Minibot motors/fuses

[implosionprez]

We have burned out our minibot motors since ship day, and we want to try to make sure that we don't burn any out during competition, since they're 50 bucks a set.

Does reducing the amperage of the fuse in the battery actually help? I don't know a lot about electronics. If we put in a smaller amperage fuse, will it blow when the motors stall, before the motors burn out? What amperage fuse should be used, instead of the original 20 amp fuse?

[cgmv123]

We used 3 and 5 amps last weekend. No motors blown!

[implosionprez]

3 and 5???

[Teched3]

Originally Posted by implosionprez

We have burned out our minibot motors since ship day, and we want to try to make sure that we don't burn any out during competition, since they're 50 bucks a set.

Does reducing the amperage of the fuse in the battery actually help? I don't know a lot about electronics. If we put in a smaller amperage fuse, will it blow when the motors stall, before the motors burn out? What amperage fuse should be used, instead of the original 20 amp fuse?

Use the PTC leads allowed to feed the motors, and start with a low amp fuse on the main battery fuse - say five amps and work up to seven amps or so. Hard to advise since we don't know your minibot weight, or what speed you are using to climb the pole. the larger the drive wheel, the greater the amp draw for the same weight. reduce weight, increase wheel diameter to get you to run at maximum power. Look for the motor curves in the Manual documentation.

[jreuter]

By "use PTC leads", I recommend the motor power cable that includes the thermal circuit breaker. We use these, and changed to a 5A fuse, and have not had problems.

http://www.legoeducation.us/store/detail.aspx?ID=2135

Good luck!
-Jeff

[implosionprez]

If we switch to a 5 amp fuse, is it necessary to get the thermally protected motor cables? Will they help us substantially, or will the 5 amp fuse take care of the problem?

[cgmv123]

We had both 3 and 5 amps available. We swapped them out and they both worked. We didn't put 2 fuses in at once.