"waterproofing" lipos?

[animigan]

Hi everyone. I was hoping this thread would be an opportunity for some of the experienced members to show how they protect their lipos from water. No matter how hard i try, after a flip there is always some small amount of water in there...what are the best ways to protect the lipo batteries in a FE setup? Thanks!

Andre

[pbleckert972]

I would like to know too. All i have herd is putting them in ballon's.

[Fluid]

The way to keep your LiPos dry is to have a dry boat, period. There is no substitute for a dry interior, not just the cells are at risk if they get wet. You need to concentrate on sealing the hull so that no more than a few drops enter the hull after a run. This is possible, experienced FE boaters have learned how.

Waterproofing the LiPos is a bad idea IME . The problem they have getting wet is corrosion on the tabs - the individual cells themselves are sealed. Some have tried dipping them in a sealing compound - the problem is that the flexing of the wires will eventually open up that sealing and let water in. Now the problem is - how do you know if water entered? If it did, and you do nothing, the water trapped inside will corrode the tabs and sooner or later the pack will fail. (This is one reason to be careful when buying used LiPos.)

Most experienced LiPo users simply keep the cells shrink wraped together, as they came from the factory. If the pack gets wet it is easy to see (I use clear shrink wrap), then you just cut off the shrink and dry the cells out. After they are completely dry, re-shrink and you are ready to go. But these same guys have boats that don't normally leak. A crash can open up the hull, that's when they need to check carefully.



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[kookie_guy]

Personally, I took my packs, made sure they were good and dry, and coated the ends with high flex silicone. This way the wires still have some flex without tearing the seal. Now, this was done as a just in case.

As Fluid said, sealing the boat is your best way to keep it all dry. I can run all 3 sets of lipos through the boat, and have MAYBE a teaspoon of water in the hull. If I roll it, and takes me 15 minutes to get the boat back to shore, I might have a tablespoon.

So your best defense is to seal her up good.

[TCR]

Liquid electrical tape on the ends is as far as I go.