Boca bearings upgrade

[Damon]

Bought the Boca Hybrid Ceramic Bearings with Boca Lightning Oil last week.

Did the install tonight.

I sure wish it would have been as easy as it appeared on YouTube.

I searched the various threads on Boca but yielded nothing substantial. Anyone one else done this on their Phantom? What were your results as far as motor heat, friction, noise and ultimately flight times?

I will post my thoughts after some flying time with the new bearings.

 

[UrAwFuL]

IMO, the Phantom 2 is "perfect" as it is other than the addition of FPV.

I've considered "upgrading" my bearings though, but I'm pretty satisfied out of the box already. I'll change it in the future though after some more mileage added. :lol:

I came from an AR.Drone 2.0 though and the bearings were the first to get swapped out for me.. The difference was like night and day. :lol:

And heck yeah it's not easy! I tried inspecting mines the other day because one of my motors seems a little slower (but still flies normally), but the clips just won't come off! :evil:

But I am interested on how it works out for you though!

 

[ProfessorStein]

I'll be replacing the bearings, here, shortly... not as a matter of "upgrade", but as repair.

So I'm very interested in what kinds of problems you've been having, Damon.

But I've had my motors apart already for a cleaning, and they went back together just fine. Clips weren't a problem. Wonder if it matters how long they've been on there (number of hours).

 

[Damon]

First two motors went off without a hitch. Last two not so easy. Their motor shafts were either milled slightly larger or the ends that c-clip attached to were mushroomed slightly.

Had to enlist my wife's help. I pulled outside away from inside and held very small punch on end of shaft while wife tapped on punch with small hammer, to get it out through bearings.

There is no way I would have been able to complete it without help.

 

[cmturn0]

The best trick I've found for installing bearings in anything, is heat and cold. Before you get ready to install the new bearings, put the bearings in the freezer for an hour or two, and either leave the motor coil (or whatever is receiving the bearings, this works for putting bearings in anything) out in the sun if its hot enough where you live, or put it in the oven on the lowest temp for a minute or two (Keep an eye on it!!!). I know the oven part sounds shady, but its fine as long as you use some common sense, you just need it warm, you don't need it scalding how. You want it somewhere in between warm, but not so hot it burns you. At that point the bearings will usually just fall right into place without even needing to be pressed in. Same when re-installing the shaft if it doesn't want to go, put the bell with the shaft on it in the freezer and heat up the coil side with the bearings in just a bit, the shaft will usually then slide right in without much effort. The best thing about this method is ZERO stress on the bearings, it's very easy to damage new bearings when installing them if you press on the inner race with too much force, or they get misaligned while installing them. If that happens, you were probably better off with the original worn bearings than the ones you just damaged trying to replace them. Any heat source will work, just avoid anything with an open flame, I'm certain someone will come along behind me and have a better method for heating up the coil side, as you do want to make sure not to melt the coating on the winding's...

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS JUST A SUGGESTION AND WHAT WORKS FOR ME, I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY IF YOU MELT YOUR MOTOR TRYING THIS. THIS REQUIRES SOME COMMON SENSE, YOU DON'T WANT TO COOK YOUR MOTOR AT 400deg LIKE YOUR BAKING A CAKE!!

 

[Damon]

Well. I wish I would have known about this before hand

 

[ProfessorStein]

Any heat source will work, just avoid anything with an open flame, I'm certain someone will come along behind me and have a better method for heating up the coil side

I don't know if it's any "better", but I use a heating pad set on low. Does seem safer than an oven... but maybe I'm fooling myself.
Big thumbs up on the advice, though!

 

[Damon]

First flight test today with new bearings. Windy with gusts. My phantom in GPS was twerking like a bad Miley Cyrus video. In ATTI mode the phantom was being pushed at about 6.5 meters a sec.

Flight time was actually pretty good in windy conditions. I hit auto descent (15%) at exactly 16 minutes which is normal for my P2 on a calm day.

Motor bells were cool to touch compared to flights with stock bearings. Plus the motor that was normally hotter than others was now cool! Strangely enough the battery actually appeared cooler than normal.

I guess more flights before I pass official verdict. I would have to agree with ProfessorStein that these bearings should be treated as repair/maintenance. I think I would definitely recommend just buying E300 motor set and soldering in 3.5 females to the stock motor wires instead. Cost is similar right now and you will have completely new motors and props. Plus the motors are BLACK

 

[ianwood]

I don't know much about the E300 motors but it sounds like the bearings are worthwhile despite the effort. Less heat is less friction which should mean more efficiency. If your flight times under windy conditions were 16 minutes, it'll probably lead to some longer flights in calm conditions, no?

 

[locoworks]

I don't know much about the E300 motors but it sounds like the bearings are worthwhile despite the effort. Less heat is less friction which should mean more efficiency. If your flight times under windy conditions were 16 minutes, it'll probably lead to some longer flights in calm conditions, no?

i agree, but a 6.5 metre per second wind is going to be agreat cooling aid for bits of metal exposed to it.

why does wind affect flight times? if all you did was hover on a still day i can see the drone using more power to stay still on a windy day, but if you actually fly it around it is getting wind assistance as much as it is fighting it?? ( in atti mode anyway, GPS not so much ) and does transitional lift come into play at all with such small props??

 

[Happyflyer]

The best trick I've found for installing bearings in anything, is heat and cold. Before you get ready to install the new bearings, put the bearings in the freezer for an hour or two..........

Sounds like a great idea.
One thought about the cold bearing coming out of the freezer. If you live where the humidity is high year round, like I have, don't those very cold bearings become wet quick?

 

[Damon]

Well I've only had time to test out three full batteries since bearing install. 1st in wind 16 minutes, 2nd fairly calm and dry 16 minutes, 3rd cloudy humid very slight breeze with tracker and bracket off 15 minutes.

Don't buy bearings thinking your going to get several more minutes of flight. Buy them as maintenance to keep your Phantom in the air.

 

[JKDSensei]

Any update on this after a year with the Boca Bearings? My reason for doing this is to NOT have to mess with the bearings again. I have around 50 flights and two of my motors have some vibration which I think is the bearings because it's with props off.

 

[Damon]

Still running. But I have not had the time to fly as much as I used to fly.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[JKDSensei]

Still running. But I have not had the time to fly as much as I used to fly.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

Thanks Damon. Unfortunately that doesn't give much to go on for those of us considering the Boca Bearings.

But, you're not alone.
Seems nobody who installed the Boca Bearings has ever given the forum a good report after significant use on their durability. At least I can't find one.

I do hope there has not been any unfavorable things keeping you from flying, just the busi-ness of day to day life.

Please let us know if and when you get back to putting some flight time on the bird....if you do.

 

[JKDSensei]

Well,
Went to ebay and found Boca Bearings doesn't have that great of a feedback rating.

Positive Feedback (last 12 months): 98.1%
That's actually a pretty sucky feedback rating.
Sounded good but I'm looking elsewhere.

My goal is to have bearings that will last at least one year or 300 flights without vibrations or needing to be replaced. It may be as simple as luck of the draw.....some motors just came down the assy line and got a tiny bit more lubricant or seal better or something.

 

[ianwood]

Is that rating because of their product or maybe they take a few extra days to ship? I'm pretty sure their bearings are well received.

 

[JKDSensei]

Is that rating because of their product or maybe they take a few extra days to ship? I'm pretty sure their bearings are well received.

I read a lot of the feedback and it was for various reasons.
Usually the feedback on ebay tells you something. You just have to pay attention.