Electric boats and Saltwater??

[TazMotorsports]

Taking the Geico and Spartan down to the keys. Plan on running them in salt water. Any ideas on how I should protect them from the saltwater? I will be posting some great pics!

[iamandrew]

I run my genesis in the lake here in salt water all the time, and after a few months... you wouldnt even know
having said that, after i use it, i basically unbolt anything thats metal that could have came in contact with the salt water, hose it with fresh water, dry it, and give a little bit of wd40.

[jkr]

After every run i'm cleaning it with home cleaner that is against salt-dirt.
After that i use lot of fresh water and i clean the flex with wd40.

[martin]

After running my tethered ic hydros on fresh water for 40 years their was never any problems with corrosion on any thing at all & we use very little stainless any thing at all. However i now run my rc electrics on salt water all the time,You can see a bronze prop change colour if its a new one or one you have polished whilst still at the lake running with the reaction to the salt,Also electrics ecspecially esc dont like salt water on them if live.Ive seen a number of esc short out in salt water where they got a small amount of water in the boat that got onto the esc. Fresh water is more forgiving when re things shorting out. Martin.

[slowride]

I do a lot of wave bashing in the surf, almost every day. I flush everything with fresh water then squirt WD 40 in the water tubes to the ESC and motor. I oil the motor and clean and regrease the shaft every day.

[m4a1usr]

I know alot of you guys have had lots of fun in salt water. And I know you guys are diligent, using preventive maintenance to negate the effects of salt water corrosion but I would like to show you some pictures of a motor I purchased off an OSE member who ran his in brackish/salt water. He did state this to me before I purchased the motor and he stated as you he flushed his cooling system with freah water, then used compressed air to blow out the lines and went further spraying corrosion x inside the lines and devices.

Even after all that this is what I disvovered after disassembling the motor. The motor is a 1521 and not junk. But there is considerable damage to the anodizing. Its still a good motor. But take a lesson. Salt will do its job. Just cause you dont see it doesnt mean corrosion is not happening.



John

[properchopper]

A long time ago I ran in saltwater. I lived aboard and ran in the marina. No matter what I did, corrosion did its work. The worst was corroding setscrews - once even the slightest bit of corrosion set in, they never came loose. Drill, tap-extract, heck most of the time I had to grind off & destroy. The Geico, and especially the Spartan are notorious leakers. After using Corrosion-X on everything, keeping the water out is your first line of defense. After-run maintenence is essential as above. Sounds like a fun time in the Keys, [ and don't forget next Monday Sept 19 is Talk Like A Pirate Day] - love to see some pix

DSC02560.JPG

[martin]

I have to run on salt water all the time,My advice is if you dont have to dont.You can clean the boat,flush the system with fresh water & lube but you will not stop the corrosion setting in,You can minimise it by cleaning & lubing but you wont stop it.It starts as soon as you put the boat in the water.Thats a very good example that John has high lighted on the motor,As soon as you switch the motor off the heat that is in the motor & esc evaporates the water & your left with pure salt in their corroding things. Even after flushing through & lubing religously If to take off cooling lines after a while you will find salt deposites in all the fittings on the rudder,motor,esc etc. Poke a piece of wire down in the esc cooling plate & see all the salt that comes out after a while. I can run a polished prop & after a couple of hours when i leave the prop has turned a dullish red colour.Martin.

[martin]

It also conducts electricity very well indeed so is very easy to mess up batteries & esc due to shorting if you have a mishap & get things wet.As an example i run safety loops that are 20mm apart & if ive got the loop unpluged & put the boat in the water.The loop is on the transom so sits low in the water with the loop around water level & the esc starts to arm itself where the power is jumping accross through the salt water. Horrible stuff in my opinion but i have no choice.

[JIM MARCUM]

Here in San Diego, we have only one designated "Model Boat Basin". It's in Mission bay & is saltwater. I've run my Nitro & gas engine boats there with few problems. But there is NO WAY I would run my new 58" Venom Group Segad there. I'm running DragonRed 48009 mAh 14.8 volt batteries in a 12S2P config, Castle Hydra Ice 200 HV ESC (yes I know about the recall), and a Leopard 5692-730 Motor with a Octura X462 prop. The boat has already hit 67.7 MPH on the GPS after only two trial runs on local lakes. Although I have waterproofed the boat the best I can & tape the hatch with Venom sealing tape it a small amount of water still gets inside. At those speeds it's easy to over steer & roll the boat (I rolled it 3 times at mid speed & broke the windscreen loose). I will not run it in salt water because if even a 1/4" of saltwater gets inside it would cost me at least $950 in 2 seconds!! And those shorted out LIPOS might take the $1000 boat hull with them. With hunderds of my hours invested in this electric conversion & close to $2000 invested in electronics I simply won't risking this beautiful boat for a saltwater run. JIM

[properchopper]

Hey Jim,

With a masterpiece like that, a trip up to Legg Lake would be worth it. LOTS of clean water. LMK & I'll meet you there

[JIM MARCUM]

PROPERCHOPPER: Where's the Lake? I should have it ready to run again early next week. I lost one batt in a crash (had 6) so I've gotta order more from China. Takes 3 weeks to get here. I'll e-mail you video of my last run. JIM - Retired & ready.

[properchopper]

PROPERCHOPPER: Where's the Lake? I should have it ready to run again early next week. I lost one batt in a crash (had 6) so I've gotta order more from China. Takes 3 weeks to get here. I'll e-mail you video of my last run. JIM - Retired & ready.

Jim,

Legg Lake is in South El Monte; roughly where the 605 & 60 freeways intersect. Lots more water than you see in the vid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVENEnlwSaY

In fact the NAMBA SAWs will take place there Oct 14-16. Might be a good time to cruise up & rub elbows with the guys.

Tony - Retired cause I'm tired & got fired !