Hi,
(not too sure if this post is in the right category. If not, I hope a moderator can point me in the right direction).
I am building an octa V with 8 motors (turnigy 2836/8) and 30Amps ESC.
I will power this with a 3cell battery 5000mAh (I think).
The length between the farthest motor on the arms of the octaV and the electronic/battery platform is about 38inch.
Should I plan to have the ESC next to the motors and have only 2 wires running along the arms of the copter, with a possible mass gain compared to the ESC on the main platform and 3 wires running to the motor? But then I have more mass near each motor, and expose possibly the ESC to shocks in case of rough landing.
what sort of AWG should I choose to fit, and overall minimize cable weight?
is there a simple rule I can use to estimate the most appropriate electric cable gauge?
any comment will help me.
Replies
I have a bunch of awg 16 and awg 12 that are 105 Deg Celsius, can i use this instead of the 200 C silicone wiring recommended? its the correct awg for what i need.
Thanks
simon,
thank you very much for your answer and the attachment.
I should try to keep the ESCs close to the batteries.
i would twist the batt to ESC cables and twist the ESC to motor cables.
38 inches from motor to main platform - that's one big machine !
As far as your choice of wiring goes I suggest that you read through the attached file. You'll find lots of similar advice around the web - and on this forum.
With regard to the gauge of wiring, you would need 14AWG for a steady 30A but you will find that most 30A ESC's use only 16AWG since the controller will probably only run at this peak current for short periods. However given the very long leads that you indicate would be used, you might want to beef up the wire gauge if they are enclosed in the arm because of temperature rise. In practice the operating time is going to be ~10 min, so temperature increase is probably handleable.
too long battery wires will kill ESC over time.docx