Waterproof?

[azorian]

Hello, I just purchased a Leopard 4092 from ose and was wondering if I can flush it out in any way after running boat in saltwater? Also how water resist or proof is it compared to brushed motor? Thank you in advance

Dan.

[Fluid]

First flush it out with fresh water. Blow as much water out as possible then flush out with CorrosionX.


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[BHChieftain]

+1 on Corrosion X. I have a Woodstuff OPC tunnel that has an exposed motor, and corrosion X keeps it running great. I use it anytime a motor gets wet.
Chief

[azorian]

So, these motors can get wet then. I thought brushless will short if submerged. That makes me feel better. Will my seakung 180 overheat if I put in a balloon?

[Fluid]

All RC motors will run when completely submerged. We used to have brushed motor powered boats sink when we raced indoors, the flooded boats would run full throttle underwater like submarines. It did wear out the brushes fast! BL motors will run too, and they have no exposed electrical contacts to short out. Always flush out the motor after it gets wet. If the wet is salty, use freshwater first - oil will not remove salt deposits.

The solution to both your problems is to make your boat virtually dry inside. It can be done.




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[tlandauer]

So, these motors can get wet then. I thought brushless will short if submerged. That makes me feel better. Will my seakung 180 overheat if I put in a balloon?

To answer your question: the Seaking 180 ESC perhaps will not over heat in a baloon. But how are you going to seal it sucessfully in a baloon? The cooling lines plus the signal wire will not give you a 100% seal, unless I am missing something. The Seaking 180 ESC is more water resistant than other ESC, I had one submerged in water for a good 30 min. That said, it is not fool proof, that is why I said water resistant, not water proof.
If you must provide outside protection for the ESC, I have seen people use small plastic food container and run the ESC inside, you drill holes for the wires/tubes but use silicone sealent to seal them, sort of like those "tupple ware" box Proboat used for their boats in the past.
I think Fuild's advice is the best, make your boat dry, however, I realize there are exceptions, therfore my

[BHChieftain]

That ESC is pretty large so you are going to have a hard time getting it into a balloon or other container and have it sealed well. Usually people just put the receivers in a balloon, then they supplement the ESC water resistance by coating the board with conformal coating or liquid electrical tape or something similar.

Most of my boats are nearly 100% water tight, so for those I don't bother trying to waterproof the ESC or the RX, but I did have 1 boat that got wet all the time (1/10 shovelnose hull with an open bay, designed for a nitro motor), and for that one I put the RX in a Traxxas waterproof box, and I use a Proboat ESC which is about as waterproof as you can get. That hull got completely flooded a few dozen times and all of my components survived. I eventually had a custom hatch made for my boat (thanks BBY Racing!), and now it is finally water tight...

Chief

[iridebikes247]

If the boat is built right you shouldn't have a drop inside after a run. No reason water should come in. The t180 doesn't like water, but performs well when dry! I also use the traxxas rx box makes it easier for me to clean my boat after a run.

[azorian]

Alright guys, I appreciate the replys. I have purchased liquid electrical tape and doing multiple coats on the esc boards that are exposed. I noticed corrosion forming already after 1 day even after I cleaned it all. I am trying to make the boat as watertight as I can. The hull is the proboat shockwave 36 so doing an electric conversion. Blocking up all holes and put the receiver in the radio box and sealed it as well. Thanks again.

[srislash]

Alright guys, I appreciate the replys. I have purchased liquid electrical tape and doing multiple coats on the esc boards that are exposed. I noticed corrosion forming already after 1 day even after I cleaned it all. I am trying to make the boat as watertight as I can. The hull is the proboat shockwave 36 so doing an electric conversion. Blocking up all holes and put the receiver in the radio box and sealed it as well. Thanks again.

Excellent,+1 on the conversion. Now on the T-180,I release the screws on the lower plastic cover then brush liquid tape around the edge of this cover and tighten the screws back up.There is a silicone seal between the cover and ESC body but it can leak.This method has worked well for me and is good precaution in the event of a rollover.This is also what I do to my servos and RX.Do try to keep the water out of the hull though.
Shawn

[azorian]

What the heck? I cleaned the esc, tested and worked great. Then I applied the liquid tape and water over night to power it up. It is clutching all over the place and will not initialize my transmitter? Help?

[srislash]

Liquid tape can take awhile to dry/cure fully. It gets a skin on it and takes a while. This has happened to my on a Swordy,I left it for a week then it was fine. Light coats are better.

[azorian]

All good! After 24 hours of dry time, got home and its all working great! Here we come weekend!