My kayak project is coming together and undergoing testing. Running at 16V and almost 20A, the wire from the thruster gets much hotter than I expected. 90°C! This happens to both thrusters. Is that normal? The wires are only hot where they are insulated. The small amount exposed at the connector to the esc is not hot at all.
Hi @markymark,
Yes, this is normal, all cables will heat up from current passing through them.
In most applications using our thrusters, the cable is either fully immersed in water, or the thruster is not used at such a high duty cycle for extended periods. In either case, the cable does not heat up as much, running them as you are on a kayak will result in the highest cable temperatures.
Depending on your design, this is fine and will not result in cable or thruster damage at 16 v. However, if there is a risk of accidentally touching the cable while it is hot or overheating other components around it, I would recommend at least tucking it away or putting a cover over it. You could also cut it short and splice on a thicker lower gauge cable as well to reduce the heating significantly if you wish.
-Adam
Thanks Adam. That puts my mind at ease. The cable is inside an aluminum tube which is good because the kayak is a Hobie inflatable. I’m not sure how well the pvc hull would hold up with sustained temps that high.
I may shorten the cable like you suggested but I’m inclined to keep them longer for any future projects that may benefit from the length.
What is the maximum current per input wire on the thruster motor please? We are changing out the connectors and want to make sure we don’t blow out the connector pins on the new replacement.
Hi @Savante,
The current per wire in the thruster cable will be equivalent to the stated thruster current draw in the T200 Technical Details at a 2/3 duty cycle, and zero otherwise.
For example, at 16 V full throttle in static conditions, a T200 draws a peak of about 24 A at the ESC. This current will flow through a pair of thruster wires in alternating sequence when running, and any given wire will see that current for 2/3 of the time. So, the peak per wire is 24 A, and the average current over time is 2/3 * 24 = 16 A per wire.
-Adam