Genius CP motor life span

[superakan]

Anybody know the life span of the stock main and tail motor ? And how do u guage that when it about time to replace it ?

[jonbailie]

Some motors will grant you hundreds of flights, albeit rarely, and some motors only last a few flights. I've got 3 genius CP's, one with a brushless conversion, and two stock ones. One stock GCP has the motor that came with it, with about 100 or so flights on it. The other one has had the motor replaced about 3 times, over the course of about 40 flights.

You'll be able to tell when you need a new motor. It starts lacking on power after a minute or so, or even after a few seconds. It's like a dead battery, the way it acts. Pitch pumps will be very sluggish, and after a while, it may not even lift at all.

Motor life depends on many variables, but probably the largest is heat. If you do not let the little brushed motor cool down between flights, you're likely to kill the motor fast. I usually give the heli a minute or two before popping in another battery, sometimes longer if I've been abusing it.

The tail motor usually lasts for a while. I've never really had one go bad. The tail boom or motor shaft will likely give out before the actual motor does. One thing I've learned though, is that the wires are a royal pain to solder, so if you need to replace it, just go ahead and buy the entire tail assembly. For a few bucks more, it saves a huge headache by swapping the entire boom, holder, motor, wire assembly, instead of purchasing a separate motor, and trying to solder it to those tiny, almost unsolderable wires.

[shastamike]

Very good advice jonbailie. I would like to add that I"ve been very happy with the mCPX main motor as replacement. You have to pull the pinion off your old motor and replace, also the plug has to be replaced with the old Walkera plug. A lot more power for a couple of bucks more. Don't like the way the mCPX motor spools up though.
I"m amazed at how much abuse the tail motor takes. Never had one go bad yet. I've ripped the wires out and bent the shaft but never had one wear out though I've been through countless main stock motors.
Mike

[Heli-opolis]

Originally Posted by shastamike

I would like to add that I"ve been very happy with the mCPX main motor as replacement.

The mCPX motor is awesome in a Mini too, more powerful and longer flight times, by about 20%.

It does seem to get warm though as I've measured the temperature at the end of a flight, using the telemetry in my Devo, and it has been as high as 190 - 200F.

I try to not let it get that hot though now that I know to look for it.

[superakan]

Great info and advise ! Thanks guys. Cheers!

[mescalinedream]

I had a great genius brushed motor that i always let cool inbetween flights. unfortunately the wires leading into the motor broke. I decided to open up the little motor and discovered there were no carbon blocks that grab the commutator. Instead there were two metal hands with tiny fingers. It seems the fingers were completely fine, but the commutator had a gouge dug into it from the fingers. If we could find some grease or something to to cut down on the wear then the motor would last. I did find someone who took replacement carbon brushes from a "extreme motor" and installed them into a walkera motor that had the fingers. They also had to solder in a new commutator that is designed for brushes.

Its too bad they cannot make the commutator out of something stronger. The only two things that wear out is the commutator and the wires.


Some people run the motor from a AA battery in water to help set the brushes but i dont know how well it would work with metal fingers. Some spray wd40 inside. Anything is worth a try to get more life out of these little gems.

[Heli-opolis]

Originally Posted by mescalinedream

I decided to open up the little motor and discovered there were no carbon blocks that grab the commutator. Instead there were two metal hands with tiny fingers.

That's why I like the mCPX motor, it's got actual carbon brushes!

Do you have an mCPX motor you could try to compare it to the Genius?

With decent batts, I can do pos and neg pitch pumps almost the entire 3 minutes the battery lasts, only taking out the max 80%, so it seems like it might be an equal match to what you were getting from the Genius motor.

If you could try the mCPX motor, it would be interesting to hear you opinion on their relative merits.

[jonbailie]

I directly compared the MCPX motor vs. the Genius CP motor. I liked the MCPX motor once it was spooled up, but the actual spool up was rough, and the spool-down would usually result in a spin-around on the floor as the motor stopped. The power was decent... not like my C05 motor, but a bit more than the stock Genius motor. I eventually took it out and put the GCP stock motor back in, only because it was smoother. The MCPX motor also ran hotter, almost too hot to touch sometimes.

All in all, it had a little more torque than the GCP stock motor, but ran more roughly, and ran hotter. It's a good little replacement if you need a bit more torque... it's not really that much more power, it just doesn't seem to bog quite as much as the GCP stocker.

[shastamike]

Pretty much how I feel about the motors jonbailie. Odd to me that I would give up the extra power of the mCPX motor for the really cool spool up and down of the stock motor. I really don't know which runs longer though as I've switched back and forth so much. Eventually though I know I will use the BL motor I received in an upgrade kit gift.
Mike

[Heli-opolis]

I'm surprised by your two reports of rough spool ups and downs. The mCPX motor in my Mini is as smooth as the stock motor.

It definitely runs hotter though.

No problem though, my Mini's getting an upgrade!!!

[shastamike]

Originally Posted by Heli-opolis

I'm surprised by your two reports of rough spool ups and downs. The mCPX motor in my Mini is as smooth as the stock motor.

It definitely runs hotter though.

No problem though, my Mini's getting an upgrade!!!

I was wondering because in the photos the Mini motor looks just like a mCPX motor. Just to be clear..did you put a mCPX motor in your Mini or is the stock Mini motor just like the mCPX in appearance?
My mCPX motor "cogs" and so its rough on start up and spin down.
Mike

[Heli-opolis]

Good question because when I got the mCPX motor I thought the same thing, they look the same as the stock Mini motor.

The only way I can tell the difference from appearances is that the stock Mini motor has two holes in the flat sides whereas the mCPX motor do not.

In flight though, at least with mine, night and day.

[zvok]

My GCP is with main brushless and tail brushed.

The first tail motor lasted more than 500 flights. The second is 10 days old and has about 60 flights and it still going well.

I have a 4#3b with brushed tail motor that flies 200-300 flights before the motor is replaced. Without the WD-40 a motor would last 20-30 flights. I have the 4#3b almost three years so there is a history.

The way I do it?

When the motor is new I put WD-40 on the motor shaft. I stick the shaft into the WD-40 can straw and give it a short squirt. Every 15-20 flights I repeat the procedure.

I have done the same with a stock mCPx and did not replace any motor for about 200 flights.

I have not tried it with any other lubricant so I do not know.

[jonbailie]

Originally Posted by shastamike

I was wondering because in the photos the Mini motor looks just like a mCPX motor. Just to be clear..did you put a mCPX motor in your Mini or is the stock Mini motor just like the mCPX in appearance?
My mCPX motor "cogs" and so its rough on start up and spin down.
Mike

This is how the mcpx motor is designed. I don't think the mcpx motor would be running properly if it didn't do this. I think he meant the mini cp motor. Either that, or a messed up mcpx motor.

It's not horrible, I just like the way the stock brushed genius cp motor spools up nice and slowly. It'll start spinning very, very slowly with very little throttle stick, then progress smoothly to full speed. The mcpx motor starts at around 20% throttle. At 20%, it jerks into life, usually spinning the genius a bit, and then on spool-down, it sins the genius around as the torque from the motor stops the blades.