Castle ICE LITE 200?

[Mike Bontoft]

I've had these new parts knocking around for quite a while. My main question is is it worth using this speed control for marine use. It could have been an old blog but it said Castle had stopped making speed controls for marine use. The same blog was showing how to make these ESC's water cooled. I plan to use with 6S and a 2280 Lenher motor. Is this Castle unit something I should mess with or sell it on and get a water cooled ESC? What are your thoughts please.

 

[LohringMiller]

I ran those before the new marine Castle ESCs came out. I built a water cooler that fitted over the edges with thermal paste. Brian Buaas solders copper tubes to the FET heat sinks. I've seen 300 amps on the data logger. That said, they are very sensitive to water and aren't as tough as the new marine Castle ESCs. Below is a smaller Castle ESC.

Lohring Miller

 

[RaceMechaniX]

Hello Mike,
The IceLite 200's are great ESC's but they have been surpassed by the XLX2 which is much more robust, has better data logging and perhaps most important for model boaters they are fully incapsulated making them near waterproof.

The capability of the ICELite 200 falls in between the X8S and XLX2. It will push about 450A for several seconds, but not any longer. It's Achilles heel is it's thermal capacity and sensitivity to water ingress. For some compact tight compartment boats like riggers and tunnels this is still a great fit. however, if you can fit an X8S or XLX2 you will be better off.

Several of us have converted to water cooling my soldering brass pipes on the DC bus bars that run along the side or machining brass/copper/aluminum side plates with water cooling fittings to extract heat through the bus bars. Also of key importance is to conformal coat the ESC once you are done adding a cooling system. One drop of water on the PCB will reek havoc and result in a smelly mess.

Assuming this 2280 is not to start your multi-cylinder engine, it can push quite a bit of power and use a lot of amperage. The XLX2 is preferred for these motors if you want maximum performance.