Hi everyone,
I having been running BluBoats frequently for the past three months.
I have had 2 motors start to work poorly, and 2 others completely stop. I finally had time today to take the motors apart, and the inside is completely destroyed. Any suggestions on why this might be occurring, and why so quickly? See image attached.
Hi @kenbyrrrd -
Sorry for the issue. It looks like your stators have had some swelling and cracking issues. This can occur for a few reasons, that the team is working hard to mitigate in the future. Running in warm waters, at higher voltages than 4S, and in water with lots of suspended sediment can all contribute to shortening the lifespan of the motor. Proper care of the motor, rinsing it with fresh-water after use, can help mitigate failures in general.
Can you share how long your typical missions last, what sort of water temperatures and missions you’re running, and if you’ve modified any ArduRover parameters associated with navigation?
Hi Tony,
Thanks for the response.
I have been running the boats for ~3 months and I have went through 4 propellers. I run the BlueBoat at 2 different sites three times a week. Site 1 the device runs for ~2 1/2 hours continuously. Site 2, ~1 1/2 hours continuously. We are using BlueRobotics 4S batteries.
Water temp as been between 67F and 85F since we have began. The lakes are freshwater and are shallow in many areas (max 10ft depth in these waterbodies) so we do have a lot of suspended sediment.
We have not changed parameters in ArduRover associated with navigation. Any thoughts as it is expensive burning through motors so quickly. Could the T200 for the ROV2 be a better choice/compatible?
Hi @kenbyrrrd -
The T200 uses the same motor, but with a propeller and nozzle optimized for ROV applications. It would be a very poor fit for the BlueBoat, and is not compatible.
Have you found any magnetic particles in the suspended sediment? These would appear as a black dust that sticks to the disassembled rotor - they can act like sandpaper and wear away the protective coatings - and even a rinse does not usually clear them! Taking the rotor off and wiping it clean is typically the only preventive measure.
By 4 propellers, do you mean 4 stators cracked like this? That is definitely concerning! Please reach out via the help center, report a problem with a product to further resolve the matter.
Hi @tony-white
Gotcha.
Yes we do find some sediment, but not very much. We just realized what was happening recently We plan to begin wiping at the end of each deployment day. I still have concerns some sediment will be left.
By 4, I do mean 4 stators cracking, swelling, and rusting. I have pictures of at least three I believe. I will reach out via help center. Thanks
