Running in salt water

[tiqueman]

Skimming this thread and didnt see this mentioned anywhere. I fill rx and servos w/ CRC di-electric grease. You can find it at an auto parts store. Ive been running gassers in salt since 1993. My first boat I still have, and other than several shafts and some linkages, nothing has been replaced and it still looks brand new. Biggest thing w/ salt is the care you take of it when your done running. Rinse it well, then rinse it again. Soak it w/ Wd or equiv. when finished. Its very easy to keep things up and it will last a very long time.

Running in a salt water bayou, I had a violent crash w/ one of my gassers... I lost signal from a PCM radio, the fail safe failed and the boat took off. Unfortunately a dock jumped out in front of it. Needles to say, the hull was a complete loss. The radio box was cracked on impact and filled w/ salt water. All electronics were in dielectric grease. That was 2001/2002? That rx and servo are still running in a different boat.

Take precautions, keep up maintenance and you will have very little issues

[Chuck E Cheese]

can you elabrobate on filling the reciever with grease? i know crc products but am curious about protecting recievers. that is the one thing i have had problems with. i wrap them in ballons but still have had to replace 5 or more in the last 2 years. i use the futaba 603ff pcm

[tiqueman]

can you elabrobate on filling the reciever with grease? i know crc products but am curious about protecting recievers. that is the one thing i have had problems with. i wrap them in ballons but still have had to replace 5 or more in the last 2 years. i use the futaba 603ff pcm

Hey Chuck,

Pop the reciever apart and remove the circuit board. I put a layer of the dielectric grease inthe bottom of the rx housing, then put the board back in, cover the board with more dielectric grease, then snap the top of the rx housing back on. I do it so that it oozes out the area where the servo plugs go. The greas will also help keep a moisture resistant connection from your servo plugs.

I also do this to non sealed servos as well. The grease comes in a can that is pressurized... like Cheese in a can!

[Chuck E Cheese]

will do!

[sailr]

This is a great idea even if only running in fresh water. But for those who NEVER get water in their boat I guess they don't need to bother.

I was recently thinking of using lithium grease in the same manner but I like your dilectric stuff better.

The grease might make it easier to get the receiver in the balloon! haha.

THANKS for the great tip!!

Skimming this thread and didnt see this mentioned anywhere. I fill rx and servos w/ CRC di-electric grease. You can find it at an auto parts store. Ive been running gassers in salt since 1993. My first boat I still have, and other than several shafts and some linkages, nothing has been replaced and it still looks brand new. Biggest thing w/ salt is the care you take of it when your done running. Rinse it well, then rinse it again. Soak it w/ Wd or equiv. when finished. Its very easy to keep things up and it will last a very long time.

Running in a salt water bayou, I had a violent crash w/ one of my gassers... I lost signal from a PCM radio, the fail safe failed and the boat took off. Unfortunately a dock jumped out in front of it. Needles to say, the hull was a complete loss. The radio box was cracked on impact and filled w/ salt water. All electronics were in dielectric grease. That was 2001/2002? That rx and servo are still running in a different boat.

Take precautions, keep up maintenance and you will have very little issues

[crabstick]

The grease is a great idea, i do prefer dp-270

Sailr - its a long hard road figuring out how to run a dry boat.. i spent a few frustrating years getting wet gear before I devised a method that works well. Now i have it down to a point where I get nothing in the boat at all after a race.

Snapped the stub off after a blowover/spin in my n2 hydro on sunday, and still not a drop inside

[m4a1usr]

The grease might make it easier to get the receiver in the balloon.

I can see putting grease inside a non water proof servo, have done that before. And you only need to add the grease inside where the splines come out of the housing or where the gears are located. Seal the exterior with tool handle plastic dip. Now its 100% water proof. But I wouldnt stuff non conductive grease inside my Receivers. You can spray the PCB with silicone conformal spray, now its water resistant (just like our ESC's) then stuff it inside a balloon. Now its 100% water proof and when I sell my radio system I dont have to explain to the next guy why the Rx is not only greasy but dirty from the normal debris anything collects that is greasy. Just my 2 cents which these days is cheap advice.

But I do agree. The grease would help the Rx slide into the balloon easier. Which brings up a tip for any wanting a cheap water proof balloon. Cut the finger off of a latex glove. They will stretch over most small receivers and are just long enough for the antenna and leads comming out to seal. Tie it off with a zip tie. Then put a wrap of 1" wide electrical tape aound the circumfernce and you have a surface to attach your velcro to.

John

[Chuck E Cheese]

i also run dry boats, i always use a small sponge inside somewhere and when it is still hard as a rock that is good. i take precautions like boots on inside and outside of the steering linkage and well sealed stuffing tubes and all other fittings. but on sunday i lost a water line inside the boat and there was nothing i could do. sometimes things just happen that can not be avoided.

[tiqueman]

The grease is a great idea, i do prefer dp-270

Sailr - its a long hard road figuring out how to run a dry boat.. i spent a few frustrating years getting wet gear before I devised a method that works well. Now i have it down to a point where I get nothing in the boat at all after a race.

Snapped the stub off after a blowover/spin in my n2 hydro on sunday, and still not a drop inside

Matt,
Can you let us in on your methods? I keep a pretty dry boat most of the time, but even on a good run, I can usually find a couple drops of water...

