Six volts has long been the standby for the hobby. It's tried and true and works well if you match your motors, reduction rates, and props well. Some captains have made the jump to 12v and are getting great results. I've moved to 24v and won't be looking back. I'm running my Barham (QE) and Atlanta at 24v. My first boat, the little Mogador DD, is running at 16v. The reason I jumped the 12v barrier was to get more speed. The Mogador couldn't make 21 seconds at 12v so instead of changing motors I just upped the voltage. Same with the Barham. It was built to run 12v but couldn't make speed, so I doubled voltage and wham! Speed no longer an issue. The Atlanta, I just stuck a copy of the Barham drive train into it and warp 9 was the result. Jumping to higher voltage was an expedient at the time and I was able to do it because I was using ESC's and motors that could handle the voltage increase. Turns out, the motors I initially picked for the Barham work really well at 24V, offering a ton of torque and efficiency. Anyhoo, if you have the kahunas to step up (voltage that is) here's the OTS (off the shelf) bits that have been proven to work in a 24v boat for your reference. Drive motors: RS-555PH-3255 (the 3255 is important, it denotes wire thickness and turns). This motor will spin close to 10K at 24v with excellent torque. They are working very well in the direct drive setups in my Barham and Atlanta. I have these driving 1.5" three blade props. Price: $3 to $6. Spec sheet A cheaper and close match to the 3255's: RS-555PH-3542 (will spin slightly faster). I have not tested the 3542's but may try them in my pump. View attachment 14661 View attachment 14674 Pump motors: In my Barham's full unit pump, I'm using the same RS-555PH-3255's. It's pushing 2.5GPM plus. The Battlers Connection Large pump has been tested with the 555 motor and with a Glug Glug outlet, is getting a 3GPM flow rate. The Atlanta's half unit pump is running a 380 size motor from Electronics Goldmine. They call it the Type 3 Robot Motor. This motor is pushing close to one gpm at 24v through a 1/2 unit restrictor. View attachment 14662 Drive ESC: Robot Power Wasp. I have the Wasp in my Mogador and Atlanta. Working great in both these models. It handles 10A continuous and 30A surge. For 24v operation, the onboard BEC is easily disabled (it runs to hot at 24V). The ESC in my Barham is custom so I won't go into it here but FYI, the Atlanta has the exact same drive train as the Barham and the Wasp is handling the dual RS555 setup just fine. Not tested in a boat so far, (but tested in R/C combat tanks) the 60A Spark Controller would be an excellent option for the bigger model. Also, the Spark has no onboard BEC to worry about. View attachment 14663 Pump ESC: Hobby King 30A Brushed Controller. I use a modded $10 single-direction ESC to drive my pumps. This is not OTS obviously, but the mod is a simple one if you have a soldering iron (if you don't have one, get one or leave the hobby and give scrap-booking a go ). Just remove the onboard BEC regulator and the ESC will handle 24V without issue. While your at it, remove the can capacitor and red power wire (no longer needed). The modded ESC is wired into the negative wire coming from the pump. Works like a champ. View attachment 14673 View attachment 14665 BEC: Hobby King Kingkong 5v 3A uBec. Since we've disabled or removed the onbaord BEC's from our ESC's, we need to provide 5v to the Rx and steering servo. This is done with a stand alone BEC that can handle the 24v mains. The $4 Kingkong from HK does just that. View attachment 14666 Trigger board: BC Cruiser Firing Board works just great at 24V. The BC board will fire to guns independently off one R/C channel. If you only have one gun, the Pololu RC Switch with Medium Low-Side MOSFET will be a more cost effective option to trigger your 24v DD. Though I have not personally tested the BC Combat Gear Multi-B and C boards at 24V, the designer told me they would handle 24V just fine. In addition to the firing circuits, the Combat Gear boards incorporate a pump switch and power distribution setup that could make your wiring simpler. View attachment 14669 View attachment 14668 View attachment 15390 View attachment 15391 Batteries: Your choice. Doubled up 12V 7AH SLA's in series have been working great in my Barham. The packs only drop a volt or so after a sortie. Where size and weight is an issue, try the Lowes Kobalt 24V 1.5AH, 2AH or 4AH power tool batteries. I run the 2AH packs in the Atlanta. I'm seeing 50% drain after two sorties. View attachment 14670 View attachment 14671 ...
Awesome little write up. Very complete info. I am going to have to learn from this so when I do my stuff it is presented as well. Thanks.
Other than the speed controls this system appears to be just as inexpensive as my tried and true 6v stuff has always been. May have to step up. See if I can 3d print some skiers to go behind my Prinz Eugen lol.
Just found these on eBay. RS-755SH-3570 motors. These are 9.5K rpm at 24v with no internal fan. No ball bearings either, just good old Oilite bearings. These beauties will spin 2" plus props on 5mm shafts direct drive with ease. https://www.ebay.com/itm/MABUCHI-RS...orque-DIY-Drill-Garden-Tools-Toy/262692238875
During the recent Nat's, Charley was nice enough to give me one of the new BC pumps for testing at 24V using the RS555PH-3255 motor. This setup is pushing an honest 3GPM (20 seconds to move a gallon) with an amp draw of 2.8. 3GPM (with this nozzle setup), a cheap can motor, the awesome BC pump, an efficient 2.8A at 24v, what's stopping you from going to 24v? The BC pump is on the left. The pump on the right is my current Barham pump which turns out to be 2 seconds per gallon slower than the BC pump. That strange looking nozzle setup was a modification done the first day of Nat's. Turns out sticking that vinyl tube over the outlet took 10 seconds off the one gallon pumping time. The nozzle gives a lovely laminar flow. I'm going to call this the EPCOT nozzle. Charley basically replicated the Swampworks impeller in his new pump. Same vane shape, diameter, and vane height. ...
When Steve finally discovers the Glug Glug outlet! Looks like a great setup Steve. 24v keeps getting more temping.
Added BC's Combat Gear boards to the trigger section of the main article. Charley says they will run with 24v.
I'm disappointed that this excellent information has vanished. I just bought 24V batteries and was going to upgrade my boats to 24V over the winter. You had inspired me to join you @24V. I've no idea what's going on, but I'm very sorry, Steve, that you felt you needed to pull your info from this site. I've greatly admired both your skills and your willingness to share them in the past. I'm guessing this means you are leaving the site and the hobby, and that saddens me, too. If true, I wish you all the best. May you have following seas...
