Salt Water......

[Krowbar69]

I salt water not good to run your FE in?? I used to run nitro's in salt..

[hyrulejedi86]

Last time I saw this asked the general consensus was it's fine, just rinse the cooling system and hull with fresh water when done.

I wish I had the ocean close by me to run on, that'd be awesome.

[m4a1usr]

I remember that discussion. The oddity or consensus from it was as long as you sprayed a corrosion preventative you would be fine. I decided to dig a bit deeper into the subject and some glaring, if not seriously erroneous information was not addressed. Like the fact if ones able to coat all surface areas with the inhibitor intended to counteract the corrosive effects of salt water? Or is the material you are spraying effective?

I have a Seadoo Jetski. I never run my Jetski in salt water. Someone chimened in that they did and were more then happy with their use of some anti corrosive spray to negate the salt water effects. I was perplexed? So,............. I went to not one,........ but three different local dealers of water sport machines and guess what? Not only did they confirm my suspicions that sprays do little to nothing to counter the effects of salt water corrosion but indeed they hide such corrosion with an oily film.

In fact they corroborated my worries about being able to indeed address the areas. They all stated the same fact. If they took in trade any JetSki known to or showing any signs of salt water running the trade in value was discounted 50%! Thats a huge amount. And what it clearly states is that running anything with metal that corrodes in a corrosive enviornment suffers.

Some dont want to believe it. Some deny it. However the facts speak for themselves. Running in salt water is your choice. I dont know how long it takes to effect your metal parts. But the sad effect is it does. To what level? Time will tell.


John

[Rumdog]

If you clean everything. EVERYTHING, with soap and water, then use an anti corrosive spray afterwards. You will be fine. You have to do it right and be thorough if you want metal to last in salt conditions. If you can run real boats in salt water, and they survive, you can certainly run models in it. It just takes a little extra attention.

[properchopper]

If you clean everything. EVERYTHING, with soap and water, then use an anti corrosive spray afterwards. You will be fine. You have to do it right and be thorough if you want metal to last in salt conditions. If you can run real boats in salt water, and they survive, you can certainly run models in it. It just takes a little extra attention.

Real boats that run in salt water fall into two general categories for the purpose of (this part) of the discussion : Trailer boats , which are immediately flushed and hosed down with fresh water at the launch ramp, and in-the-water boats which have sacrificial zincs on the metal running gear to prevent electrolysis and normally brass or stainless hardware. I just finished living aboard for 15 years, and had a gorgeous 12 foot jet boat which, on the trailer, was flushed, cleaned and kept pristine. One year after keeping it in the marina next to my forty footer and I gave it away; there was so much saltwater damage. [ John, quit smiling !]

It's OK to run a FE boat in saltwater if, as recommended, it's flushed and cleaned LAMF after each use, but the insides must be kept BONE DRY. Very few FE's can exhibit this [bone-dryness inside the hull] consistantly. One drop of salt water on the electronics and they are history.

Here's what happens to [some motors from my early days] when I ran in saltwater - just from some bilgewater. Yumm !!

[BakedMopar]

I guess I should stop running my FE, PWC and my fishing boats cause in HI there is no fresh water lakes!

[Krowbar69]

Thats what i was getting at chopper.. you hit the nail on the head, not worried so much about corrosion but the batt's and elc's in the boat... Thanks for the input guys...

[DISAR]

I run my boats in salt water only because there are no lakes around. Apart from washing with FW afterwards if SW gets into the boat you have very high chances of burning the esc and destroying the batteries, i have all covered with epoxy

[FighterCat57]

Running in salt water is like dipping the boat in acid. It just eats away at everything!

I have some corrosion stuff that works, but it's not a local retail store product... It's made by Boeing for saltwater aircraft.

I like the epoxy approach. Sealed. I'm really surprised at the level of bare electronics in any boat. I've been considering plastidipping my lipos.

[DISAR]

I use 24hr epoxy and fully cover my escs and the battery terminals, it took me 5-6 lipos and 2-3 escs to finally use this idea

[martin]

What sort of 24 hour epoxy do you use, And how do you apply it on the esc to make sure its all covered. Martin.

[martin]

Also how do you protect the rx from water.

[Diegoboy]

I bought a mini boat that was run in salt water. The ESC was garbage.

[jac4412]

I've personally never run my boats in salt water, but I've run my speedboat a couple times in salt water, the best way to clean the system is just to run it in my driveway with the freshwater hookup and rinse it down well. I've seen speed boats and equipment that have been very corroded by salt water runs. If youre gonna run your boat in salt water I'd suggest making sure her insiders are watertight (prevention) and just make sure you give her a nice washdown afterwards. Regardless of where you run it time will take its toll on your boats (salt/fresh no matter what) the only thing that helps prevent wear and tear is how you care for your boat. I have a few friends who run their boats in salt water and they take care of them and they run fine day in and day out... just gotta keep them clean!

[DISAR]

What sort of 24 hour epoxy do you use, And how do you apply it on the esc to make sure its all covered. Martin.

I bought it fm local shop, but any kind of 24 hr epoxy should be fine. Run the epoxy on the esc and through the esc and use another cup to recover the epoxy which runs. and again and again 3-4 times and at the end leave the esc level. also for rx i use the same epoxy.
Please note that no any guarantee is valid with this way.
Finally I have an esc from MGM which has the waterproof option where the esc is totally encapsulated by a material

http://mgm-compro.com/index.php?cat=brushless-speed-controllers-race-boat-e-series

also all connectors must be totally sealed by 6mm silicone tubes or tape, cleaning the boat-hardware and shaft after each run and no problems