[tiqueman]

I can see putting grease inside a non water proof servo, have done that before. And you only need to add the grease inside where the splines come out of the housing or where the gears are located. Seal the exterior with tool handle plastic dip. Now its 100% water proof. But I wouldnt stuff non conductive grease inside my Receivers. You can spray the PCB with silicone conformal spray, now its water resistant (just like our ESC's) then stuff it inside a balloon. Now its 100% water proof and when I sell my radio system I dont have to explain to the next guy why the Rx is not only greasy but dirty from the normal debris anything collects that is greasy. Just my 2 cents which these days is cheap advice.

But I do agree. The grease would help the Rx slide into the balloon easier. Which brings up a tip for any wanting a cheap water proof balloon. Cut the finger off of a latex glove. They will stretch over most small receivers and are just long enough for the antenna and leads comming out to seal. Tie it off with a zip tie. Then put a wrap of 1" wide electrical tape aound the circumfernce and you have a surface to attach your velcro to.

John

Hey John,
Ive yet to have issues w/ dirt using my method and Ive done it for over 15 years. Ive sold 2 of my receivers that were packed full and never had an issue w/ the buyer. I guess its just what your preferences are. Its not like they are covered in grease when Im done, and if I do get any on the outside, which happens, I clean it. They stay clean in my gassers.. I wouldnt know why you couldnt keep it clean in FE? Ive got receivers that are ancient and out of date, still work perfect and still look as good as the day I purchased them.

[Chuck E Cheese]

as long as i dont have any failures i run dry. just seal every through hull with epoxy or silicone (i use 3m 5200), make sure the stuffing tube goes as far as possable into the strut, use plenty of shaft grease (i dont use a liner on most of mine) and check all the water lines every time. that in addition to good tape job (i use scotch invisable $0.99 at wallmart) on a good finish and you are good to go. of course there are the 3 test to find out where leaks are if you have them.
1) float in the tub with the hatch off and watch for drops
2) blow into the water lines with your finger over the outlet
3) tape it up and hold it under water, if water goes in, air comes out and you can see the bubbles.

if you pass all 3 test you are 99.9% water proof, the other .01% will be at the driveshaft and greasing every run will stop that. the key to making it water proof is finding out where the water is coming in, untill you find it you cant stop it.

[m4a1usr]

Hey John,
Ive yet to have issues w/ dirt using my method and Ive done it for over 15 years. Ive sold 2 of my receivers that were packed full and never had an issue w/ the buyer. I guess its just what your preferences are. Its not like they are covered in grease when Im done, and if I do get any on the outside, which happens, I clean it. They stay clean in my gassers.. I wouldnt know why you couldnt keep it clean in FE? Ive got receivers that are ancient and out of date, still work perfect and still look as good as the day I purchased them.

I didnt say I didnt like your method. I come from the gasser side of the boating world too. And have seen the grease method used for years. So I'm on board with you 100%. I guess what I am saying is that in my garage with my boats? I'd be picking out the cobb webs so I need to seal it in a balloon which in my book negates any use of grease as the balloon does the job right off the bat. Again just my preference, not condeming it.

John

[sailr]

Are you running fuel or electric? Back in the day that I ran fuel (nitro) I could keep a radio box dry with no problems. Water got in the boats anyway because there wasn't any outside hatch. So water coming up through the stuffing tube, etc. wasn't an issue. On scale boats with motors turning a lot slower, water rarely gets 'pumped' up the shaft anyway. It is the taped hatches, etc. on the electrics that I can't seem to keep dry and we're turning serious rpms's that the water just loves to chase inside the boat! I have one or two boats that stay pretty dry but most of them and most of the others I race with can't keep a boat bone dry inside either.

I agree about the DP270 on the receivers. Wish I could find something like it a bit cheaper though!

The grease is a great idea, i do prefer dp-270

Sailr - its a long hard road figuring out how to run a dry boat.. i spent a few frustrating years getting wet gear before I devised a method that works well. Now i have it down to a point where I get nothing in the boat at all after a race.

Snapped the stub off after a blowover/spin in my n2 hydro on sunday, and still not a drop inside

[Chuck E Cheese]

slair. if your stuffing tube is sealed to the strut and you dont have alot of play between the shaft and stuffing tube (or liner) a heavy layer of grease will keep it out. i know this for sure because o put sponge under the stuffing tube at the inside opening and it is dry. make sure you arent using too big of a tube as i know you dont like to use liners. you can also use a piece of heat shrink on the inside, shrink it with the shaft in and about 3 turns of the motor and it will be zero drag and lessen the tolerance between the shaft and tube. also remember that a few drops is OK, it is several drops that starts to get things wet. also the small piece of sponge keeps water from getting to anything.

[tiqueman]

I didnt say I didnt like your method. I come from the gasser side of the boating world too. And have seen the grease method used for years. So I'm on board with you 100%. I guess what I am saying is that in my garage with my boats? I'd be picking out the cobb webs so I need to seal it in a balloon which in my book negates any use of grease as the balloon does the job right off the bat. Again just my preference, not condeming it.

John

I gotcha. I wasnt tryin to beat up on you.. thats what I dislike about forums, its so easy to take what people type the wrong way. I was just re-assuring to other folks that in most conditions, they would not run into any issues b/c there is dielectric in the rx. No prob man.. itas all good

Yeah Im with ya on boats in the garage. I hate to say it but its been months since Ive had some of my gassers out... Actually, close to a year for some. But they have their hatches installed and are covered, so they stay pretty clean. And I pull them out now and again to fire them up and charge the batts and make sure they still ook good inside.