Salt water precautions???

[mtnbiker94]

I've just bought a Traxxas spartan off this forum and im going to be running it in a salt water canal and bay. What type of special things should i do to keep it from getting damaged from the water?

Thanks Tim

[jamie]

I have to run in the salt all the time due to my location unfortunately, so i wash the boat as soon as possible after i run with the lid still taped and then get a cup of water and blow it thru the water lines manually (mouth lol) to get the salt water out... a good tape job and regular greasing of the cable should keep the water out and i also pad the boat with absorbent cloth (just not near the moving parts)and a sponge under the steering arm just to be sure. Have been pretty much ok with doing this for a while now. I also spray the servo etc. with anti corrosive spray every now and then.

[mtnbiker94]

Yeah that's the basic stuff i was doing with a Proboat Apache 24 i have, but the spartan is a completely different boat and i don't want to mess her up!

[FighterCat57]

I've just bought a Traxxas spartan off this forum and im going to be running it in a salt water canal and bay. What type of special things should i do to keep it from getting damaged from the water?

Thanks Tim

Coat the stainless with corrosion spray, there's many kinds available from marine stores.

Also, get a small pump and some radiator flush, or salt water flush. Run it through the system after every exposure to salt water.

Rinse off the boat thoroughly after every run. Think of salt water like acid that will eat everything. Including the plastic, decals, metal parts, etc.

You can also take some precautions on connectors, like battery balance terminals. They can turn green with patina if exposed to salt water. Coat them with vaseline or seal them off in some manner just in case.

I run in salt water and it does show on the boats. I do a pretty good job of upkeep, but it does show over time.

Just part of living at the beach.

[mappo]

I've just bought a Traxxas spartan off this forum and im going to be running it in a salt water canal and bay. What type of special things should i do to keep it from getting damaged from the water?

Thanks Tim

Flush after each run and use corrosion x or WD 40 on all steel parts, clean the flex drive with brake fluid and re grease.

[millzee]

If you have tape water where you run, you could make up a hose attachment like I've done, I run in fresh water and made this set up to test my water cooling system but find that I use it every time I run my boats. I have it connected and ready to simply turn on the valve after a run, it cools the boat down in no time. I remove the cooling lines from the rudder and attatch them to my hose set up, then just turn the valve and let the cooling/flushing begin, this gets everything cold by the time I've replaced the lipo's and I'm ready to go again, this set up can also be made to cool two boats with dual pick up lines or 4 boats with single. Might be worth a try

[mtnbiker94]

Cool, those are some really good suggestions, and that flushing system is pretty cool. I normally just put the on jet and squirt it into the tube. I also have some corrosion x spray and wd-40 so hopefully that'll keep it rust free! :)

[FighterCat57]

That water tube is pretty cool!

I bought a $12 water feature pump off of ebay and put it in a cereal tupperware tub. This way I can circulate the flush treatement through the system for hours after the initial rinse.

Same kind of water pumps they use in the small indoor fountains.

[BakedMopar]

I use PB Blaster after a good rinse and flush. I sPray it on all the hardware and through the cooling lines. It turns things orange yellow but has kept my boats from rusting and oxidized to an extent.

What is listed above is great ways and highly recommended. If you don't have accsess to a tap, I use to carry a water jug and used that to rinse and flush the lines out in between runs and at the end Of the day.