hatch mounting

[mike a.]

Does anyone have another way of mounting there hatches down that does not involve using tape. When i ran my old 1500mah packs i would be just fine with the tape and have nearly no water in the boat(run times were only like 1.30 min fast run times). I just bought new 4200 mah packs and ran them this past weekend, i flipped it once after running it about 4-5 min. I went and retrived it within seconds and there was only a little piece holding the hatch down and the boat was filled. i retaped it and ran it again and in about 5 min i heard a pop sound and brought it back in. The one cell had shorted and exploded. Im going to now put them in like balloons or sandwich bags, but i would still like to get a better way to hold down the hatch.


Thank you
Mike Allen

[Mich. Maniac]

Hey Mike,, awesome avatar! That is a good question but I think that is best left up to your creativity. most hatches are kinda delicate around the edges. What I have done is put vaseline around hull and make a silicone seal adhering to hatch. The hatch "older boat" was then screwed on hull. Once silicone cured I removed vaseline and it was formed just as needed. just one think I have done

[Jeepers]

I have used screw down hatches before, the key to it is to have a very sturdy hull and hatch, any flex of either and you get leaks. I went back to tape down hatches, cause I get very little to no water at all, but I secure my hatches with 4screws then tape over them. If I can pick my boat up by the hatch, fully loaded and it dont come off, it probably wont come off in a race.

[mike a.]

thanks! I think im going to make a silicone gasket and screw down method like Michigan Maniac did. Then if i have to i will put some tape over it to make it extra water tight.

[Fluid]

I am confused about how the hatch came off. I have flipped some of my boats many times at over 60 mph and only once had the hatch come open when a pack came loose and hit it. A few questions:

* what kind of tape did yo use?
* did you re-use the tape?
* did you dry the hatch and deck before putting on the tape?
* what came loose inside the hull to knock the hatch loose?

It is very unlikely that water caused the exploded cell. Trying to keep your packs dry in a plastic bag is a bad idea for a number of reasons, one of which is difficulty in securing the pack so it won't move in a flip. Tape is still the best and most fool-proof method to keep your hatch secured and water tight. But some tapes are far better than others in this task - choose the wrong one and you will have problems.


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[mike a.]

The kind of tape that im using is the hockey tape that is on this site. I never have reused tape and i always bring a towel with me to dry the part where i tape. I dont think anything came loose because my batteries were velcroed in and when i flipped the boat over to empty it, nothing fell out of it. The only reason that i thought that water may have caused a short was i could see water in the shrink wrap. I dont know if this makes a difference but the cell that exploded was on the positive side where the wire is soldered to it.

What kind of tape are you using on your boats? Also what do you think could have caused the cell to explode.


Thank you
Mike allen

[Jeepers]

thats some good tape you are using, I have had a couple of boats go over the top of mine and never had the hatch come off using just tape,and it comes in dry every time.

[NorthernBoater]

I have also found the same tape in local sporting goods stores. I usually think of those small things like that right when I need them.

[mike a.]

pics

here is a picture of the exploded cell. I heard that on the top of the cell on the positive side that there is a vent and if water gets in the vent it can explode. I dont know if its true or not. When i went to tape down the hatch i put down two strips side by side so it would hold better. I think that i am going to have some mechanical way of puting the hatch down then i will put tape down over it.


Thanks
Mike allen

[Fluid]

I had a similar problem with a pack that had never been wet - see below. Current NiMH cells are not as robust as they used to be, and catastrophic failures are not unknown. I seriously doubt that water had anything to do with it.

Several club members use Renfroe hackey tape with good success. I prefer 3M #35 vinyl tape, it is reusable and less likely to pull up a paint job. It has held up to 75+ mph crashes.


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