Motors... How long before replacement?

[jplayer]

Got my Phantom2 Vision+ last week and cant keep my batteries charged fast enough before I want to go out and fly again!!
Just like everyone I want to keep this thing damage free as long as possible and would like to know some more info on motors/replacement and timing of when to do this so I don't have to worry about it.

So..
How long do the motors last?
Is there something you can watch/listen for to see if its time?
Are there any other serviceable parts that I may need to be aware of?
Is there anything you can do to prolong the life?

I have searched and searched on this topic but have found no solid answers.. I have seen some people say 3 hours flying time and then you might want to consider replacement but this seems a bit extreme and to be quite honest with you I probably already have that on my Phantom with how much I have been flying it... Keep in mind this is 6-9 battery charges for the Phantom2........


As for my Vision +
Knock on wood I have experienced -- ZERO -- problems.
Camera leaves a wee bit to be desired but in the same token it is just fine especially if you tweak some parameters and fly slower for shots that you would like to use...
Return to home works fine.. Tested it a few times and also activated it by flying it to far a few times...
Operational distance of this thing blows my mind... The only RC experience I have had previously has been with cars and if you get a RC car a football field away and still able to control it you are doing good. This thing I have had probably 1/3 mile and it still reacts to my input with no hesitation. The FPV gets more jittery at this distance but even then it still continues to work...
Usage is unbelievably simple... So much so that I have to constantly remind myself not to get to cocky...
The integration with the app is FLAWLESS... I have lost connection a few times but as soon as the thing gets back in range it picks up and everything comes right back.

Almost hate to admit it but I loved it so much that I actually ordered a phantom2 with the h3-3d gimbal and plan on upgrading it with FPV.

 

[N017RW]

Got my Phantom2 Vision+ last week and cant keep my batteries charged fast enough before I want to go out and fly again!!
Just like everyone I want to keep this thing damage free as long as possible and would like to know some more info on motors/replacement and timing of when to do this so I don't have to worry about it.

So..
How long do the motors last?
Is there something you can watch/listen for to see if its time?
Are there any other serviceable parts that I may need to be aware of?
Is there anything you can do to prolong the life?

I have searched and searched on this topic but have found no solid answers.. I have seen some people say 3 hours flying time and then you might want to consider replacement but this seems a bit extreme and to be quite honest with you I probably already have that on my Phantom with how much I have been flying it... Keep in mind this is 6-9 battery charges for the Phantom2........


As for my Vision +
Knock on wood I have experienced -- ZERO -- problems.
Camera leaves a wee bit to be desired but in the same token it is just fine especially if you tweak some parameters and fly slower for shots that you would like to use...
Return to home works fine.. Tested it a few times and also activated it by flying it to far a few times...
Operational distance of this thing blows my mind... The only RC experience I have had previously has been with cars and if you get a RC car a football field away and still able to control it you are doing good. This thing I have had probably 1/3 mile and it still reacts to my input with no hesitation. The FPV gets more jittery at this distance but even then it still continues to work...
Usage is unbelievably simple... So much so that I have to constantly remind myself not to get to cocky...
The integration with the app is FLAWLESS... I have lost connection a few times but as soon as the thing gets back in range it picks up and everything comes right back.

Almost hate to admit it but I loved it so much that I actually ordered a phantom2 with the h3-3d gimbal and plan on upgrading it with FPV.

Wow! 3 hours flying time to replace motors. Hmm?

Is DJI really using such cheap motors?

I'm a bit old school and my understanding is BLDC motors can last up to 20K hours with useful function typically limited by bearing life and excessive heating. I have used a single motor in a 450 single rotor helo and it has 600 hours (and counting) on it.
Periodic lube of the bearings should be all that is necessary if accessable. Just don't over do it.

 

[jplayer]

3 hours is certainly not my experience, only what I read on one or two message boards. It seemed a bit ridiculous to me also.
In all fairness though I think in both cases(what I read), the people posting mentioned that the motors had a few crashes on them which probably impacted the life...

What are some realistic expectations of motor longevity barring no crashes/damage?

 

[N017RW]

3 hours is certainly not my experience, only what I read on one or two message boards. It seemed a bit ridiculous to me also.
In all fairness though I think in both cases(what I read), the people posting mentioned that the motors had a few crashes on them which probably impacted the life...

What are some realistic expectations of motor longevity barring no crashes/damage?

JD,
I didn't mean to imply you stated the 3 hour life.

I kinda want to say never need to replace them. This does not include modding or other type performance tweaking and damage from mishaps.

(I mentioned I have 600 hrs+ on at least one BLDC right now.)

It is conceivable to me that one would move on, upgrade, sell it, retire it, or other things before the motors NEED replacing.

 

[jplayer]

Cool deal...
Based on previous electric motor experience and the lack of info on the web on this specific topic I would tend to agree 100%!

I will say that in the limited info I found many of the issues discussed was bearing failure..
Is this something to be more concerned with rather than complete motor failure and sorry if this is a dumb question because I have done limited research on this... are there upgraded bearing kits or is this something not needed also?

 

[ElGuano]

The P2V+ uses E300 motors. IIRC DJI claims the E300 (which uses NMB bearings) is designed for ~300 hours of runtime at 300g/axis. The P2V+ probably exceeds this by a hair, but that should give you a ballpark.

FWIW, my Phantom has over 100 hours of flight time and it takes a LOT of batteries to get there.

 

[ElGuano]

Moved to P2V+ forum.