I'm done with EC5's... What next?

[philipjdall]

So for the second time in about a month I have had an EC5 fail on me (desolder). Fortunately I managed to save it, only a little bit of damage but could have been so much worse.

Thing is, it was the third flight on my jive pro and I was meticulous with the soldering, so it wasn't that. Which makes me think it's time to look for new connectors as they just aren't up to the job.

I remember chatting to Connor a few months back and he swears by rcproplus... but which ones? 5mm/6mm/tri - or something else entirely?

Would be keen to hear what other people are using.

Cheers,
p

[GIXERMAN]

i use new castle 6.5mm with green cover there good, not used other you mentioned.

[Jez N]

So for the second time in about a month I have had an EC5 fail on me (desolder). Fortunately I managed to save it, only a little bit of damage but could have been so much worse.

Thing is, it was the third flight on my jive pro and I was meticulous with the soldering, so it wasn't that. Which makes me think it's time to look for new connectors as they just aren't up to the job.

I remember chatting to Connor a few months back and he swears by rcproplus... but which ones? 5mm/6mm/tri - or something else entirely?

Would be keen to hear what other people are using.

Cheers,
p

Have you looked at the solder you are using? Can't say i know much about solder, but having used EC5's for a long time and never had a joint desolder, surely the fact they are de-soldering is more likely a problem with the solder joint than the connector?

I know that isn't what you want to hear. But you may well have the same problems using a different connector if you need to invest in different solder or a different soldering iron etc........

[philipjdall]

Looking at these

Supra X Pro D6 Battery Connectors 4Set 8-10AWG REB6808PROD6P8

Although connor had the bullet type, I too prefer a joined connector like above or castle.. Supra Pro D6 is rated to 260A peak, and I like the clip bullet. Not convinced by the castle connectors, lower amp rating and quite short (in length).

Only want to do this once!

[George J]

De soldering is a soldering issue and not the connector, same could happen with any other connector that has to be soldered.

[philipjdall]

Sure, I get that it could be the solder and have thought about that.

I'm using 60/40, the same stuff I have used for years. Flows really well, use flux and tin each cable before soldering.... Using a 100W iron so heat is not the issue. Used this same solder on my 700xx with the kosmik and ec5's, no problems!

What has changed then? I have got better. I'm flying my 700's like I used to fly my 500. Both failures were in high load scenarios... Who knows what failed, solder or connector, but the solder only heats up because of resistance in the connector and if you do some research into ec5's you'll see they aren't the best for contact area.

Would love to not have to change everything but t=in the long run it may by the wise approach. Could cost me a lot more in crash damage next time.

[GIXERMAN]

Looking at these

Supra X Pro D6 Battery Connectors 4Set 8-10AWG REB6808PROD6P8

Although connor had the bullet type, I too prefer a joined connector like above or castle.. Supra Pro D6 is rated to 260A peak, and I like the clip bullet. Not convinced by the castle connectors, lower amp rating and quite short (in length).

Only want to do this once!

200 amps is better than ec5 and and hold up to more than the rated amps

[r4nd0m]

I suspect you've been doing it wrong - honestly - there are soo many people using EC5s with almost no issues at all - either cheap EC5s or poor soldering ... I know for myself the job it takes after I thought I did a good job but the EC5 came off - never ever since ... use a large tip - melt enough 60/40 solder into the wire - I tend to have up to 1-1.5cm rocksolid with solder and since never had an issue, let it be desoldering, breaking or anything else ...

[philipjdall]

Yeah I do that mate, in fact I spent an age setting this one up as I had one fail not so long ago. I know a lot of very good pilots who have moved away from EC5's because of them desoldering, it's not a myth. There is more to this than just poor soldering, trust me.

I guess one possibility is that the solder I'm using has a low melt point.. So what are you guys using?

[Peper]

My soldering skills are so poor that I had 3 ec5's desoldering on two different helis a few months back,
changed to ProD6 and my soldering skills got way better as I didn't have any problems since

[philipjdall]

Nice one Bruno, thank you! Do you like them? Easy to connect/dissconnect etc?

proD6 are the ones I'm leaning towards

[Peper]

Yes Phil,
much easier to solder specially if you get their sturdy set of helping hands,
far more exposed wire into the connector and no pushing/pulling plastic covers...
its a bit of an investment but totally worth it

[stargazer]

I have never had a Ec5 fail yet,but I do find them tricky to solder, never sure if I have got enough solder in the ec5 cup so add a bit more then push the wire in and the solder pours over the top resulting in a ruined connector.Also once the wire is soldered in the connector its hard to see what sort of joint you have achieved.I use Ec5's from Electriflyer and they now do easy solder ec5 connectors with a extended solder cup on,I have got some of these but haven't got round to trying them yet.

[philipjdall]

its a bit of an investment but totally worth it

Especially when you start pricing the cost of a crash on a 700 size (never mind the irritation!)

I think i'll get the hands too - they look neat in the video.

[Hamish]

Supra X D6 all day long!!!!