. Question for you. I have an assortment of motors at home. Some I've boughten, others I've.... inherited from other members. What kind of cleaning products and maintanence can I do for these and the present motors in my ships to see which are good and which are time for the scrap heap? Also, on this line of thinking, how do we test for voltage and rpm on these bad boys? I'm not sure what I have. The ones I bought from one store have no info on them. However, the ones residing in the hull of NC are from a hobby store with all the specs, etc. Any info would help here. Thanks guys.
I left a can of Motor cleaner for stock rc motors with you. Follow the directions there and ensure that you do not inhale the mist or allow the fluid to touch your skin. Read the warning label!!!!Wear latex gloves the good kind.
Ok, good safety tip... now to just find the box it is in! What else can help? Is there a way to disassemble them?
